I made this up in cotton velveteen with the detachable lace collar and an altered sleeve using the leg-of-mutton upper sleeve and adding deep bell cuffs to the lower sleeve. As Ann Helgeson (review below) notes, the sleeve stay is definitely necessary for any of the leg-of-mutton sleeves. My fabric has a fair amount of body to it, but it still doesn’t hold the puff as nicely as I would like. I I were to do it again, I’d probably stuff the upper sleeve with net. The detachable collar didn’t come out looking quite as nicely tiered as the pattern illustration would suggest; the two tiers are the same length. For a more defined look to the tiers, I might make the lower one a bit longer and gather it to the upper tier. The directions were clear; the pattern went together smoothly and the blouse looks very nice. Pictured at right.
Rated 4 out of 5
Ann Helgeson –
I haven’t sewn anything more complicated than curtain in years, but these two patterns were relatively easy. The shirtwaist was easy, although the directions were confusing about what step should be followed for views A, B, C, etc. The sleeve stay was a complete mystery. It was unclear from the directions whether it was even needed in View A. I almost left it out which would have caused a really droopy mutton chop sleeve. I added a lace collar around the bottom of the neckband from trim on an old dress found in a thrift shop.
Rated 4 out of 5
Leigh Ann Hildebrand –
Easy to put together. The upper sleeve puffs collapse easily if the fabric isn’t very stiff because they have no internal support other than the upper sleeve lining.
Maura Burns –
I made this up in cotton velveteen with the detachable lace collar and an altered sleeve using the leg-of-mutton upper sleeve and adding deep bell cuffs to the lower sleeve. As Ann Helgeson (review below) notes, the sleeve stay is definitely necessary for any of the leg-of-mutton sleeves. My fabric has a fair amount of body to it, but it still doesn’t hold the puff as nicely as I would like. I I were to do it again, I’d probably stuff the upper sleeve with net. The detachable collar didn’t come out looking quite as nicely tiered as the pattern illustration would suggest; the two tiers are the same length. For a more defined look to the tiers, I might make the lower one a bit longer and gather it to the upper tier. The directions were clear; the pattern went together smoothly and the blouse looks very nice. Pictured at right.
Ann Helgeson –
I haven’t sewn anything more complicated than curtain in years, but these two patterns were relatively easy. The shirtwaist was easy, although the directions were confusing about what step should be followed for views A, B, C, etc. The sleeve stay was a complete mystery. It was unclear from the directions whether it was even needed in View A. I almost left it out which would have caused a really droopy mutton chop sleeve. I added a lace collar around the bottom of the neckband from trim on an old dress found in a thrift shop.
Leigh Ann Hildebrand –
Easy to put together. The upper sleeve puffs collapse easily if the fabric isn’t very stiff because they have no internal support other than the upper sleeve lining.