The Portrait BlouseThis sweet blouse is fi gure-fl attering and

amazingly versatile. Make it in a cotton eyelet

and pair it with shorts in the summer. In wool

jersey, it’s a great wintertime layering piece with

a pencil skirt and cardigan. And it’s absolutely

smashing in a drapey silk satin for a glam evening

look. There are very few fabrics this design won’t

work in! I would just avoid anything that’s too

stiff (like taffeta, for instance), as it won’t provide

a fl attering drape. The length of the blouse is

relatively short, so add length at the hem if you

like your tops on the longer side.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. This neckline needs to be stabilized well so that it won’t gape. Stay-stitch ½" (1.3 cm) from top edge, or use one of the other methods described on page 77 (A).

2. Stitch front-bust darts, and press them (B).

3. Stitch dart tucks on front and back pattern pieces by bringing the two lines together and stitching. Backstitch at beginning and end of the tucks. Press tucks to the center of each piece (C).

4. Stitch blouse front and back together at the shoulder seams. Press open (D).

5. Stitch front and back together at side seams, starting at upper notch and leaving left side open under lower notch for zipper. Press seams open, clipping into seam allowance at waistline to allow seam to lie fl at (E).

K E Y S K I L L S

• Working with slippery fabrics• Narrow hems (see page 64)• Hand overcasting (optional; see page 55)• Fabric interfacings (optional; see page 72)• Hand-picked zipper (see page 56)

S U P P L I E S

• Portrait Blouse pattern pieces (from pattern sheet 1) following layout on page 198)

• 1.5 yards (1.4 meters) 45" (114 cm) blouse fabric or 1 yard (.9 meter) 60" (152 cm) blouse fabric

• 9" (23 cm) zipper• ½" yard (.5 meters) interfacing

F A B R I C N O T E S

My sample blouse is made up in a dotted silk charmeuse. Charmeuse is known for its luxurious feel and signature sheen. It’s also known for being fussy to work with because it’s so slippery. The two best tips I can give you are: 1) Put weights on your pattern pieces when cutting out, and cut with a rotary blade. This keeps the silk from shifting as you cut it because it remains fl at on the table. 2) Hand-baste your darts and seams together before stitching on the machine. This may seem like overkill, but it makes working with charmeuse a snap, rather than a nightmare. Plus, on a small project like this one, there aren’t too many seams to baste. Remember to remove your basting before pressing!

Copyright © Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch published by STC Craft | Melanie Falick Books, 2012.

G R E T C H E N H I R S C H Photographs by Jody Rogac

Available wherever books are sold.

find out more atmelaniefalickbooks.com

GERTIE’S NEW BOOK FOR BETTER SEWING

A M O D E R N G U I D E T O C O U T U R E - S T Y L E S E W I N G U S I N G B A S I C V I N TA G E T E C H N I Q U E S

Copyright © Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch published by STC Craft | Melanie Falick Books, 2012.

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I. Hem sleeves.#. Hem sleeves.#. captionHem sleeves.caption

A. A. Stay-stitch neckline.#. Stay-stitch neckline.#. captionStay-stitch neckline.captionStay-stitch neckline.#. Stay-stitch neckline.#. captionStay-stitch neckline.caption

G. G. Stitch facings together at Stitch facings together at shoulder seams.#. shoulder seams.#. captionshoulder seams.caption

C. Stitch dart tucks, and press.#. Stitch dart tucks, and press.#. captionStitch dart tucks, and press.caption

B. Stitch bust darts, and press them.#. Stitch bust darts, and press them.#. captionStitch bust darts, and press them.caption

D. Stitch front and back together at shoulders.#. Stitch front and back together at shoulders.#. captionStitch front and back together at shoulders.caption

F. Apply interfacing to facings.#. Apply interfacing to facings.#. captionApply interfacing to facings.captionE. E. Stitch blouse together at side seams; press open.#. Stitch blouse together at side seams; press open.#. captionStitch blouse together at side seams; press open.captionStitch blouse together at side seams; press open.#. Stitch blouse together at side seams; press open.#. captionStitch blouse together at side seams; press open.caption

H. Pin and stitch facings; understitch.#. Pin and stitch facings; understitch.#. captionPin and stitch facings; understitch.captionPin and stitch facings; understitch.Pin and stitch facings; understitch.captionPin and stitch facings; understitch.captionPin and stitch facings; understitch.captionPin and stitch facings; understitch.captionPin and stitch facings; understitch.

J. Insert zipper.

Copyright © Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch published by STC Craft | Melanie Falick Books, 2012.

Copyright © Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch published by STC Craft | Melanie Falick Books, 2012.

6. Apply interfacing to your facings (I, see page 72). For my sample blouse, I used silk charmeuse as sew-in interfacing, but you can also use a fusible in a weight to match your fashion fabric. Tip: You can match your interfacing to your skin tone to avoid show-through of your facings on light-colored or slightly sheer fabrics.

7. Stitch facings together at shoulder seams (G).

8. Pin facings to neckline, right sides together. Stitch facings to blouse. Trim, grade, and clip seam allowances. Press and turn facings to the inside. Understitch facings by hand using a pick stitch (H, see page 52). Finish outer edge of your neckline facings by pinking, zigzagging, or hand-overcasting (see page 55). Tack facings to shoulder seams.

9. Hem sleeves, using one of the two methods in sidebar below. For both methods, clip upper side seam notch almost to line of stitching so sleeve hem can lie fl at (I).

10. Hem bottom of blouse as you did for sleeves.

11. Insert side-hand-picked lapped zipper (J, see page 57). (Your zipper will go in upside down in a blouse, so zipper pull hangs just below hem of blouse when closed.) Turn back zipper opening seam allowance under ½" (1.3 cm) and press. Pin this pressed fold over zipper tape, pinning as close to zipper teeth as possible. Match zipper stop to lower edge of blouse hem. Conceal top of zipper tape by turning it under and stitching or trimming it with pinking shears. With a zipper foot, stitch next to zipper teeth to secure it.

12. On front side of zipper opening, turn seam allowance under ⅝" (1.5 cm) and press. Close zipper and pin right seam allowance so that fold covers zipper teeth. Hand-pick zipper in place on right side, using a double strand of beeswax-coated thread. (Press the thread in a press cloth fi rst to melt the beeswax.)

HEMMING SLEEVES

For thick fabrics like wool jersey: Turn under and press

the sleeve’s 5⁄8" (1.5 cm) hem allowance. Turn under the hem allowance’s raw edge, so it meets the fold, and press it in place. Edge-stitch the hem’s inner fold, or slip stitch it invisibly by hand. Press the hem.

For thin fabrics like charmeuse or voile: Make a narrow hem by machine as follows. Stay-stitch 3⁄8" (1 cm) from the sleeve’s raw edge. Press the raw edge to the inside of the blouse, so the stay stitching line falls just inside. Next, sew a second row of stitching just to the left of the stay stitching. Press the new line of stitching, and carefully trim away the remaining hem allowance, using small, sharp scissors and cutting right next to the second stitching line. Press the hem again to the inside, and sew one fi nal row of stitching along the inner fold line. This last stitching line will show on the outside of your blouse, so be sure to stitch an even distance from the bottom of the hem.

Turn under and press Turn under and press

" (1.5 cm) hem allowance. Turn under the " (1.5 cm) hem allowance. Turn under the hem allowance’s raw edge, so it meets the fold, and press hem allowance’s raw edge, so it meets the fold, and press it in place. Edge-stitch the hem’s inner fold, or slip stitch it it in place. Edge-stitch the hem’s inner fold, or slip stitch it

Make a narrow Make a narrow " (1 cm) from " (1 cm) from

the sleeve’s raw edge. Press the raw edge to the inside of the sleeve’s raw edge. Press the raw edge to the inside of the blouse, so the stay stitching line falls just inside. Next, the blouse, so the stay stitching line falls just inside. Next, sew a second row of stitching just to the left of the stay sew a second row of stitching just to the left of the stay stitching. Press the new line of stitching, and carefully trim stitching. Press the new line of stitching, and carefully trim away the remaining hem allowance, using small, sharp away the remaining hem allowance, using small, sharp scissors and cutting right next to the second stitching scissors and cutting right next to the second stitching

Thick fabrics.

Thin fabrics.Thin fabrics.

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Size 2

Size 4

Size 6

Size 8

Size 10

Size 12

Size 14

Size 16

Buttonhole

Gusset Stitch Line

Center Back

Center Front

Size 2

Size 4

Size 6

Size 8

Size 10

Size 12

Size 14

Size 16

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NOTES:

• All patterns are size 2–16• Use tracing paper or dressmaker’s carbon paper

and tracing wheel to make a copy of your size• Some larger pattern pieces need to be pieced

together. Trace and match up on indicated line.