Altering (not so) White Linen Blouse

2021-05-30

Another basic and practical piece and I was really glad to acquire it. I admit it took me ages to properly alter and start wearing it, but I learned so much along the way and it illustrates how much I've improved in all that time. And after all my efforts thanks to a mishap in the washing machine… the blouse has turned up slightly pink. I am going to try to bleach it back to white, wish me luck.



I believe this was a men's shirt originally. The button placket, the collar and the cuffs are original and I didn't alter those, I was happy to keep and use them to create a well-fitting blouse. Somewhere along the way I downsized it, cutting off surplus material from the sides and sewing a new side seam. This automatically creates a smaller armhole, but apparently for my body type it isn't enough. I have super narrow shoulders and tiny arm circumference, so with a solid non-stretch fabric, I can't do without an armhole dart. I added that, shortened the shoulder seams and this dramatically improved the fit. This was a real game changer, because I realized why I wasn't able to get a proper fit on blouses before and why so often the result wasn't satisfactory and I ended up not wearing it.

It was the underarm dart that did the trick!



I added waist darts to shape the blouse even more. Using an overlocker to finish the seams, the inside looks really neat.



I adujsted the length, folded the hem twice and stitched it down (I believe it was done the same way on the original shirt). I didn't get the most professional result, but it does its job just fine.



I guess that's all I wanted to say, so little text considering how much effort I put into this item! But it really shows everything I didn't know back then and know now. I am able to finish and wear clothes I put aside in the past because I didn't know how to achieve what I want with them. And this is one piece I am almost completely satisfied with (we will work on the coloring...), because it fits beautifully and the design is perfect. I really appreciate classic and practical pieces such as this one lately, just because they are timeless and uncomplicated and go with almost anything.






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