I started working on this blouse many years ago. I recall that it was started in my previous apartment, and that I didn't have the energy to deal with the buttonholes at the time, so I put it aside. It doesn't seem that I took many photos of the sewing process, although I can recall being irritated about the drag lines around the top-stitched portions of the garment.
This photo is my old apartment hallway, and it looks like the top-stitching was about as far as I got before packing it away, sans buttonholes, buttons, and a hem (oh, and it appears that only a single cuff was attached at this point).
Well, back in 2020, I suddenly had the urge to go through a lot of my unfinished projects, and this was one of them. Thankfully, I had packed the perfect matching buttons away with the pattern and the partially complete blouse, so I didn't have to go searching for them.
And at this point, I had a secret weapon . . . a vintage buttonholer that I found at an estate sale.
So I marked my buttonholes in thread and pulled out that Greist buttonholer.
I also found this chisel tool at a different estate sale and it is far superior to the one I purchased new. The brand new one wouldn't cut through multiple layers of fabric; I even attempted using a hammer to create enough pressure. Turns out, it wasn't me, it was the chisel. A small amount of pressure with this vintage version does the job!
Once again proving that they don't make things like they used to!
When I first complete this blouse I was unsure about the size of the collar. The pattern is from the 1950s, but that collar was reading as 1970s to me, which was not the look that I wanted.
But having worn it out quite a few times, I am now temped to make another. And maybe I will have more success with that top-stitching the next time around!
Such a pretty blouse, and I am sure you wear it with pride ! There is nothing better than wearing a project that is finally done after sitting in the unfinished pile for a few years. A new one is certainly called for !
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