Finished chiffon blouse

As I said before, I made this using the burdastyle magazine Button-down blouse which is completely easy and straightforward and would probably have only taken an hour or so to sew up, had I not been using this no-rush chiffon. I shared some of the methods I picked up along the way, for cutting and sewing the chiffon which you can find here, here and here.

I look like I've just seen something nasty on the ground, but it's just one of the stupid faces I make when I'm having my picture taken.

In all, working with the chiffon was a pleasant experience and not the nightmare I had anticipated. Using the cutting and sewing techniques I learned really helped and I don't think the project would have been possible without them. I realized straight away that this was a project that simply could not be rushed; there is just no way you can manipulate the chiffon to do anything it doesn't want to do. You need to cajole it, stroke its ego and if you're lucky it can be persuaded to co-operate. It's a precious thing, this chiffon (a bit like the rose in the Little Prince by Saint Exupery - if anyone knows what I'm talking about?)

My 7 year old took these photos for me. He told me the blouse looked really nice but that it will look even better when I finish the inside and it's not sew-through anymore. I totally imagined him going on to say something like 'You're not going out dressed like that, young lady!'

I made the shirt a size up from my actual size because I wanted it to be quite drapey, and though it's perhaps slightly too large at the shoulders, it's good enough for me and I love the way it hangs. It looks nice buttoned up (I think that in the photos I left the top one or two buttons undone) and it looks nice hanging open like a jacket (which I don't have photos of). I used snaps instead of buttons to keep it simple, and in hindsight they are quite heavy and though they don't drag down the blouse too much, I might look for plastic snaps (these ones are metal) if I were to make this blouse again.

Sleeve cuff

I sewed a very thin hem on this blouse, though I was very intrigued by this article for Threads magazine and I think I'd try this method out next time.

Narrow hem

I really recommend trying out chiffon if it's something you've been thinking about, and I know I'm keen already to make another blouse like this, perhaps in a solid navy or black chiffon. If you've worked with chiffon before and have any more tips of tricks to add, there are many of us who would really appreciate it.