Lekala Bow Blouse

barefoot and booty shorts. judge all ya want.

This is Lekala 4286, a top with a scarf neckline. I wonder why I've never heard much about Lekala patterns; I think I discovered the brand on Craftsy. They're hella cheap! They only give you one size-- you put in your measurements for a custom fit, but I'm fine with that because it saves on paper that I've gotta print out and tape together.

I was going to use this for the Indie Pattern Month New to Me contest. I was all set to take pictures when my camera battery died. Around my house, camera chargers are rare treasures. My parents, sisters and I technically each had one when we got our cameras, but the days when everyone's had their own are long since past. Now if you see one out in the open you grab it and hoard it for yourself, Gollum-style. Point is, by the time I got my camera charged it was too late to enter the contest. Boooooo.

I'm really happy with this make. I usually skulk the online sewing community for pattern reviews, so I was a little unsure about Lekala's obscurity, but I'm glad I tried them out! It's a cute top, something that's not a Tshirt, which is what most of my tops are.

 

 I found the bow print at Hancock fabrics and knew I wanted to try it out for this blouse. Cause it's bows, and the blouse ties at the neckline, and bows are tied...it seemed clever to me at the time :P For all it's cuteness, it's kinda dumb to work with. Cutting was a real bitch, but I used a ton of pins so sewing wasn't too bad.

 I used French seams on all the seams with the main print because it frayed like nooooobody's business. I was originally going to use the bow print for the cuffs but I'm glad I used the black for them, it  gives focus points, or something.

 

please ignore the stain on the tie, no idea where it came from and of course only noticed it after taking photos xP

I put the zipper in by hand with a prick stitch. It's not my best work; this technique looks much nicer with more sturdy fabrics instead of this type of floaty gauzy stuff. I'm not beating myself up over it since it's on the side underneath my arm so it's not that noticeable.

One thing I was able to read about Lekala review-wise said they give a close fit, and that held true with this top. Next time I'll go with a smaller seam allowance, cause even with the zipper it's a tight fit. Also, it was too short, like, self conscious about my tummy before I even hemmed it short. I'm not sure if it's the pattern or if it's user error from when the pattern shifted around during cutting. I just sewed an extra strip of fabric to the bottom and cut it so it curved like the original shape. I did a rolled hem by hand because I just love how they look on floaty fabrics.

If you're considering using a Lekala pattern I'd say try it! But a word of warning besides the tightness: the directions weren't in depth at all. I didn't follow them at all and kind of figured out the collar and cuffs as I went. So if you like lots of hand holding then be warned that Lekala patterns DON'T give you that, but they have so many styles (forreal, SO MANY COOL PATTERNS And they're $3 each, so even if it doesn't work out, no biggie, right?