Every now and then I pull certain patterns from my stash and ask them serious questions. “Why did I buy you?  I know that you’re a cute design and pretty style, and I’ve seen you look great on many people, but why did I buy you for ME? Why did I buy you when I would need to make so many alterations for you to fit my body shape? And even when you eventually fit me you probably won’t flatter me or work with my other clothes?”

Now I know the answer.

Somewhere in the back of my mind when I clicked on that purchase button, a voice was whispering “I won’t look good on you – but I will look FANTASTIC on Freya”.

My lovely cousin Freya just had her birthday, and I made her not one, but two new garments! The first of these is the Sewaholic Pendrell blouse. I sewed view A. The description of the Pendrell is as follows:

The Pendrell blouse is a feminine semi-fitted top. Your choice of unique draped sleeves, flirty double ruffles or a classic sleeveless shell. A great addition to your wardrobe!

This blouse is designed with a pear-shaped figure in mind. Ruffles or sleeves add dimension at the shoulders, which balances out wider hips so they appear slim in comparison! Sizing is proportioned for a pear-shaped figure: smaller bust and waist, larger hips.

For View A, the draped sleeve is self-lined, so the pleats hang softly and there’s no hemming required. Both ruffles on View B are cut on the fold as well. Extra-long length in the body of the blouse makes it easy to tuck into skirts and pants comfortably. Princess seams elongate and flatter the body. Also, there is no closure! I wanted to have the best fit possible while eliminating zippers and buttons to keep it easy.

Freya’s measurements were perfectly aligned with size 10, so that is what I cut out and sewed. I made absolutely no changes, as I didn’t have her available for fitting and I wanted it to be a surprise. The fabric is a beautiful designer cotton that came my way via Anna, and it looks wonderful with jeans. Some close ups taken in artificial light on Ada (whose measurements had to be dialled down significantly from mine to make this fit) show the details a little more.

I really enjoyed making those self-lined sleeves. They are inserted in the front and back princess seams, and were actually quite simple to construct. There is a sewalong for this blouse, for anyone interested, but I didn’t refer to it at all. Construction was done on the sewing machine, but I finished edges on the overlocker. I wanted to be able to make alterations easily if need be, and sewing the seams on the machine gave some more flexibility. But I needn’t have worried.

The neckline and armscyes are bound with a bias strip applied like a facing, pretty much in the same manner that Tessuti uses in their Lily and Eva dresses. It is quite straightforward and gives a lovely finish. The fabric was also a dream to sew and to press.

Less blurry modelled shots would have been preferable, but I have to work with what I have! I’ll use this pattern again for Freya. I’d quite like to sew up the view with the ruffles. Overall, I think that this is an excellent pattern, with clear instructions and perfect drafting for Freya’s shape. Hooray!