I’ve been talking about the Pendrell sewing pattern for a really long time. I might have been one of the firsts who bought it during its pre-sales but might very well be one of the last to actually start on the pattern. Hence, even though it is now completed, it will still be named the NATO- No Action Talk Only Pendrell Blouse. It shall serve as a reminder to myself.
It’s one of those projects that was postponed time and again for many reasons and was the last UFO (unfinished objects) in my sewing room. Yay! I’m now UFOs free! Here’s the blouse in black/white/ grey/ beige leopard print knit. As you might know, I fell in love with animal prints since the Never Say Never Dress and have a couple more in my stash waiting to be cut.
I chose to work on variation A mostly because I thought it went best with the animal print. And I just love pairing it with my Retro Dots Bella Jeans! If I can find time, I would love to work on a black lace version with variation B.
Fabric placement was something I pondered about while cutting the fabric. I tried my best to put the small spots around the waist area and the bigger spots around the bust and hip area and it seemed to have worked quite well. I also tried to match some spots across the princess seams and did spend quite a bit of time cutting the fabric piece by piece. As I used a rather stretchy knit fabric, I did have to take in quite a bit at the side seams but I’m sure it will fit much better from the start with a woven fabric.
I really adore the pleated sleeves and the princess seams. This is a really well conceived pattern and the fastest I’ve even sewn for any princess seam top. With the pattern cut in advance, it only took me around 2 hours to get the blouse done and honestly it was pretty gratifying to sew! Instructions are flawless, concise and clear.
The blouse is quite long and hence pretty versatile, it can also be worn with belt or just over leggings. I can’t wait to wear it out tomorrow and I’m so glad I got this done before the end of MMM2011! Yay!
The Sew Convert 