Appearing in series two of The Great British Sewing Bee, it’s the
Designed by the former producer of our favourite TV show, Claire Louise-Hardie has created a versatile design that’s as easy to sew as it is to wear. It has no fiddly zip fastenings, just a simple neck opening with a button and loop to finish. The neck and armholes are also finished with a professional all-in-one facing to save time.
1 Download the pattern at sewmag.co.uk, then print out and follow the cutting guide. Neaten all the raw edges of the seams as you work. Stay-stitch the necklines of the front and back pieces, 1cm from the edge. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, iron lightweight interfacing onto the wrong side of the facing pieces. If the fabric is quite a firm weave, this may not be necessary. Pin and sew the bust darts on the front piece. Press them down towards the hem.
2 With right sides facing, pin the front piece to the back pieces along the shoulder seams. Machine stitch [1]. Neaten the seam allowances and press the seams open. Sew the facings together at the shoulder seams in the same way. Hem the facing pieces by zig zag stitching the raw lower edges.
3 Lay the blouse flat, with right side facing up. Lay the facing right side down on top, matching up the cut edges of the neckline and the shoulder seams. Pin, then sew around the neckline [2]. Clip around the neckline curve to allow it to sit flat when turned out. Press both the facing and the seam allowance away from the body of the blouse.
4 Starting 2.5cm away from the centre back, understitch the facing. The stitches should be at least 2mm away from the seam at the neck. Only sew through the facing and the seam allowance. Finish the understitching 2.5cm from the other side of the centre back. Pull the facing up away from the neckline and turn the blouse over to the right side.
5 Fold a piece of narrow ribbon in half and tack to make a finished loop, 1.5cm long. Lay it on the right side of the left back piece with the loop facing away from the edge, making sure it is sitting close to the neckline seam. Lay the back facing piece over the top of the loop [3]. Pin the facing around the armholes and the centre-back neck opening, matching the shoulder seams and the marked point for the back opening. Machine stitch in place. Clip into the curved armhole seams.
6 Attach a safety pin to one corner of each back piece. Use this to slide the first back piece through the ‘tunnel’ at the shoulder to the right side [4 & 5]. Repeat on the opposite shoulder. From the wrong side, press the facing flat at the armholes, centre back opening and nec
