Liesl + Co Breezy Blouse

I have this weird psychic thing going on with Liesl Gibson.... I have a desire for a particular pattern and while I'm working away adapting what I have and trying to make a mish-mash of patterns to suit my needs, on the other side of the world, Liesl is busy designing exactly what I want.

I've lost count of the number of times I've shown her how I've mashed this with that to make the other, and would she like a tutorial for the Oliver + S blog?.... Only to have her say, no, that's almost exactly the pattern I've been working on. It's freaky.

Enter the Liesl + Co Breezy Blouse.

Let's go back to the start of summer, when my friend Sal asked me about making the sleeveless Gorman-esque dress. All I needed was a sleeveless bodice with a bust dart and nice armhole binding or facing that I could add a skirt to. I didn't have one so I tried the Tessuti Felicia Pinafore.

I'm wearing that dress as I type and it has become a useful housedress for a warm evening, but it doesn't go outside much, it's just too icky a shape.

This blouse with a skirt added would have been exactly what I was after. Of course it was one week after I'd made the Tessuti dresses that the email request for pattern testers for the Breezy Blouse came through. She'd done it again, and designed exactly what I'd wanted while I was mucking around with another pattern.

The blouse has these nice shaped side panels and a little bust dart. I made no modifications and made it exactly as per my measurements, size 10, A/B cup size. Yep, the pattern has different cup sizes so unless you're beyond a D cup you won't need to do an FBA. and the less generously endowed amongst us don't end up with too much fabric pooling where it shouldn't!

Excuse the ordinary modelling, these were my fit photos for the pattern test, but you can see the nice, curved hem and the slit opening at the back neck:

The armholes and neck are finished with a bias binding facing, with a thread loop at button. I used a KATM label cause I do love linen and both fabrics were linen from deep in the stash.

The stripe was last seen back here (cue cute P modelling a girl's blouse! Aw, bless him)

It's easy to make the top using just little bits of special leftover fabric. It works really well as a loose tank in linen for summer, but could easily be made more fitted in a heavier brocade, or maybe fancier in a lace with underlining.

And, of course, if you like stripes but don't like matching them at side seams, throwing a solid fabric in those side panels solves all your woes! (but please, check out the stripe matching in that 2013 blog post where I used this fabric, it was insanely good and almost entirely lucky! :) )

I've been wearing this top a lot over summer. Here it is just last week paired with a Liesl + Co Everyday Skirt in crinkle linen on a bushwalk in Queensland.

The new Liesl + Co patterns will be available next week. I've got my eye on all of them!