Hello dear sewing friends! Today I’ll be sewing the Lisette Blouse from the latest issue of La Maison Victor. Why? Well, because the corresponding fabric (which you can also order directly from La Maison Victor) is such a nice shade of yellow I just had to make it. Spring is coming after all.
I had to make my usual adjustments to the pattern beforehand:
- Reduce the length above the bust by 1cm (front and back).
- Add a Full Bust Adjustment (FBA) from a B cup to a D cup. Usually I will use the bodice’s darts to achieve this but this time I opted to hide the extra volume in the neck gathers. To do this you will need to draw a parallel line to the grainline that hits the apex. From there you draw a line to the armscye and another one to the gathers at the neck. Please note that the line should go right where the gathers will be otherwise your neckline will be too big. Now we are adding the “hinges”. Take your scissors and cut from the bottom to the apex to the seamline of the armscye. Clip the seam-allowance until you almost reach the seamline but don’t cut all the way through. Next, you cut from the neckline to the apex but not all the way through so you’ll get your second hinge here. Now, we can spread the patter pieces at the apex by the required 2.5cm (B cup to D cup is a 5cm difference, split by half because the pattern is cut on the fold). Tape the pattern pieces to a sheet of paper you’ve place underneath. With a larger bust you will need more width but also more length, which is why the bodice is now correspondingly longer. To make de hem even, however, you’ll need to cut from the lower center front perpendicular to the first line we cut and move it down. I know it sounds really complicated but it will work I promise.
For the first time ever, I sewed outside. I took my machine camping and it was amazing! Since I could not bring every machine I own (especially my overlocker) I decided to finish all my seams with a “french seam” finish. This way I will not have raw edges anywhere.
Second step: Sew together right on right and voilà!
To achieve this, you sew the first pass left on left with only half the seam-allowance. Press and trim slightly and then sew the second pass right on right with half the seam-allowance. Now your seams are perfectly enclosed! But you do you and finish the seams however you like.
This pattern is very beginner friendly so you can just follow the instructions in the magazine. Hemhem, but just so you know, I had to do the neckline twice three times because somehow, I always managed not to place the gathers perfectly in the middle.
In the end I lost the game of “thread chicken” and had to wait until after the holiday to buy some additional thread (I used Gutermann 417).
I am very pleased with the result. I have a beautiful stretch silk georgette that would lend itself perfectly for this pattern!
Until next time
Happy Sewing
Nadine
(if you want to check out what I’m making in between blogposts you can check out my Instagram here).
Hi.I just came across your post on the Lisette blouse and I was wondering how do I get a copy of the pattern. I could not find it on the internet anywhere.
Hi Lilian,
The website of La Maison Victoire is Dutch, but if I understand correctly, you can download the pattern after making an account. Here is the link to the pattern: https://www.libelle.be/naaipatronen/lisette-top/