Saturday, May 17, 2014

An Olive in Red Roses


Hello everyone ! I am back today with another great blogtour !

A few weeks ago, Amity from Lolita patterns contacted some members of the Curvy Sewing Collective to see if we would be interested in trying her brand new pattern: the Olive . I, of course, volunteered !

First, let's talk a little bit about Lolita patterns. Amity's designs are directed for a professional wardrobe. They are also super cute and girly. Now, they are pioneers in catering for us curvy ladies with patterns up to a 24 ! Their latest creation, the Olive is a beautiful blouse with two views. The bust piece is shaped with princess seams, a waistband and a pleated peplum is added below. There are also 3/4 sleeves.



Now, as you know, I am trying to focus on certain fabric colors for the summer. I promised Mister I would not buy anything extra but I really needed another fabric for this project. I directly thought of some pieces of a beautiful Liberty fabric I had in my stash. For the little story, I had made a maxi dress with it but I was quite disappointed with the end look (I never blogged about it). This blouse was the perfect time to finally use it !



I cut a size 16 at the shoulders and bust and graded up to a 18 at the waist. I kept the 18 for the peplum as it has quite some ease. I did not have to change anything to the fit. The princess seams fell just right and the ease in the peplum was enough to accomodate my wider lower stomach/hip line.



I chose View B because I did not have enough of my beautiful fabric for view A. And the busy print of the roses would not show the flouncy details well enough. I also added some piping along the seams of the waistband to mark the line a little bit more.



I really like this blouse. Here, I wear it with black trousers but it also works great with a pencil skirt. I wore the Olive tucked in a maxi skirt the other day and it is a great option too ! I love the hourglass shape it gives me !




My favorite details are the sleeve caps. They are very girly. I also really like the neckline facing. I made mine in a skin color lining fabric.




We took the pictures in our garden. It is now full with beautiful roses everywhere !





I will probably make the Olive again, but this time with short sleeves for the summer. I would also add a couple of centimeters to the bust pieces.

Now, if you want to see more creations, please check out the other blog tour participants ! And if you feel that this pattern is something for you, Amity offers a 15% discount during Sewing Indie Month !

Leila 13th
Carolyn 14th
Maria 15th
Ping 16th and 24th
Hannah 19th
Laurie 21st
Katrina 22nd
T 23rd

Who is planning on making an Olive?
Have you ever salvaged the fabric from a failed project?

13 comments:

  1. This is beautiful. The fabric is gorgeous and it is great that you managed to salvage such a cute top from it. Definitely going to check this out as I need to sew smart things for work. Thanks for sharing this. Can't wait to see the others. x

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  2. Beautiful fabric and beautiful pattern! I really like the pleated peplum. And the colours are beautiful on you.

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  3. That is gorgeous on you! I am a late convert to peplums but at the right spot they are great for all sorts of tummy covering :) fab fabric too - I'm sure you'll get a lot is wear from it

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  4. Gorgeous blouse! It looks great on you.

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  5. Love the fabric and the peplum!

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  6. Very cute - I have a very similar body type to you and I don't know that I would have tried this for myself, but I love the way it turned out! Just found your blog from Pinterest and can't wait to look around some more.

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  7. This is such a gorgeous make. I love your work. Just gorgeous.

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  8. I love how this turned out! And I am so excited it fit so well without alterations. The black and the red roses look dynamite together!

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  9. This looks amazing! I love a rose print and the colour on this is divine.

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  10. hi L. Nice blouse, especially the sleeves. They look so even and not lumpy. Is there anyway you can blog about putting in sleeves smoothly. I have such a issue with putting in sleeves, makes me a mad woman…..It will so appreciated……Thanks P

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  11. this is so nice, it compliments you.
    i would like to ask how how you graded it? i have seen tutorials on grading that do not flatter my body type (am an apple), most tuts i have seen are for grading a smaller waist to fit a wide hip. if you have any tips or links, i would appreciate, thanks.

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  12. This is so pretty! Must visit Lolita patterns now!

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