Colette Hawthorn Blouse: A Very Wearable Muslin

I have a limited number of lovely day-to-work shirts in my wardrobe. So, when I received the Colette Hawthorn Dress pattern from my sis and BIL (Thanks again Nat and Ben!) I knew I wanted to try out the blouse version (V1) first. I also thought making up this version would act as a muslin for a later dress as the dress is, in essence, just a bigger peplum (with many more scary buttons). My first hawthorn blouse was intended to be a wearable muslin so I made it up in some left over fabric from my Edelweiss Colette Truffle Dress.

Note: if in these photos I look like I'm sweating bullets, my shirt is all wrinkled and my hair is a frizz ball. Well, that would be because it was 41 degrees outside! Tim took these photo's at 6.45pm and it was still that hot. The day after was 25 degrees. 

Back to the top. I cut a size 4 bust, grading out to an 8 at the waist and hips. I knew the size 8 bodice would just be too long so I kept the size 4 bodice length and dart placement. I was a little intimidated cutting out all of those little collar and facing pieces. But, following the instructions was super simple. I followed them exactly except for sewing a 1/4" S/A for the collar short sides to ensure the collar met round to the blouse front as intended. I knew to do this from all of the great Hawthorn reviews before me. Speaking of which I really love Hawthorn blouse versions from Ela Sews and Miss Crayola Creepy

I ended up making this version sleeveless, after much deliberation and a unanimous Instagram vote (apparently I was the only one deliberating!). I did what I was told and it turned out great. The fit is not quite perfect, but pretty damn close. There is some excess room around my waist but that might just be from the slight stretch in the cotton. There is also some excess fabric around the sleeves near my bust and the arm holes are a little smaller than I would prefer.

Overall, I am really impressed with this top. It has a really sweet collar and peplum AND 6 buttons (I omitted the top button as I only had 6 on hand). It actually is very simple to make but all those pretty touches make it look more impressive than it is. I will give myself some credit for the button holes though. I had a this awful feeling I would get to making the button holes and end up putting it off and never finishing the blouse. I faced my fear and got on with the job and the button holes are fine. Next time, they will be even better! 

I plan to make two more versions of the blouse. One will be a sleeveless white seersucker version (already cut out) which I am planning to hack just a little bit (details to come). The other will be a short sleeved version made from a slinky white green and orange small bird print vicose from Darn Cheap Fabrics. I often get bored when sewing the same pattern up multiple time, so lets see how I get on. I have also cut out the very tempting Papercut Patterns Rigel Bomber Jacket and have a few other pieces high on my list! And I have some Liberty cord on it way from the UK. Feeling excited and overwhelmed by the amount I want to sew.