Pauline Alice, Coeli Blouse

 

This week I’m breezing in in my latest make, it’s the Pauline Alice – Coeli Blouse made in a light cotton voile from Minerva Crafts. Perhaps a little early in the year to be wearing such a billowy top but I’ve been waiting to make this since it came out and perhaps by wearing it I will beckon in more spring-like weather?

If anyone could see the contents of my wardrobe they’d see that I am quite the sucker for a white shirt. They’re just so easy to wear, it can be smart, it can be casual, but either way, it’s effortlessly cool. There are some very pretty details to this specific blouse which I am particularly fond of such as the oversized sleeves, mandarin collar, and the cute little ties to close the back, not to mention the pleats!

The fit is perfect but that’s not difficult to achieve as it’s not a fitted silhouette. It took a little longer to make than other shirts I’ve made due to the extra details: pleats, gathering, French seams, and button loops as opposed to buttonholes. The instructions in the pattern were, at times, not 100% clear and I had to really follow them to a ‘T’ to make sure I understood it correctly. I would say this is an intermediate make due to those extra details.

I was pleased that there wasn’t any easing required in this make: the sleeves are dropped and gathered and the collar fit perfectly to the neckline. I didn’t make any amendments to this pattern (other than an extra button on each cuff and only interfacing 1 side of the cuffs and the collar) but if I made it again then I would stitch across 1 end of each tie before turning to the right side as they are left raw so we’ll see how they wear over time.

I think I look a little like a 1920s nurse in this for some reason but I’m not going to let it stop me wearing this all the time!







Location: London, UK

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