The 'Blue Lace' Blouse

Sometimes I'll go fabric shopping with a little scrap of paper or print outs of my pattern requirements, for patterns that I have in my stash that have been 'calling' to me.  I knew I wanted to make another blouse so I brought the details for Colette's Violet blouse with me... ya know, just in case I found the right fabric.  I knew I wanted something neutral that would go with a lot and also be wearable for the summer.

I had never been to Hart's Fabric in Santa Cruz, but the hubby and I had decided to spend a day 'over the hill' (as South Bay locals refer to it) and spend some time paddle boarding and playing tourist.  I had seen Harts' online store and thought it was amazing, so I was super excited to check out their storefront.

It did not disappoint.

It's a decent size fabric store that was broken up into two main sections: home decor and apparel fabrics.  I spent my whole time either in the apparel section, or in front of their wall of buttons.  They had a great selection of fabric that I haven't been able to find locally.  Liberty of London, nice linens and apparel cottons, Japanese prints, and so much more.  I really had to reign in and luckily had my little folder of potential projects.  This blue fabric was one of my first finds and I pretty much wandered around the store with it the entire time.


The Facts


Fabric: A lightweight cotton swiss dot fabric that also had lace/eyelet type stripes running through it.  I really can't describe it better than the pictures show it, but it's nice and lightweight - perfect for the summer.  It almost has a linen feel to it.  I got it from Hart's Fabric in Santa Cruz during my first visit to the retail store. ~$20
Pattern: Colette's Violet, $0.  Second time using it.
Year: Contemporary
Notions: Buttons! From Hart's. I think I paid about $2 for all of them.
Time to complete: 4 hours
First worn: Over the weekend to a birthday bbq.
Wear again? Oh yeah! This'll be a summer staple.
Total cost: $22

I love how casual this blouse feels, but I think the quality of the fabric dresses it up a bit more.  So I could wear it with shorts or khaki's, or maybe a little fancier... to work perhaps?  I definitely have to wear a tank under it, due to the eyelet stripes.



The blouse was still easy the second time around, though I was tempted to omit the collar facings after working with the Banksia pattern.  I ended up making the pattern the same as before, but I added an inch in length.  I want the option to wear it tucked in without it coming out too easy, and to be able to raise my arms without giving a show of my non-flat abs.  I also tried to give the waist just a bit more shape.  I didn't want it snug but I do think this blouse tends to look a bit boxy. I love seeing how so many bloggers are modifying the waist to make it more fitted and feminine.

Anyways, it's a great blouse and I'm so happy to add yet another separate to my closet.  More like another blouse - I just don't have nearly enough.  But I'm slowly working on it!

What I Watched: The Three Musketeers (1993) and more Scrubs
The Three Musketeers was one of my favorite movies as a young teen.  It came out when I was still in grade school and I remember playing in the schoolyard with my girlfriends, pretending that we were sword fighting musketeers.  Yeah, I was a big goober.  I actually briefly took fencing in high school and have four years of French under my belt.  Do I attribute it to this movie?  Well, maybe only the first part.  The rest was just my teen crush on Chris O'Donnell.