Things have been busy at la maison PhysicsGirl. We're all moved in and (mostly) unpacked. The new apartment is amazing. There is so much light and space. And kittens.
Note: the kittens did not come with the apartment. I miss my Lucy a lot and she was irreplaceable, but we had a big spot in our hearts for kitties that needed to be filled. Meet Hector (the gentleman with the white mask) and Cassie (the elegant lady in grey). Follow me on Instagram (@aem2_) if you want to be utterly spammed with kitten pix.We got them just over a week ago from Toronto Cat Rescue and they've already wormed their way into our hearts.
Before we could let them worm their way into the apartment, however, I needed to get the sewing room/study unpacked. It was fantastic impetus to get it done. As was the @SewWeekly The White Stuff challenge. Which means I have finally checked off something from my #2017makenine list: a white Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde blouse*.
Now, you may be saying to yourself: hey, that is a green top as well as a white one. Well observed! I made the green sheer top a year and half ago, didn't take proper pictures until we went to the Aga Khan Museum for our anniversary last fall, and never got around to blogging it. Since I used almost the same techniques for both, I'll talk about them together.
I finished the green in May 2016. It's a very sheer poly-something from Affordable Textiles that does not press at all nicely but it has a beautiful drape, which means the top doesn't look frumpy when worn untucked. It's too sheer for me to feel comfortable wearing to school with a camisole, despite the strategically-placed pintucks, but it has become my go-to I-want-to-make-jeans-look-dressy-oh-and-it's-a-bit-chilly top.
The white version is more of a translucent cotton from Textiles on King. I think I'll be fine wearing this at school. Being cotton, it pressed like a dream, but its crispness means it has no drape. I think it looks a little frumpy untucked, but we'll see if it softens up after washing.
I used black interfacing for the buttonbands and cuffs on the green blouse and regular white on the other. As with my first Mathilde, I ignored the puff at the top of the sleeve and only put in six buttons. For these versions, I French-seamed everywhere I could, left off the facings, and finished the neckline with a picot hem, which I really like for sheer fabrics, primarily because I don't trust myself to do a neat bias-binding finish. Because of its opposite-of-affinity for pressing, I also hemmed the green using picot, although I rolled it to the inside to avoid ickiness at the tucks.
To do this neckline, I changed the order of operations somewhat. I trimmed the neckline to 3/8" from the seamline, then pressed over the outside 1/4" of the button band. Then I clipped the fold between the inner and outer button band and folded down the top 3/8" of the inner button band. I then folded it right-side out and stitched the picot so the inner button band was caught in the zigzag. I have no idea if that makes any sense, but hopefully the picture below will be worth those 50 or so words.
For the white version, I used these lovely vintage buttons I picked up at the Aberfoyle antique market four years ago. They've been waiting all this time for a nice white blouse to dress up. The green's buttons were acquired in the Great Clean-Out of '15 and chosen with the help of the internet: I went with #2.
So ta-da. I sewed the white version while listening to S-Town (finally) and the new Love To Sew podcasts -- and can I just say that I adore the theme music for LTS? The sewing room has officially been broken in, and I have a lovely new top. Perhaps I will finally crack on and make those much-needed jeans...
Also? It turns out that Cassie likes to "help" me sew...
*Segue much?
Note: the kittens did not come with the apartment. I miss my Lucy a lot and she was irreplaceable, but we had a big spot in our hearts for kitties that needed to be filled. Meet Hector (the gentleman with the white mask) and Cassie (the elegant lady in grey). Follow me on Instagram (@aem2_) if you want to be utterly spammed with kitten pix.We got them just over a week ago from Toronto Cat Rescue and they've already wormed their way into our hearts.
Before we could let them worm their way into the apartment, however, I needed to get the sewing room/study unpacked. It was fantastic impetus to get it done. As was the @SewWeekly The White Stuff challenge. Which means I have finally checked off something from my #2017makenine list: a white Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde blouse*.
Now, you may be saying to yourself: hey, that is a green top as well as a white one. Well observed! I made the green sheer top a year and half ago, didn't take proper pictures until we went to the Aga Khan Museum for our anniversary last fall, and never got around to blogging it. Since I used almost the same techniques for both, I'll talk about them together.
I finished the green in May 2016. It's a very sheer poly-something from Affordable Textiles that does not press at all nicely but it has a beautiful drape, which means the top doesn't look frumpy when worn untucked. It's too sheer for me to feel comfortable wearing to school with a camisole, despite the strategically-placed pintucks, but it has become my go-to I-want-to-make-jeans-look-dressy-oh-and-it's-a-bit-chilly top.
The white version is more of a translucent cotton from Textiles on King. I think I'll be fine wearing this at school. Being cotton, it pressed like a dream, but its crispness means it has no drape. I think it looks a little frumpy untucked, but we'll see if it softens up after washing.
I used black interfacing for the buttonbands and cuffs on the green blouse and regular white on the other. As with my first Mathilde, I ignored the puff at the top of the sleeve and only put in six buttons. For these versions, I French-seamed everywhere I could, left off the facings, and finished the neckline with a picot hem, which I really like for sheer fabrics, primarily because I don't trust myself to do a neat bias-binding finish. Because of its opposite-of-affinity for pressing, I also hemmed the green using picot, although I rolled it to the inside to avoid ickiness at the tucks.
To do this neckline, I changed the order of operations somewhat. I trimmed the neckline to 3/8" from the seamline, then pressed over the outside 1/4" of the button band. Then I clipped the fold between the inner and outer button band and folded down the top 3/8" of the inner button band. I then folded it right-side out and stitched the picot so the inner button band was caught in the zigzag. I have no idea if that makes any sense, but hopefully the picture below will be worth those 50 or so words.
For the white version, I used these lovely vintage buttons I picked up at the Aberfoyle antique market four years ago. They've been waiting all this time for a nice white blouse to dress up. The green's buttons were acquired in the Great Clean-Out of '15 and chosen with the help of the internet: I went with #2.
So ta-da. I sewed the white version while listening to S-Town (finally) and the new Love To Sew podcasts -- and can I just say that I adore the theme music for LTS? The sewing room has officially been broken in, and I have a lovely new top. Perhaps I will finally crack on and make those much-needed jeans...
Also? It turns out that Cassie likes to "help" me sew...
*Segue much?
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