Wheee! Pocket detail

I’ve finished my 5th version of the Simplicity 2599 blouse. This is my go-to pattern when I just want to make something really straightforward, usually to wear with jeans. There’s nothing complex about it, but I like its simplicity, if you’ll forgive the pun. It’s perfect for chucking together a top for those days when you’re just bumming around at home. But this time I did add a patch pocket detail, following instructions from page 235 of the Reader’s Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing. I even added that crazy notion! Wow, have you worked with this stuff? It makes you go cross-eyed when sewing. And learn from my mistakes: use a cool iron when pressing something that is purely synthetic.

Here’s a photo of me wearing the finished blouse with one of my galloping sunflowers:

You can squeeze this blouse out of one metre of fabric, which means this cost me £5. I think the patch pockets rescue this blouse. Without it, we’d be staring at a very large check print behind which stands a woman.

What I enjoy about simple projects is the opportunity to concentrate on an excellent finish. Because I’m not being too challenged in the composition I can find the head room to make the details as good as they can be. So French seams and a bias binding on the facing are the order of the day:

Interior shot

Tomorrow I pick up my fabrics for the next Simplicity 2512 from the dry cleaners. Can you believe how good I’ve been? I’ve had that wool and lining fabric dry cleaned before I start sewing. This flies in the face of my instinctive desire to rush straight in. Am I becoming sensible in my old age?