Maiden Voyage into Japanese sewing... A blouse from book two

Well helllloo there all what are you up too??  I have had a busy week!!  Just started a new job  (if you follow me on instagram then you know all about it!!!) and so I've been working more that usual.  Yi Farn from japanesesewingbooks.com deciphered one of two patterns so far that I sent her.  And I tell ya, she is incredible!!!!!!

But since I needed to make a third item and I absolutely didn't want to impose any further, I decided to take the plunge and make my first thing from this book without the help of anyone. 

the inspiration

remember the "go to pose?"

I can't believe these came out over exposed as much as it did... then again we were waiting for the bus and Sephira was making me nervous in the background :-/

So luckily it came out pretty feasible... I did somethings a little different though-

first off, I did this in the smallest size which fits just fine, but I might do the next size up for the real deal (did I mention this was my muslin, haha). 

 The sleeves in particular are a couple of inches shorter than I like, but not too noticeable.  I hope.  And the wristband fits, with movement but it could stand to be a 1/2" wider.  

The ruffles were fine, but the first time I made the placket, it was about half the size as the one in the picture even though it was clearly stated only two pieces and the fold line was down the middle (not the side).  This was not the look I was trying to achieve so I decided to double it and, to me, it looks much better.  However, I don't know if this affected the collar or not but therein lies the only real other problem.... The collar stops about an inch sooner on each side than I think it should... I'll play around with that next time, but this time, I decided the look didn't bother me so much... Just not like the picture, you know?

dancin' silliness

I also didn't want to serge the edges (because I just didn't want to change the thread in it... I know, so lame right?), so I zig-zagged them instead.  BUT when it came time for the shoulder and side seams, I did French seams (see, I'm not that lazy, it so happens I prefer to do them more than change serger thread. *gasp*).  I used this super lightweight vintage cotton from my Maxine stash, so I felt French seams were totally necessary for the longevity of the blouse (and I made them super small so as to not affect the seam allowances recommended that I added in.)

Sephira in her natural state:  Spinning around in a mommy shirt inside out with an outfit underneath... as we speak she is in a regular sized long sleeved shirt and a 4T halter swimsuit.... And OMG this picture shows how incredibly crazy her teeth came in!  All on one side of her mouth lol.

that tongue... she thinks she's funny

So- it's not perfect.  I'm not perfect.  And this was my very first time and I'm mostly proud of it... that damn collar... I will tinker with that part. 

Oh!!  And did you notice those sparkly tri-colored buttons?!!  Yep!  I made em!!!!  I am a button-making machine!!!  I have a video tutorial on the new Vine app for the IPhone #buttonmaking. 

I still have to make the critters their Valentine's outfits, can you believe it, Sew Chibi turns one on the 11th!  OMG- longest year~!!!  So. Many. Clothes!  And so many friendships... Sigh*  

photobomb by a girl with a ball and a stick..,

general 'waiting for the bus' antics

Twilight play skirt from Xmas... remember;-)

Ironically, this jacket (that I had originally made for Azy but the baby insisted on it today) is what inspired me to start a new blog. huh... full circle ;-)

There is soooo much coming up so please keep on comin' back to see what's new!  

Happy February 1st everyone!!!