Gemma’s anthea blouse!
Hi everyone,I’m back on the blog today talking all about the Anthea blouse by Anna Allen. This pattern has been hugely popular in the sewing community and I can totally see why! The lovely Liz (@thebakerthatsews) has recently blogged about it too, so make sure you head over and read about what she has to say.
When I saw this needle punch fabric, I thought it would make a super cute blouse but I was a little worried about how the bobbles would work in the seams. With some creative cutting and the fact that the bobbles are actually pretty soft, it worked out fine. I cut the sleeves on the cross grain – not because there wasn’t enough fabric, but because the fabric has quite a large selvedge and that meant I could gather the sleeve heads without many of the bobbles in them. Result! Cutting cotton on the cross grain doesn’t actually make much difference as it’s quite a structured fabric anyway.
This fabric is unfortunately out of stock now but the cotton dobby, cotton polka and cotton mustard hearts would work just as well for this pattern.
The Anthea blouse is quite loose fitting so if you prefer a slightly closer fit, I would suggest sizing down. I made the size 8 even though my measurements fall into the size 10/12. The construction is really easy and enjoyable. I hand sewed the neck binding down as I’m terrible at stitching in the ditch 😂 it still looks really neat though.
As I used a cotton fabric, I found that it pressed beautifully and the button placket was very easy to sew up. I also used buttons from Felicity Fabrics which compliment the coral colour on the fabric perfectly. They are still in stock and are called 13mm peach buttons.
The sleeves are the main focus of the Anthea blouse and I would have to agree they are incredible! They are very comfortable as there’s no elastic involved, just a small sleeve cuff. I am totally here for the big sleeve energy, but they could definitely be hacked to have less volume if that suits your style better. Overall I think the pattern is very hackable and I for one will definitely be making more. I love it!
One last thought is, don’t be afraid of textured fabrics! They really add a bit of something extra to your me-mades and there is always a way to work around things.
Thanks for reading everyone and I hope you enjoyed reading about my blouse! I’ll hopefully be back soon with another blog.
Until then, take care!
Gemma (@thedalythread) xx
