False button plackets

Here in the UK, we’ve been clinging on to the remnants of summer. It’s been lovely and given me a chance to wear my summer clothes for a bit longer before wrapping myself in layers upon layers of wool, fleece and thermals.

I have two final summer makes to talk about today, both are long-admired patterns that I finally got around to making this year. In writing this post, I also realised that both of these garments have “button cheats” as features, which ties them together quite neatly.

The patterns

The Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde blouse is one of their older patterns which, I believe, made an appearance on the first series of Great British Sewing Bee. I love the billowy sleeves and loose fit, along with the other details that I’ll talk about later.

The bottom half of this outfit is Sew Liberated’s Estuary skirt. The pockets originally caught my eye but I had a similar gathered skirt pattern so thought it wasn’t worth duplication in my pattern stash. Then I found out that the back waistband is elasticated and the button placket can be made “false”…therefore no buttonhole drama. Game changer!!

It’s all in the detail

I have used a lot of TATB patterns and so have a good idea of how their block fits me. As this blouse is intended to be loose, I didn’t worry about grading between sizes as I would with a more fitted top. I cut a size 5 all over, then shortened the bodice and sleeve pieces each by 2″.

I made a wearable toile from a cotton maxi dress that I haven’t worn in years, but loved the fabric so much I put it in my stash. The cotton holds the pin tucks really well and helps the sleeves show off their shape.

My toile fit well and I wore it a few times before cutting into my main fabric to be sure it didn’t need any modifications.

For my final version, I used some vibrant pink viscose from Lamazi Fabrics. It’s brighter than I would usually wear but I actually love it! Whilst the topic of this blog post is summer outfits, I will definitely wear both tops in the autumn thanks to the 3/4 sleeve length.

Pin tucks, billowy sleeves and surprise buttons on the back. The Mathilde has got all of these gorgeous features. I had never sewn pin tucks before but TATB’s trademark excellent instructions walked me through it with ease.

The button band at the back actually only has one buttonhole at the top. I pinned the back to see if I could get it over my head easily with just one button and I could. The pattern instructions tell you how to sew the placket together, boxing it in, so it’s “Tilly approved”. However, for my pink top, the viscose kept shifting so I ended up just sewing through all layers of the fabric when attaching the buttons.

As the button band is on the back, I chose flat buttons so that they don’t dig in when I’m leaning against something. My love affair with Swagman’s Daughter continues with these beauties.

The Mathilde is proving to be a great top to wear during work and play time. If I was to make again (likely), I would like to add a line of piping between the yoke and main bodice. I think that will help highlight the pin tucks as they are lost in a busy pattern and take the longest to do.

Lilac and clumsy can be dangerous

When I spotted this lilac viscose linen on Rainbow Fabrics, I confess that I wasn’t sure. I’m a “spiller” and, right in cute, the first time I wore this skirt, I slopped pizza sauce down it (Vanish to the rescue!). That said, I do love the colour and glad I took the ‘risk’.

As with the Mathilde, the Estuary skirt can be made with a false button band at the front, largely made possible by the elasticated back waistband. I love this construction because a flat fronted waistband means that there isn’t the added bulk that comes with a full gathered skirt but there’s some “give” in the skirt for those days when I’m feeling a little more bloated. Not forgetting the absence of needing to sew 9 buttonholes!

There was a lovely detail that I missed in constructing this skirt. As somebody who has been sewing for a while now, I merrily put the skirt together paying little attention to the pattern until I got to the waistband. The pattern gives instructions for flat-felled seams which would have looked lovely on this plain fabric but there was no way I was unpicking it. A good lesson in reading the pattern through before starting.

In terms of fitting, I cut 2″ off the length (I’m 5’2″ for reference) but otherwise made a straight 12. The beauty of elastic is that (within reason) there’s wriggle room in fitting up to quite late in the sewing process.

The pockets that I lusted over for so many years do not disappoint with their unusual shape. They’re the perfect size for a ball of wool for al fresco knitting!

Thanks for reading :o) If anybody needs me, I’ll be unpacking my thermals in anticipation of the coming months.