Finished - DIY melony pussy bow Ottobre goodness

Remember ages ago, when I went through my 1 year of Ottobre Design Woman subscription, and was a little bit underwhelmed by (but still faintly hopeful for) the snazziness of the designs? I've finally gotten around to making one of them, using a basic kimono sleeve shirt pattern (yay for kimono sleeves - no sleeve setting!) to have a crack at a DIY pussy bow neckline.



I've been yearning for a tie-neck blouse for ages, but have been a bit too cheap sensibly thrifty to buy a pattern - I've wavered between making a bound keyhole neckline vs a traditional shirt neckline and ended up with the latter for this experiment. After looking at some other patterns and some RTW blouses I figured I'd probably be ok if I just made a really long tie piece, and attach it like a standard neck binding, leaving the ends long to tie - worked a treat! I had it in my head that not only would I try the pussy bow neck tie, I would also make it sleeveless and maybe have a concealed button placket, but I came to my senses over mucking around with the placket on this one....

I used the rather randomly named Triangle pattern, from Spring/Summer 2/2013:


I cut a size 34 based on my bust measurement, but like my Tyler shirt (another European pattern....hmmmm) it was way way to tight across my bust, and I had to do some fairly funky readjustment with the button stand to be able to close in a decent manner over my chest. I trimmed a triangle off each sleeve to make it more of a sleeveless shirt for summer - I probably didn't take quite enough off and am in that slightly unflattering cap sleeve length where it chops me off right at my bingo-wing, but it's ok. It fits fine everywhere else.


The pattern, as you can see, is very simple - a bust dart and a shoulder dart in the back, for a nice relaxed fit.

The fabric is a glorious coral-melon silk-cotton blend I found in the remnant bin at Darn Cheap Fabrics for about $6 - total bargain. In previous makes where i have used silk-cotton I have found the seams tend to pucker a little - after some reading this time I tried reducing my stitch length from my standard 2.5 down to 2 and it worked a treat! It is quite sheer, but I do have a bra that is almost the same colour, so I'm not too worried about looking indecent.

I've used some lovely vintage buttons that I forgot to get a decent close up on, and my Husky behaved well with the button holes thank goodness. She's been a bit of a bitch lately on buttonholes (maybe she needs a service but the idea of having her out of the house fills me with panic!) but was quite good on this delicate fabric.

I always planned to wear this tucked in more often than not - it'll be fine for my more high waisted skirts and shorts:


I can see in the picks some diagonal pulling but I think thats just from my dodgy quick tuck-in without a mirror. It doesn't look like this IRL!

So thats another box ticked for my summer wardrobe. Despite all my faffing with this pattern I'm happy with how it has worked out - I do love a neck tie!









Comments

  1. I'm a little crazy about bows. I love them! This shirt is gorgeous and I love the colour as well!

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    1. Thanks! For a bit of an experiment it's turned out pretty well!

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  2. I just love this.. but me too.. I'm a sucker for a bow.

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    1. Thanks Kirsty! I love your salme blouse! I hope I get lots of wear out of this!

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  3. Ahh! That's just gorgeous! Who doesn't love a bow?

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  4. Oh god that triangle shirt thing is so typically Ottobre isn't it? I also did the one year subscription (bundled with the kids one) and have yet to make anything. Underwhelmed is an understatement. But you have vision! You go girl, this rocks! I love a pussy bow tie shirt as well and you have improvised so cleverly here. It's a gorgeous colour and looks wonderful on you. Now go get that sewing machine serviced, you have a new hobby (knitting) to keep you occupied for a week!

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    1. Thanks for the pep talk Jillian! I really must get her serviced! I'm dragging my knitting heels though - promised my husband I'd knit him a kombi softie, and I've bought the most vile acrylic yarn.... It's nasty shit I tell you!

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  5. I think you may have just made the definitive Perfect Summer Blouse! Fabric, colour, fit....it's all just beautiful. And for what it's worth, I also think your version is about 1000% nicer than the original...

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  6. Beautiful color, you've achieved a very nice fit and I think the bit of cap sleeve left is quite pretty. I assumed at first you had used this pattern: "Perugia" blouse
    But more impressive that you made your own modifications
    Ultimately my favorite pieces from this issue are the two knit t-shirts, I found them both very flattering and wore them a lot last summer (no use to me at the moment).

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    1. Wow it would have been the perfect pattern! Haha! How funny! Glad to hear you have made other ottobre patterns, there's not a heap out there in the blogosphere about them - I think because they're a bit daggy with the styling.....

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  7. darling! and what a great, happy color!

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    1. Thanks so much meg - you're right it is a happy colour!

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  8. Gorgeous! I love the colour, and the sleeve length looks ok to me. Lovely!

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  9. Thanks Helen! Love your sequinned Scout and congrats on the impending new bebe!

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  10. I love it! I also have a bow-tie shirt on "My projects" list, but don't know actually when I'm going to make it... a lot of different other projects going on at the moment.
    I also love the colour, I'd definitely pick it for me, too! :)

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    1. Thanks Mary - look forward to seeing yours when you get it done! :)

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  11. Oooh, I really like this one: the colour is lovely and the fit looks spot (I must confess I never heard the expression "bingo-wing", it cracked me up!) but what I like the most is how adventurous you were with your pattern hacking and what good results you got - you go girl!

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    1. Haha thanks Andrea! I was going to call them my 'fa-doobada's' but realised that that particular term came from an Australian sit com called Kath and Kim and the reference might have been lost in translation......

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  12. It turned out really well. It looks like it fits great, which is majorly important.The construction of the tie looks pretty nifty as well.

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    1. Thanks Megan! Yeah I was pretty happy with it considering I winged it a bit! :)

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