Sencha blouse - The Construction

Colette Sencha Pattern in a gorgeous blouse pattern and I was immediately drawn to the keyhole version, as my fabric was very simple. I made a muslin for this as usually patterns are to big for me in the bodice and was pleasantly surprised as the fit was very good. The shoulders fit perfectly well, the waist was nice and snug without being tight and the bust part was ok. Not snug, but then the pattern is not meant to be snug at the bodice anyway. But somehow my final garment is not as well fitted as my muslin. I either made some mistake cutting (possible as fabric is slippery) or the fabric itself gave a different fit to it. It's not as snug at the waist and the back is very loose. With a belt I get round it but without it just hangs there.

I had the idea of using lace for this project as well, to add an extra especial touch and to "connect" with my Ginger. I originally constructed the ties pieces like the waistband. The main fabric in lower layer and lace on top. But the time came to use a easy loop turner and it was impossible to turn such thing. After a couple of frustrating hours I decided to do the ties in lace only with the downside that they are too fragile and I have to be careful not to pull them strongly (which has actually happened tonight). I also struggled to turn the facing and make it fall flat. It doesn't really, can you see all the bunching in photo below?

The pattern suggests using a catchstich invisibly and I couldn't, for the life of me, figure how to do it invisibly. It was my first time doing this hand stitch type and I followed this tutorial . The result is pretty but not invisible. Was I suppose to catchstick inside the facing?

For the back opening facing I decided to slipstich as it renders as invisible result but...not that invisible on the outside. I think due to fabric type. How do you manage invisible stitching on complicated fabrics? Can you truly render them invisible?

The buttonholes and buttons went smoothly, which was a relief, taken in consideration previous experiences. I fell in love with the leopard buttons and had to have them

Alteration to pattern instructions included finishing hem with bias binding. I quite like the contrast!

Have you done a Sencha? What are your experiences and what were your frustrations, if any? 

It's a Ginger party...and Sencha is invited too!

Head over to the Ginger party at A Fashionable Stitch to see the array of gorgeousness done by Sunni's sew alongers.
I also joined the bandwagon and did a Ginger. But the thought of modelling it on its own depressed me so after winning a Colette Sencha pattern in a giveaway by the lovely Ashley I decided to make one to go with it. And the below is the result!

There was drama in parts and not all went according to plan or smoothly enough, but in the next few days I will share some construction process in a separate post for each piece.