Megan Nielsen Dove Blouse

I was jonesing for Megan Nielsen's latest, the Dove blouse, from the first sneak peeks. 

That v-neck, the extreme curved hem (with a hem facing!), those pretty angled bust darts...

Unfortunately, my hips fall outside Megan's size range and I couldn't find finished hip measurements for the pattern to determine if I could eke by, so I didn't buy the pattern right away. However, when I saw the gorgeous version Eleanor (@shesewsalot) made, I was able to confirm with her that the hip shape isn't restrictive for those of us on the more hippy/pearish side of things. I immediately purchased and printed the pattern.

The fabric is some colorful Japanese cotton lawn I bought at Spotlight in Singapore. The print is a little bit late '80s/early '90s, but I love the colors!

Because I wasn't paying attention to the pattern repeat/placement, I ended up with somewhat of an orange stripe down the center front seam . No one but you guys will notice, though.

For this version of the Dove blouse, I skipped the dramatic bell sleeves. I thought this cotton fabric was a bit casual for those fancy sleeves (and I didn't have enough fabric; the sleeves are fabric hogs!). Plus, I'm not sure I can pull them off, logistically speaking. I can imagine myself dipping those sleeves in every meal I eat and snagging them on every door handle I encounter. Too practical for my own good. Maybe for a fancy event, though (ha, like I attend a lot of those!)...

I love the finished blouse! The curve of the hem is lovely and I didn't have any problems with the hip fit because of how high the curve goes on the sides (although I didn't quite nail a smooth curve in that particular location). The shape of the v-neck is also fabulous. The darts hit me in the right spot (I realize they're a little bit difficult to see in this print, so you'll have to trust me on that one).

I opted to topstitch the neckline and hem facings. I like the look of the topstitching, although you can't really see it in this print. I could see doing some Alabama Chanin-style topstitching on a solid color version of the Dove blouse... that would be really pretty. Also: a Dove in drapey fabrics is on the list; I've got a magenta crepe that is screaming to be a Dove.

I think the only change I would make next time is to do a small full bicep adjustment on the sleeves. I did a cheater version and sewed the sleeve seam with a smaller seam allowance, but I could use maybe another half inch there.

My conclusion: Dove's a winner! It's cute and wearable and has some fun details...