Pattern Review: New Look 6871 Blouse
This is an easy, beginner blouse with a few different styling options, including sleeveless, ruffled sleeves, and 3/4 sleeves. It's cute and flowy--perfect for summer! I'll go through my concerns/suggestions regarding this pattern to help you avoid any issues I had. I made view E of this pattern.
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Materials used:
- New Look Pattern 6871
- Fabric (around 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 yards, depending on the style you're making)
- Bias tape (one package)
- Lightweight fusible interfacing (3/4 yard)
It was fairly straightforward to put together. This was the first time I had to understitch something (the yoke on the collar), and I found this tutorial helpful.
The instructions seemed to indicate that you should hem both edges of the sleeve pieces, but I found this resulted in a very wavy sleeve.
I serged a rolled hem on the edges of the sleeves instead. While putting it together, I realized that the inner side of each sleeve gets trimmed and covered in bias tape. In re-reading the pattern, I think I misinterpreted the directions regarding the upper and lower sleeve pieces. They just meant to hem the bottom of both sleeve pieces. Still, I think a rolled hem looks nice.
I also serged the seams inside the blouse, but you could easily adjust the seam allowance to do a French seam, and then you'd avoid having any raw edges inside.
The bias tape on the arm holes isn't very visible, so you could probably choose any color. There are a few layers to cover. I used 1/2" bias tape, and I probably could have used something a little wider.
The interfacing I used for the yoke was a little stiff, so you might want to use a very lightweight interfacing. After washing, it was more flexible.
Next time I would probably make it a little shorter or flare it out at the bottom a little--it could flow a little better over the hips. I really love the ruffled sleeves, though, and it's a nice cool top for the summer.
