Thursday 26 February 2015

I'm not in love - Sewaholic Alma blouse

Bonus points if you immediately started humming 10cc's song!


Sleeveless tops tend to be my favourite style, but the air-conditioning at work means that I end up so cold my fingernails turn purple and I lose feeling in my fingers.  Not ideal.  Time to make some sleeved tops, preferably in a woven fabric.


I bought the Alma pattern a couple of years ago when there were so many great versions all over all the popular blogs.  I actually made up the version with a peter pan collar in a size 14 and felt ridiculous.  It felt both too big and cutesy and 'cute' is not a word I've ever associated with myself.


This time around I used a gorgeous cotton from Tessuti and went for the notched neckline, in a size 12 with an extra inch of length added through the waist and another 1.25 inches length added to the hem.


You can see that there's still extra fabric in the back but otherwise the fit is pretty good and is actually quite comfortable to wear.

I really wanted to love this top but I'm just not feeling it.  To be fair it looks better paired with a black pencil skirt or slim fit pants.  It fills a gap in my wardrobe but it's not something that I'm going to reach for when I need my clothes to give me that extra little boost.

On a happier note I've just finished sewing up a gorgeous silk that I bought from Tessuti earlier this year and I love it - I'll share it soon.

6 comments:

katherine h said...

Perhaps we need to see it with the pencil skirt. I'm trying to decide if it would look better with shorter sleeves. Maybe fold up the sleeves and have a look. Cap sleeves would be cute, but then it wouldn't meet your office requirements.

katherine h said...

Though, you said you don't do "cute". Maybe substitute another adjective for cute...cap sleeves would be ???

Summer Flies said...

I agree with Katherine... I think the sleeves need to be a bit shorter, and I also think it is a little long.. maybe just a few centimetres. I always remember my drafting teacher telling us the best length for a top (for good balance) was for it to end on the hip bone. I love the notch in the neckline and I love the fabric. Definitely not cute .....

fabric epiphanies said...

I agree, shorten the sleeves and maybe the body slightly and it will alter the look completely. The neckline is really nice if that is any consolation!

Sharon said...

I really like this top and have mine on today.

As you are said there are some issues and I agree with the others, it only has to be a smidge shorter but that can do wonders. Even though you have used the sleeves for your cold office I think they are too long.

poppykettle said...

Ugh, nothing worse than an antarctic air conditioner! I love the print of this fabric - it's a gorgeous mix of blues. I too was thinking about sleeves - I've had this image saved in my pinterest of a sleeve cuff which I think would balance out longer sleeves?
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/86412886569878970/
Either way, I think it's a really lovely top even if it isn't the sort of thing you instinctively reach for :)