Penny dress hack – my 2018 Sewing Weekender blouse

I have a lot of makes to catch up on…this is my Sew Over It Penny dress hack that I made at the Fold Line’s sewing weekender in Cambridge back in August 2018. I used a really small remnant I’d grabbed in the John Lewis sale – turns out it’s Atelier Brunette lawn! I’ve already had a go at the tie blouse hack of the Sew Over It Penny dress – I love it – but this time I was looking for something a bit more formal (and work appropriate) so this time I simply omitted the ties.

This pattern has some interesting design features which make it easy to add in a few unique touches. As the fabric is striped, I opted to play with the pattern piece placement on the fabric to create interesting design features – the vertical direction of the stripes on the shoulder yokes and button placket directly contrast with the horizontal direction of the stripes on the shirt front and back.

I said in my last post on this shirt that I didn’t particularly like the construction of the armholes, as it involves stitching part way up the side seam to where the arm hole should begin, and then snipping through the seam allowance to create the armhole. It doesn’t feel very secure. I haven’t yet found an alternative way to do the armholes, and I don’t think this will survive many washes as they’re already starting to fray…a bit frustrating.

The finished shirt is a bit boxy, and a little too short so can only be worn with high waisted garments.

I sewed the button placket closed on my tie front version of the shirt. This time I had more time and so was able to sew button holes and buttons. I definitely prefer having the buttons. It also makes it wearable while I’m feeding.