The Norma blouse

Recently I’ve been really enjoying receiving my Fibremood magazine. I’m going to cancel my Burda subscription, I get so much more out of Fibremood. They just seem a lot more relevant and inspiring.

They’ve also nailed social media too, there’s always a reader’s make popping up on my feed.

Tracing the patterns off is really no massive effort from the Fibremood magazine and a lot less off putting than the Burda ones. The pattern sheets are definitely clearer. You do have to add seam allowance but I think the individual pdf patterns, which you can buy separately, come with allowance.

You can either buy the seasonal book at £15.00 (with roughly 10 adult patterns and further children’s patterns) or the patterns individually. Either way I find them very good value for money. As a pdf this blouse is £8.00 purchased from Foldline

I’ve made 2 items from Fibremood thus far. I’ve never made a Burda magazine pattern!! . This is the Norma blouse from book 9.

It features lavish three-quarter length balloon sleeves are full at the shoulders, have puffed wrists and gathered seams.

A very much ‘going out’ type blouse rather than ‘working from home’, which is my life right now, but one can dream!

Those of you that know the pattern will recognise that I’ve made a few changes, or more like ‘additions’. Not that there was anything wrong with the pattern. I made up a size 38, straight up with no modifications to the fit except lengthening the bodice by 2.5 inches. I could see on Instagram that it was rather cropped. I was concerned about the lack of bust darts, but I shouldn’t have been.

So, due to the sheerness of this dobbie sheer polysomething, I lined the bodice section. I did away with the facing, replacing it with the lining which I sewed to the neckline, exactly as you would if you were using the facing pieces. I did cut out the facing interfacing and applied it to the lining and it worked well. Then I did nothing more than treat the top layer and old soft cotton bed sheet lining layer as one piece.

I’ve also extended the arms to be wrist length. I just continued the same sleeve width at the pattern’s 3/4 sleeve length by 7 inches. I made the cuff narrower, so I could just get my hand through and so the cuff just settled around my wrist without falling over my hand. To keep my sleeves out of my dinner!

I also added the tie which I sandwiched onto the shoulder seem. This helps with modesty as the ‘v’ is verging on the low side!

The sheer fabric came at a very reasonable price from Lucky Fashions in Dewsbury. I thought it would be a right pig to sew but was actually better behaved than, say a viscose.

I thought french seams would be necessary for the seams, to keep them looking neat from the outside. But the fabric frayed badly, so I sewed them and then just overlocked them. From the outside you can’t actually tell that I didn’t use french seams, which is something to note for the future!

I’ve made the blouse up (excluding the pattern) for less than a tenner. I think it passes for something a lot more expensive!!

And quite coincidently, Fibremood are running a #Normahack challenge right now, so this is timed perfectly!

Love, those sleeves!!

Love, Lucie xx