Vintage Polka Dot Blouse by Simple Simon & Co.

Hi everyone.  I am Elizabeth, one half of the duo of sisters-in-law at Simple Simon & Co.  I am excited to be here today….at Project Polka-Dot….because if there is a type of fabric we both love, it’s the polka-dot.

Another thing we love at Simple Simon is Vintage Patterns!  We can’t get enough of them.  So I knew that the combination of a vintage pattern and polka-dots would be just the thing.

I had fun going through my vintage stash to find one that suited the polka-dot perfectly and when I came across this one, saw the blue shirt on the right—I knew it was the perfect combination.  I loved the collar on the shirt (I am a sucker for anything with a vintagesque collar) and so I was set off to sew it up.

(One tip about vintage patterns–make sure to check your size with the measurements carefully—-the sizes were considerably different than today’s sizes.)

The thing I missed (when I didn’t read the pattern more carefully) was that it was a maternity pattern, which I didn’t catch until I had the pieces ready to cut and finally noticed that the shirt front and back where making pretty wide A-lines instead of the nice straight shirt I saw on the cover.

Luckily I caught my mistake before I cut so I remedied it by taking both the front and back pattern sides back to a straight line and then I was off to sew it up…..

And here is the final result.  See that awesome collar…..I seriously love it.

The fabric was a rayon-polyester blend that I picked up at in LA at the Fashion District last Spring, and it had a great drape.

And while you are thinking it…..yes, while Little-Miss-Faux-Dressform and I have almost the same size shoulders, we unfortunately do NOT have the same size waist….so those gaps on the waist….well they fit in real life.  (And the belt, well it hasn’t seen that hole in…um…..ever 😉

But I love the blouse, it fits well.  I actually prefer one-size vintage patterns for that reason.  When you get them to meet your measurements, they do fit great.  Other than pulling the sides back from the wide A-lines for the maternity belly back to a straight line, I didn’t change a thing.

At Simple Simon & Co we did do a post on tips for sewing vintage patterns (like measuring your “high-bust” instead of the real bust) as well as how to measure yourself if you want to check those out.

And if you learn anything from the yellow-polka-dotted shirt…it’s to not be scared to try a vintage pattern.  They really are awesome!

Thanks Melissa.  You know we adore you….. so wished we lived closer!

~Elizabeth

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Thank you so much Elizabeth!  You’ve inspired me to sew for myself more!  I want to steal this blouse!!

If you haven’t already make sure you check out Simple Simon & Co and Project Run and Play ! Elizabeth and Liz have some MAD sewing skills!  I was first introduced to their work when I met them at a Riley Blake Designs meet up last January in Utah.  I loved chatting with them. They are beautiful girls that joke that there are no photos of them online… well I took one when I was with them, and hold it “hostage” one day maybe I’ll have to post it *wink*…