Roses and bows and tulip sleeves... who am I?!
This here is Butterick 6217, a pattern by Gertie. It's a bit outside of my typical style with all of those little girly details, but I am kinda digging it anyway! I was drawn to the square neckline...
The fabric is the rest of the floral Japanese cotton lawn from my second Bettine (stash busting, y'all). I know it's a bit boring to sew something out of the same fabric I just used a few weeks ago, but I really like it and feel like the roses jive with the vintage-y vibe of Gertie's pattern (or maybe the rose print version on the pattern cover subliminally made me go all rose-y).
My construction notes:
I used bias tape to finish the tulip sleeves because hemming those little curves on the sleeves just wasn't working for me. I also ended up using it for the hem, too, while I was at it. That way I got a teeny bit more length on the blouse (my hem was more like 3/8" rather than 5/8").
Although it's a bit difficult to see them in this busy fabric, this blouse has lots of darts: 2 side bust darts, 2 princess-y darts from the hem to the bust, and 4 fish eye darts on the back. So many darts to tie off!! All those darts do give it a nice, body-skimming shape, though.
There's also a center back seam... it doesn't seem to have any shaping, though, so I am not sure what purpose it serves. I imagine one could probably cut the back piece on the fold?
I both attracted by and a bit worried about the bust tie- would it be too vintage-y for me? too twee? In the end I like it, though. Double bonus: you can cinch it to help make minor adjustments in the fit across the bust and the tie covers up any issues one might have with the 4 bust darts.
Here's a photo of what the ties look like untied- they come out of the side seam from under the arms and look a bit weird if they're not tied!:
I saw that others who made this blouse commenting about the sizing being big on this pattern, but for me, it was true to typical Butterick/Big 4 sizing. I made my normal Butterick size, which is to say about 2 sizes down from what the body measurement chart on envelope says I should make, and the fit is pretty good.
Final verdict on B6217?: I like it! I think it's a very versatile top, too. I paired with a pencil skirt for the photos, but afterwards I tried it on with some skinny pants and liked that better. Maybe it could also go with my new love, the circle skirt? That might be pushing it too far into vintage territory for me, but it would be grand on the right vintage-loving gal. You could also go the casual route and wear it with little shorts or jeans, too.
