The Crescent Blouse

I’m really thrilled to chat a bit more about the Crescent blouse today! I thought it might be nice to share a bit of info about how this pattern was developed, and what my vision was for it.

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The idea for this pattern started at the beginning of last year. (In case you’re ever wondering what the lead time is on developing a pattern – it’s long – LONG. But to be honest, i think it should be that way, there should be a good amount of time dedicated to development).

You may have noticed in previous designs of mine that i really love curves. I think they’re beautiful – actually i can’t resist them- and i can’t help but want to include more and more in my designs. Lately i’ve been leaning towards half moon/crescent shapes. Which i suppose makes sense since lunar related imagery has been flooding the internet for at least a year :) I really couldn’t get that crescent moon shape out of my head. You can really see it in the cutouts, the shape of the collar and curved hem. It’s what i imagine the moon would be if it was a blouse – in all its beautifully curved fluidity.

As you know, a lot of work and care goes into my patterns – but this pattern took by far the longest in development time – i’m really glad i took the extra time to made sure it was perfect. I knew that if i wasn’t careful this could become a tricky sew for most people- with the delicate fabrics, cutouts and small seams –  and i really didn’t want it to be difficult and end up as an “advanced” level pattern. I wanted everyone to be able to sew it! A lot of effort was put into simplifying the construction so that the blouse would be easier to put together than it appears. And i feel like that goal has really been achieved! I’m pretty darn proud to call this an intermediate level pattern.

Remember my everyday wearability test? Well this is proof of how necessary that test is – after wearing the first drafts a few times i was able to see fit and design issues that needed tweaking. Now that i’m at the end of it, i like the blouse even more after those subtle changes. Wearing my garments over and over is a step i can’t miss – and i really can’t wait to share more styled outfits in the next few weeks now that the patterns are out!

The blouse comes with two different hem attachments and an optional collar. The cool thing about that is it means there are four possible tops with just the pattern pieces included – it’s rad :)

• collar + curved hem
• curved hem along
• collar + tunic hem
• tunic hem alone

The edges of blouse at the shoulders is intended to sit on your shoulder tip. The inner edges of the shoulders sit at the base of the neck and close with buttons. (But don’t feel limited by that – i’d love to see this made with hook and eye closures or ribbon closures – i think that would be awesome!)

The curved hem is slightly longer in the back than the front, and crosses over at the sides. The tunic hem is also very slightly longer in the back than the front – but as you can see this version is longer so you can wear it with leggings etc. and still feel covered.

The waistline seam should sit around bellybutton level. The tunic hem should hit just below your rear at the back, and the curved hem should end just before the crotch in the front.

I also tried to make it really easy to alter. The placement of the waistline seam at roughly bellybutton level, makes it easy to shorten or lengthen the blouse from the centre without having to alter the hemline and thus distort the proportions too much.

You can add or remove length by adding to the bottom of the blouse bodice, or the top of the hem pieces. Then sew as per usual. Easy peasy.

One of the things i really love about this top is the fact that you’re not just stuck with wearing it in any one particular way. The tunic hem is long enough to for it to be gorgeous loose and with leggings like we did in the lookbook – but it looks just as cute tucked in, or over a pair of shorts or jeans. That’s my kinda blouse – possibilities!

Styling ideas i’d really love to try:

• I’d also really love to try it over a mini skirt
• Belted!
• I think tucked into a pencil skirt would be a fantastic office option for those in the corporate world.

Next week we’ll be sharing some tips and variations for Crescent, which i really really can’t wait for you to see!!!

So do you have any burning questions about the crescent blouse pattern?! Let me know in the comments!