Remember this sheet? It was a kingsize duvet cover which came from the Richard House Hospice shop in Romford (£6).

Well, there was loads left after using it as a lining for a previous project, and the pretty stripes were too good to be used as muslin. It was crying out to be turned into a summer blouse. For this project I dug out Simplicity 4530 (OOP) from my stash, where it’s been for several months since I bought it on Etsy. The pattern is a simple summer blouse with a large pointy collar. I chose the short sleeve version (similar to the top right image on the pattern envelope). This pattern is marked “Copyright 1953” and it makes me smile to think of the pattern being used 50 years ago :)

Cutting and construction was relatively simple. The pattern called for sew-in interfacing but I used the iron-on kind, being careful not to burn it. The only change I made was to cut the sleeve bands on the grain rather than on the bias. The cotton sheet had plenty of ease so I wasn’t too worried about having to stretch it a little if necessary, and I wanted the stripes on the bands to be perpendicular to on the body of the garment. I thought diagonal stripes would look a bit strange considering the width of the stripes relative to the bands.

My favourite part of this project is without doubt the buttons. These have been in my stash for years. They are Czech glass and came from a now-defunct Ebay shop where I used to feed my button addiction. Considering my undying love for novelty buttons, it’s strange that my buttonhole making skills leave such a lot to be desired. I made several trial runs but even still, had to unpick two of the buttonholes to redo. I think I am just not using the right attachments on my machine, or using them in the wrong way. Below is probably my best attempt.

Possibly the sweetest feature of this pattern is the back collar, which overlaps gently at the back neck. I hadn’t seen anything like this before anywhere and I think it looks really pretty :)

Happily, the blouse fitted perfectly without any adjustments to the size. It feels very lightweight to wear and will be ideal for when the weather gets hotter here. Here I am modelling the blouse for a Sunday afternoon lunch date!