Wine Red Hybrid Blouse

When I went fabric shopping a few days ago I came upon this wine red rib knit and immediately fell in love with the color - it is so much me. I bought about 1.2 m with no particular idea for a pattern, but such fabric length is usually sufficient for a simple longsleeve for me.

However, it turned out that the fabric is narrower than the usual 1.4 m. And as it is rib knit and very plastic and fluid, I wanted something not very tailored. But not too oversized too - I have an oversized RTW rib knit sweater, which I never wear. So, after much deliberation, I decided on Plantain. It is a simple free T-shirt pattern, fitted around the bust and slightly flaring at the hips. 

Plantain has a deep scoop neck, but from the very beginning I knew I wanted screw neck and, if possible, something like a turtleneck. So I also took out my Burda #112 10/2021 turtle neck top with bishop sleeves and modeled the neck of the front after the Burda blouse. Once I cut the front and the back, I decided that I didn't actually want 3/4 sleeves, like in the Plantain. However, I did not have a long enough piece of fabric for two normal size sleeves. 

And then I got the brilliant idea to make the sleeves like in the Burda pattern - bishop sleeves with long cuffs. I drafted a new sleeve, using the upper part of the Plantain sleeve, to fit the armhole of the body, but the lower part is from the Burda pattern. I cut the sleeves as long as I could fit them on my fabric and drafted the cuffs and the neckpiece from the last remnants of the fabric. The neckpiece is twice as shorter as I would have preferred it, but that was all the fabric I was left with. In the end I was able to use up the entire piece of fabric with just the tiniest cuts and scraps left - I feel weirdly über-satisfied when I am able to do this :)

Once I assembled the blouse, I became convinced that the bishop sleeves were actually its best feature - otherwise it would have looked too plain and pedestrian. I am definitely keeping the idea in mind and I want at least one more blouse with such sleeves.

Pattern: Plantain by Deer & Doe (body) and  Burda #112 10/2021

Size: 34, shortened, modified neck and sleeves

Fabric: polycotton rib knit, 115 cm

Time to make: 2 days