Craig’s Blouse Sewing Pattern Review

Craig’s Blouse #425 from Silhouette Patterns is an easy to fit and easy to wear blouse pattern. Suitable for an advanced beginner, the blouse comes with clear instructions. Although there are finishing techniques I prefer to upgrade, you will find the finished product fun to wear. I hope you find my Craig’s Blouse sewing pattern review helpful.

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The Fabric

According to the pattern, fabrics recommended for this blouse include “knits, woven fabrics, soft fabrics that gather well, wools, silks, or any light-weight fabric.” For my version I chose this soft crepe fabric from Minerva. This polycrepe is so reasonably priced for the quality. It is slightly weighty making if perfect as an option for the cooler months. It sews up like a dream. Do use a press cloth when ironing, the fabric finish grabs a bit and the cloth will give you a smoothly pressed seam.

I’ve selected a few other fabrics from Minerva that I think would work well for this cute blouse.

Here’s a sweet Georgette with ribbon embroidery and sequins that will surely make a statement piece with black trousers.

Or how about this lux Silk, it would be stunning dressed up or with jeans.

The Sewing Pattern Review

Craig’s Blouse has soft gathers in the front that replace the bust darts. The gathers offer a comfortable fit with a soft, floaty feel. The gathers are easy to make and seem to be more fit forgiving than a bust dart. Plus it’s a nice addition to your wardrobe options.

Another fun feature are the French cuffs. French cuffs are pretty easy to sew, however, who has cuff links around? I used double sided earrings to secure the cuffs. It’s a fun use of jewelry. Of course, if you have an old pair of cuff links from you dad or grandfather, that would be amazing.

The simple, one-piece collar fits well. I prefer to assemble my collar one side at a time (the French cuffs also). Craig’s blouse call for sliding the collar, with seam allowances folded in, over the neck edge and then stitching it all together in one swoop. I can’t seem to get a nice seam and finish on both sides when I sew them at the same time. And, I like a neatly finished interior of my garments. It makes them look and feel more high-end.

As an alternative to sewing it all at once, I prefer to sew the under portion of the collar to the neck edge begin careful not to catch any of the upper collar in the stitching. Then I press the seam allowance toward the collar and wrap the upper collar over the seam allowance. Then I hand stitch the upper collar to the edge of the seam encasing the seam allowance.

When you wear your blouse, you will see the inside of the finished collar. You need it to look pretty and professional.

Finishing Touches

The pattern calls for four buttons running down the front, I actually put seven small shirt buttons down the front for a more modest look. With seven button holes down the front and four for each French cuff that was a total of 15 button holes!

In the past, making button holes gave me night sweats!

I found this great Brother sewing machine, that makes button holes a breeze. Honestly, it took me about 20 minutes to make 15 button holes – and they are all perfect. My friend bought this machine, once I tried it, I needed to have it just for the button holes. I have a fairly expensive Pfaff, which I love, but it’s old and making buttonholes is a nightmare.

If you want to make garments with beautiful button holes that are a breeze to make, you need to check out the Brother CS6000i. They were out of stock for a while, but now they are back. I recommend this machine to all my new and intermediate sewists and I use them in my studio classes.

Craig’s Blouse Sewing Pattern Review

In conclusion, I found this pattern fun and easy to make. It offers interesting features not found in a classic dress shirt. The gorgeous fabric from Minerva paired with the well drafted pattern, and a great sewing machine all work to produce a beautiful blouse. I hope you found the Craig’s Blouse sewing pattern review helpful. If you did, you might like Jag’s Woven Yoga Pants Pattern Review.

Happy Sewing!

Sandi

PS Here is a quick and easy video to add French Cuffs to any blouse – How To Make A French Cuff