Finished in the Nick of Time!

It's time to pack my suitcase for Puyallup, but today I had to get some sewing done. As I was picking garments to wear in the Wild Ginger booth, I discovered that I really don't have many tops made with PatternMaster. Dresses, yes, and pants too, but few tops. Oops. Luckily I had a pattern printed out for a blouse I wanted to try, and I had some nice pre-washed rayon print that would be appropriate, so I spent a few hours today putting it all together.

And what do you know... It fits and looks nice too!

It's kind of hard to see the details due to the busy print. It's a shawl collar, side dart, with fit-and-flare sleeves.

Back view:

I really do like these sleeves, and plan to make them again. I cut the top part of the sleeve on the straight of grain, and the "bell" of the sleeve on the bias (the pattern gives the option of doing it on the grain as well). Looking at the pattern piece, I didn't think there was going to be enough flare, but now I'm glad I didn't increase the flare manually -- it would have been too much.

Here I'm pointing to where the seam is between the upper and lower sleeve sections.

The whole shirt went together very quickly and easily, and, thanks to my wonderful Bernina 930, I'm no longer avoiding buttonholes. That machine makes great ones!!

So now I have a nice top to wear at Puyallup! And with that, it's time to go pack my suitcase! Remember, if you're at the Sew Expo, stop by the Wild Ginger booth and say hi (and get a free demo CD!).