A fitted blouse in Japanese double gauze

I made this blouse for a display for Treadle. The fabric is an utterly dreamy Japanese cotton double gauze. It is so soft and pretty. It was also very easy to work with. Its open weave helped it ease beautifully. Here it is worn with a cardigan I re-styled from a thrift store pullover and a linen skirt I made last fall.

I love that little bit that peeks out below the sweater in back!

Here you can see the whole blouse without the cardigan, although I really made it for layering and I doubt I will ever wear it on its own. The fit skims over the body smoothly, neither baggy nor tight. To make that happen I modified the front with a Full Bust Adjustment (FBA) and took in the waist in back to nip in toward my slight swayback. I cut one size smaller than my high bust measurement before I did the FBA to prevent the upper chest becoming baggy. I also re-positioned the front princess seam slightly to bring it closer to my bust point. 

Another trick I used (useful for the narrow-backed, full-busted) was to cut the back pieces a smaller size so that more of the 'body room' ends up skewed toward the front, where I needed it. I got this technique from Truly Victorian's sizing method. It translates to modern sewing!

I sewed it mainly on the machine, finished the seams with the serger, and finished the inside front bands, cuffs, and neckband by hand.

The pattern is McCall's 6124, a classic princess-seamed shirt. I chose the princess seaming to get a smooth fit without the bulk of huge darts.

 Here's a detail shot on the dress form where you can really see the beautiful soft floral print of the double gauze.

I am very happy with this and plan to make more! I would love to replace some of the long-sleeved t-shirts I currently use for layering with soft blouses like this. When I make this again, I will want to add just a smidge of length to the sleeve, and possibly shorten the body slightly. And possibly modify the neckline to be a lower scoop or a V.