Seamwork released their corrected pattern of Natalie, button-up blouse, a little while ago. (You can see my first attempt with version one here.) I often have trouble finding materials I see used online locally. Whether they have different names, sell out quickly, or simply aren't common, I can't be sure. So I decided to buy some cotton lawn, as recommended by the pattern, online and experience it for myself. I ordered some black cotton lawn, used black interfacing, black thread, and black buttons. You could say my aesthetic is quite black.

The pattern itself has changed subtly in a few ways. The front and back pieces are narrower, the collar is longer but of a more traditional shape, the sleeve is set deeper in, and the sleeve itself has slightly changed shape as well. But the construction instructions and details remained the same. I also made this version is a smaller size. The fit is better; the sleeves pull less, and it's more comfortable. But I find the front taut while there is still a considerable excess in the back. I'm thinking perhaps going down another size but adding a FBA might be needed.

The cotton lawn is interesting. It is matte, but with a slight sheen. It is a stable woven, but distorts easily. It is not sheer, but it is quite see-through. It frays easily and isn't strong enough to tolerate my overlocker-foot-and-stitch, so I had to finish all the seams in the overlocker itself. And did I mention it's see-through? I got some more cotton lawn in a purple, hopefully that won't be as see-through.



Finished Natalie v.2, front view
Photo by [personal profile] chebe



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Seamwork's Natalie is a casual button-up blouse. It has short sleeves, a soft collar, bust darts, and it doesn't button all the way up to the neck. I am looking for a casual shirt pattern, and sadly this is not it. This pattern is very much a blouse, too feminine for what I'm after. Also, the light blue polycotton fabric I used really doesn't help, except to make it feel like a primary school uniform shirt. (Not my primary school mind, but one with hot weather options and possibly blazers. The kind you'd see in Australian tv shows.)

I did have fun making this though. The entire centre front and neckline is topstitched in one go. And I never had to fight the fabric. There is definitely a joy to sewing with stable non-stretch wovens. The shoulder and side seams need to be finished separately and pressed open, and the facings outer edges also need finishing. So instead of threading up the overlocker I tried out the overlock stitch on my sewing machine, with over-edge sewing foot. It's not as neat as the dedicated machine with blade, but it is very decent. I also figured out the automated buttonhole functionality (stitch with foot/plate)! It took some time, but now I want to put buttons on everything.



Finished Natalie, front view
Photo by [personal profile] chebe



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