Last year, I was chosen to test this pattern for Nina Lee. I tested the blouse version of the Park Lane Dress and Blouse pattern*. And I love it! That’s why I am so surprised that somehow I did not write a blog post to share with you my thoughts on making this blouse.

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For my tester version, I chose to be bold and cut straight into my fabric, which was a Tana Lawn Liberty Of London*. I know pretty bold of me. I did change the pattern a little before I cut the fabric. Although I cut a size 10, I adjusted the pattern to fit my frame as follows: shortened bodice above bust by 2 cm to raise the apex so that it falls in the right place on my body: in addition to that in total I shortened the sleeve by 7 cm ( 3 from the bodice adjustment and 5 length of the sleeve which later I realised it was too much) and applied a 1.5 cm sway back adjustment at the centre back bodice.

It’s not very often that I follow the instructions, as I do not really need to. But when testing a pattern I follow the instructions religiously so that I can give accurate and constructive feedback. This one is no different. From the testing stage the instructions were very well written and easy to follow. They made sense from the construction point of view and the designer added tips along the way to help beginners achieve good results.

I love that ruffle on the shoulder. It’s very cute. Because I am lucky to have an overlocker that makes perfect rolled hems no matter the fabric, in less than 5 minutes they were ready to go into the blouse. However, the pattern has really good directions on how to achieve a rolled hem on the sewing machine that looks really pretty.

And guess what! Although I followed the instructions to the letter, I still managed to make a mistake, to create a design feature, by adding the cuff back to front. But if Kate Middleton wears a dress/shirt back to front and the cuff is back to front then my Park Lane blouse* is definitely on trend. LOL