Goodbye blouse, hello shirt

25 Jul

A month or so ago a friend, Kate who is sorting out her house ready to move handed me a bag on the school run containing a couple of lovely items.

One was a gorgeous vintage blouse, made in Switzerland for Harrods, very worn on the collar so only really fit for cutting up and repurposing.  The fabric is lush and I spent a bit of time thinking about what to do with it:

harrods blouse

You may remember that I’ve made a pile of shirts using Carolyn Friedlanders pattern, I was thinking about the shirts that I’m waiting to receive back from the swap (hint: round 3 may be happening soon if you want to join in) when inspiration struck; why not turn this blouse into a shirt:

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So I pulled out a copy of the pattern and got cutting and stitching.  I decided to make a journal cover, something useful and practical:

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I think it is my most lovely shirt yet! It came together perfectly but maybe that is because I’ve made approximately 30 of them! For the background I used Crosshatch in white from Carolyns’ Architexture range. I thought about quilting the piece but decided to keep it simple and just stitched around the block and just inside the block with Aurifil 2530 which was the perfect match to the pink in the shirt.

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There’s just a simple flap around to the inside of the cover:

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Before making this gift I’d already stitched up a little something for Kate. I love the label on the shirt and couldn’t resist a bit of fussy cutting:

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And with the addition of some webbing and key fob hardware made this for her new house keys:

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Keyfobs, I’ve decided are a great way to showcase special bits of fabric, I’m already thinking about other pieces of clothing that children have grown out of or worn out (or in some cases both!) that might be good to use, preserving some memories.

Kate and her family are moving away but won’t be forgotten; I now need to cook up a plan for the other fabric she’s left me (oh and I didn’t use the whole blouse so you’ll probably be seeing more of this fabric!).

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8 Replies to “Goodbye blouse, hello shirt

  1. That was inspired! I love all the little shirts you’ve made, they look great. I must have a go at this kind of piecing soon. I saw a simple heart pattern the other day so might try that first. Thanks again for pointing me in the direction of the shorts x

  2. Fab shirt! I think I would have been tempted to make a new contrasting collar for the blouse and wear it still, but then I have two mens shirts that I’ve been meaning for ages to turn into girl shapes so I’d actually probably be too lazy… Love reusing fabrics though, no one else is going to have that fabric in a quilt!

  3. Such pretty fabric, and a great way to start using it! Can I ask, where did you get your key fob metalware? I’m trying to source some for my classes.

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