Button and Pip's Juliette Tie Back blouse

Hello, I’m Adelle, and I am on a mission to create a handmade wardrobe. I’m very excited to share with you one of the comfiest makes I’ve ever sewn up!

The Pattern:

The Juliette Tie-Back Blouse is a perfect pattern for a beginner. It has simple lines with no bust darts and shaping is given from the ties. The blouse is a simple loose shape blouse with wide grown on sleeves. The only changes to the pattern that I made was to add 3cm to the bottom of the bodice. A friend had suggested this to me because when you tie the blouse up, it can come up a little short.

The Fabric:

The suggested fabric is one that has drape such as rayon, crepe or even silk. As a beginner these fabrics can be frightening, but my make shows that cotton lawn too can be the perfect fabric. It has more structure which helps it glide through the machine but is light and breathable, perfect for the summer heat.

This ‘Monarda’ jade & red floral cotton lawn from ClothSpot has a black background and it’s covered in red and jade flowers. It has a vibrancy to it that makes it great for a more sophisticated summer outfit. It would be perfect for an evening outfit.

The Sew:

From the finished garment measurements I choose to go with the XS size. I could see from the line drawing that there is a great deal of ease and as the fabric has less drape I felt a smaller size would be the best choice.

The pattern is only 3 pieces, the front and back are the same, a neckline facing and the ties. I finished the seams with my overlocker as I went along but I’m sure if you were up for the challenge you could use french seams to finish.

The neckline has a 1cm seam allowance that it’s different from the rest of the pattern. I also top stitched the neckline close to the edge as this is my favourite way to finish rather than under stitch as suggested in the instructions.

The Finished Blouse:

The Juliette blouse surpassed my expectations. As an experienced sewist I was a little apprehensive that I might not appreciate the simple lines. How wrong was I?

The ties are suggested to be tied at the back of the blouse but instead I have crossed them over at the back and tied them at the front. This creates a different silhouette, changing from a simple blouse to one with shape at the waist line. The long ties allows enough length to take them right around the body.

Thank you Simple Sew for inviting me to work with you and Cloth Spot for the beautiful fabric. I can’t wait to try another pattern soon.

Adelle x

@button_and _pip

As with Adelle’s Juliette Tie-Back Blouse it’s often the most simple patterns that are the most suprising! Her version was made in crisp lawn cotton and we’ve found two other cotton lawn gems from Clothspot below. As Adelle mentioned this pattern also lends itself to a drapey fabrics, so we’ve picked out a couple viscoses too, to inspire you!

For more details on the sizing and fabric requirements for the Juliette Tie Back Blouse see the back of the envelope below.