To buy or not to buy: Patina Blouse

Kris: repeat after me. I do not need more patterns. I do not need more patterns. I do NOT need more patterns…

omg I.NEED.THIS.PATTERN!

Run.

Add to cart.

Download Pattern.

Snip. Sew. Snap. [betcha can’t say this 3 times lol]

Breathe a sigh of relief. *ahhhh

I had seen Friday Pattern Company’s newest release and thought yeaaahhh, that’s cute but not necessary. Then, I scrolled through the #Patina hashtag and set my eyes upon @siri_kate’s version. I immediately questioned my poor judgment in not buying the damn pattern in the first place and upped and remedied that. One new pattern = one new blouse in my #memadewardrobe. Is that the silver lining? *wink

So, I did a poll on Instagram earlier this week, asking if anyone had purchased this pattern. I was shocked that 69% of you guys said ‘pass’, so I’m here to tell you why you MUST add this one to your pattern stash. Thank me later.

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First off, the Patina blouse is a button up… and there is just something so suave about buttons. Up the front, down the back, cuffs, wherever, just gimme all the buttons! gimme gimme gimme. I know some of you find sewing buttonholes daunting. I admit, I used to hold my breath each and every time I sewed one. I’m happy to report that it gets easier with time, but only if you practice. This pattern has 5 buttonholes (for the short sleeve version), so it’s a great place to start. Grab your buttonhole foot, and some fray check and get busy!

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Second, the Patina has a V neckline. A couple weeks ago, I did a series all about ‘Fitting the Body that you Have’, and I found that the v-neckline is flattering on almost all body types. V-neck’s have a slimming effect, and open up the neckline. Patina comes with separate pattern pieces for two neckline depths: so how much of your ‘chest’ you reveal, is completely up to you. I went with the standard V-neckline, but neck time I’m upping the anti and making the lowered V!

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Third the Patina has a V-shaped collar! In case you missed it, it’s collar season y’all. I’ll say no more.

Ok, ok maybe just a little bit more – The collar on the Patina gives you the chance to use up some fabric scraps; mix and match fabrics (think a leather or silk collar); or to add embellishments like lace, frills or binding. I found some leftover viscose in my stash from my first project of 2021 [in case you’re curious what that was, check it out here], and cut my collar pieces out of it. I’m so pleased with how it came out, but I’m sure you could already tell that 🙂

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Fourth, the pattern is easy to fit. Patina is a relaxed fit blouse with bust darts in the front for subtle shaping, and gathering in the back. You can choose to do short sleeves, or the long sleeves with a cuff… or if you’re like me, you can hack the sleeves! I traced the size L short sleeves, lengthened them by 4” and added a total of 4 ½” of ease at the hemline using the slash and spread method. I made 18 slashes, and spread them ¼” each. I then made a casing and inserted some elastic to create a more billowy sleeve. HOWEVER, my viscose was so light and drapey, I think I could have added even more width to the hemline, maybe spreading the pattern ½” at each slash. hmmmm maybe next time!

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Lastly, Patina is a Friday Pattern Co. pattern. That means, its size inclusive (ranging from XS-7X and fitting a bust of 32”-60”), is well drafted, has great instructions AND a portion of the sale amount goes to a charity [this one benefits the Innocence Project]. What else can you ask for?

Now, quick, go get yours and come join the Patina Hashtag!

P.s… I recently had my colours professionally done, and would you know that BLACK is my signature colour (as if I needed any greater excuse to wear it), but mannnn is it hard to photograph!!!

If you wanna get yours done, get all the info on my instagram profile: I saved it to my highlight bar!

Gotta luv ya and leave ya…

Until next time,

xoxo

Kris

This blog post was NOT sponsored by @Friday Pattern Co. I just really like this pattern:)