Arya Cat of the Canals – Part 1 Blouse and Bolero – Butterick B5008, Simplicity 8462
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You may remember that a few years ago my department at work did Game of Thrones for Halloween. I did Margaery Tyrell.
Well. The new employees since the move to Colorado found those photos, and wanted to do it again. So we did! And those of us who did it last time all chose different characters for round 2. I did Arya, in her Cat of the Canals outfit.
Blouse
For the blouse, I used Butterick B5008, view A, out of a natural cotton muslin that I had hanging around. I made several modifications including shortening the whole thing by about 9 inches. I used one of my work blouses to set the length – just long enough to be tucked in.
I left off the ties and opening at the wrists. Instead I did a narrow binding, making it just big enough around to get my hand through.The ties at the neck were both moved down, one to the bottom of the V opening and the other to the join between the shirt and the collar. I also tied the bottom one, so it made it look like it is holding the opening closed. The original actually has another tie further down, but since this pattern doesn’t have a seam down the front, I thought another faux tie would look a bit silly.
I originally did the collar per the pattern, but then decided it was too wide. So I unpicked it, turned it back the wrong way out,and restitched the top of the seam another half an inch in. I’m so glad I did! It looks much better.
I didn’t have enough fabric for the sleeves, so I pleated the pattern in to make it narrower until it fitted. Since these sleeves are gathered at the wrist and armhole it made no difference except to make the sleeves slightly less full.
Once finished, I washed it and hung it up to dry, to give it a lived in sort of look. This also caused the collar to bend and hang where it was pulled by the ties which added nicely to the effect.
Bolero
The bolero was a challenge. I could not find a basic bolero pattern with long or ¾ sleeves. In the end, I used a pattern that I’d actually bought for an entirely different project: a 1940’s vintage separates pattern, Simplicity 8462. By using just the bolero lining pieces, I got exactly the right shape without having to redraft it.
The sleeves were another story. I cut the basic ¾ sleeve shape, then took some bites out of it on either side at the top. I cut an extra piece for the cap. I hemmed all the free edges before assembling. To assemble it, I basted the caps to the narrow bit left at the top of the main sleeves,then did the underarm seams of the sleeves, and then put the sleeves into the armholes. They are sewn along the cap section, and just an inch or so at the underarm/side seam. The rest is open.
The fabric is a horrendous brownish/orangeish home dec monstrosity that I found on the red tag table, and it is lined with more of the cotton muslin that the blouse is made of.
Below is the review for the blouse pattern. A review for the whole 1940s pattern is coming soon.
Pattern
Butterick B5008, view A.
Description
Unisex Historical(ish) blouse
Difficulty
Confident beginner – you’ve made a few things and even wear them! You know how to use interfacing, press a seam, clip a curve and make darts.
Fabric and Trim
Main: Natural cotton muslin
Instructions
This is a nice easy pattern, bearing in mind that I didn’t do the sleeve cuffs or fancy collar. The mandarin collar is fairly easy,as long as you go slowly. Otherwise the edge of the shirt and the edge of the collar may not line up properly.
Alterations
Shortened length by 9 inches, shortened collar height by half an inch, replace sleeve cuff with narrow binding, moved front ties down.
Conclusions
This is an excellent all-purpose blouse for various faire/poet/fantasy type outfits. It goes together well and is easy to modify.
