The one thing I really love about the 1903 Edwardian Blouse pattern, is that the originals were so often make out of battenburg lace. I am not able to make my own lace, so I went on a search for some battenberg yardage. I found bits and pieces, but nothing of any size. And then I went to Ebay, and started looking for tablecloths. Still, most of the tablecloths had only a little lace around the edges, the bulk being a solid fabric. And then I found it! A round tablecloth (72″ diameter) with a lot of the lace throughout, and it was in black, no less! There was only the one, so I bought it and hoped it was big enough for a blouse.
I fold the circle in half, matching the lace patterns as much as possible, and layout my pattern for cutting. The cloth being round, means that the grain line was really the radius of the circle, from the center to any given point of the outside edge, and top being the center. The fold will be the center front and center back and the rest is in a big arc.
I started with the front piece, and layed it out maximizing the lace around the neckline. I would have prefered to have the solid fabric band a little lower, but then I ended up with the solid center getting into the shoulder seam. I had to settle with what would fit. I then placed the center back, to line up the solid parts to the same level as the front. I was worried that the sleeves would not fit, and I would have to make the sleeves 3/4 length. But they fit perfectly, once I placed the sleevehead evenly on the solid center bit.
I know that I need to stabilize the neckline first thing, or it will stretch and do horrible things. So I quickly finish the center back edges, and do up the shoulder seams. Because of the lace, I did french seams to make them neat and actually hold a seam. I made the collar out of a cotton broadcloth, and put it on. This will be covered up with a stock collar that buttons on, so I am not worried about it not matching.
The side seams are next, and now its on to the sleeves. One seam, and gather the wrists to fit a cuff. For the cuffs, I started out with just the broadcloth. But it really didn’t match well. So I added an overlay of the battenberg edge, with the edge just a tad longer than the cuff proper. Then sewed the sleeves to them. I love how the cuffs came out.
I also cheated with the cuffs, and made them slip on rather than button closed. I didn’t want to have to play with button holes in the lace and everything.
Sewing the sleeves to the blouse propper was the most difficult part, I think. Half of the armhole is lace and stretching all over the place, and the sleeve head needed to be gathered to fit. The gathers fit perfectly onto just the solid fabric portion of the sleeve head, so that worked out perfectly. I kept thinking “shrink” as I pinned the sleeves in, to combat the stretch factor, and in the end it wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. Though I think I may the shrunk a little too much; the armhole seems a bit snugger than it should be. Hopefully, this won’t be a real issue.
This just leaves putting the waist band and gathering the front to fit. Again, I used a broadcloth band. It will be covered up with a belt anyway. I still need to add hooks and eyes. but here it is, all put together. I made up a short stock collar with a battenberg overlay. But for some reason, I forgot to put in on when taking the pics.
So now I need to make a back corset cover, and a black skirt and petticoat. And a black chemise and drawers. Yay, more sewing!
