Review: McCall's m5929, View A - Preppy Tailored Blouse

Tailored blouse patterns are scarce these days, so I pulled out this classic pattern from my collection to give a try! This blouse combines the femininity of frills and puff sleeves with a traditionally masculine plaid print.

Pattern: McCall's 5929; Fabric: Plaid Cotton (thrifted); Skirt: Just Jeans; Shoes: Fordham, Miz Mooz. 

What to love about this pattern 

Back in the day, I loved those college girl plaid blouses. This pattern gives the plaid blouse an upgrade. It's nicely tailored and has cute frills and sleeves. This was the first pattern that I tried to match plaid. The matching isn't perfect, but the stripes are aligned for the side seam and the front opening. I learnt so much about matching plaids!

What I don't like about this pattern 

Great pattern, but I wish it came with more alternative design details so that I can use it more.

Changes that I made 

I used a rolled overlocking hem on the frills. I love how it creates a neat sewn edge and makes the frills extra wavy. I also have a tip for making the outer frill. The pattern describes laying the outer frill directly into place and top-stitching over the top. This leaves a gnarly raw edge, so I sewed another seam about 5 mm (2/8") away to make two parallel seams. I then trimmed away the seam allowance very close the to the seam.

What I could have done better 

I need to work on my plaid alignments. Unfortunately, tailoring this blouse at the waist threw off the alignment. I tried aligning the plaid at the bottom of the side seams and the front. In retrospect, it would have been better to align the plaid at the shoulders because these won't be adjusted.

The images for the collar show it pretty much against the skin and a small peep of skin at the v-neck. I found that the collar was much more open and the V-neck shows some skin. Honestly, I like this look! Along with the frills it creates the illusion of a bigger bust. To avoid this I suggest using a strong interfacing to make a stiffer collar than I did and maybe add an extra top button.

Difficulty 

I would consider this pattern a low average difficulty since it has buttonholes and the frill takes some time to place properly. If you're confident with buttonholes then by all means give this a go!

The Verdict 

This blouse was a fun fashion experiment. I learnt so much about aligning plaid and I promise I'll do prints more justice next time. The design won't be everyone's cup of tea but the tailoring is quite good and creates a very flattering shape.

• Instruction Clarity: 4.5/5. The instructions for sewing the outermost frills could have been better, otherwise they were quite descriptive.
• Fit: 4/5. I took in the waist a little. Generally this pattern is a great fit at the bust and hips.
• Design Elegance: 5/5. The design is fun and cute. It reminds me of the 1940's working girl style.
• Final Product: 5/5. Great casual blouse pattern.
• Overall: 4.6/5.