I started the year feeling inspired by my needs and focused on creating a comprehensive list of the clothing items I needed the most.
Upon reviewing my list, I concluded that this year, I would sew many blouses.

Because I decided to no longer seek inspiration on Instagram, I created a new account on Pinterest and tried to establish a new habit, forcing myself to find inspiration there. Saving a couple of pins, I quickly realized that my first blouse would feature cute, long, puffy sleeves and a huge collar.

In terms of fabric, as I experimented with a new self-drafted pattern, I used the same piece that was once a beautiful single duvet cover I procured from Jysk many years ago. I couldn’t use it for my bed because its floral print was begging to be transformed into something else.

Did you know that the cheapest way to obtain good quality 100% cotton is to buy a duvet cover?

The price can be even lower if the duvet is bought on sale or from a second-hand shop. A single duvet often measures 140 cm in width and 200 cm in length, and that amount of fabric is doubled because it resembles an envelope. Of course, we can lose a bit because of its seams, but it is still a substantial amount of fabric.

first project

My first project was to test the camp-collared shirt from the Samford set that was featured in issue 57 of Peppermint magazine. At that time, I was very into big and flowy blouses, perfect for the summer, and I needed to test the pattern to check the fit and cut into my broderie anglaise, a small piece of fabric that I found in a local second-hand shop. I didn’t want to ruin the fabric, so I made a test mockup, and after that, I committed.

Samford set

second project

The second blouse was, again, a pattern that needed testing. A few months ago, I desperately needed a formal shirt for some upcoming interviews. Because I had an old shirt from my last workplace and my self-esteem was very low, I started unpicking all the seams and uncovering a new pattern to duplicate it.

Tip: If you have an old blouse or a clothing item you loved to death, don’t throw it out. Just unpick the seams and use the pieces as a new pattern to duplicate it.

third project

Finally, the last project made out of that fabric was the blouse I made this year. As my inspiration was centred around big collars and I was late to the trend, I drafted a new pattern and played slightly with the collar options. I came up with this idea, and probably I will write a new blog post and explain in-depth how to make an oversized collar for any type of blouse you want.