A new look at Bias

This past Monday I had the distinct pleasure of attending the Dayton Texas neighborhood group for a session by Suzy Seed on making her Puzzle Blouse. The Puzzle Blouse is something anyone can make from virtually any fabric and be guaranteed of an excellent fit. In the past, I have worked on two similar tops - one designed by Carter Smith (and reviewed earlier this year) and the other developed by a fellow ASG member. The Carter Smith top is a little tough to tweak for a better fit and turned out too short for my taste. The other is a very clever design where a square of fabric, placed on the diagonal, has its corners brought to the middle and sewn up. This top also turned out too short for my taste and, while the front is on the bias, the bad remains on the straight of grain.

The Puzzle Blouse solves two problems for me - its easy to make the blouse as long as you want and the whole thing is worked on the bias so it drapes beautifully. I originally made the blouse as shown in the instructions. It also ends up with nice cap sleeves that cover a multitude of sins on me. The length was great, the fabric draped well but the width was just too broad for me. Today, I worked with a friend and determined that I needed to reduce the width I used by two inches to get the fit I like. The first blouse I made was of very thin/fine linen and I covered the long seam and one of the short seams with bias tape. To test the new width I increased the long seam's seam allowance by an additional one half inch and made another seam down the back to match the front. Here is a picture of what it looks like now .. which should encourage me to use real muslin for fitting rather than some lovely fashion fabric.

The one I made today has not had its edges finished but fits great. I will try to rope someone into taking a picture of me in it this weekend and post it later. If you are as intrigued as I am by this type of clothing construction here are the directions I used to make my second try. Please note that this pattern idea came from Suzy Seed and she should be credited if you use these, or similar, instructions with others.

Supplies
1 – 1.25 yards of fabric – suitable for all blouse weight fabrics, woven or knit, printed or solid. Avoid fabrics with an obvious one way design
Sewing machine and/or a Serger
Matching thread
Measuring tape

Measurements and Cutting

_____________ Width – Your high bust measurement or your high hip measurement, whichever is larger. Rip or cut your fabric along the selvage edge to equal this measurement. Mark this side with a pin or marking pen. (I ended up using this measurement minus two inches)

_____________ Length – if you would like your top to sit at your waist use your width measurement. If you would like it longer add two to three inches to your width measurement. Rip or cut your fabric from raw edge to raw edge to equal this measurement. ( I ended up using my new width plus four inches for the length)

Construction

Fold your fabric with length measurmeent along the fold - right sides together if you would like the stitching hidden or wrong sides together if you would the stitching to show on the finished blouse. Sew or serge a scant quarter inch seam along the short ends.

With your fabric laid out on a flat surface, folded edge toward you, fold one corner up to the open side. Mark where this corner meets the raw edge with a pin in one of the raw edges. This finds the true bias of your square/rectangle.

Holding the edge with the pin as one end of the seam, pull the raw edges apart to form one long seam. Serge or sew this seam with a scant quarter edge seam. The previously sewn edges may or may not end up aligned with each other. Do not be concerned as this will differ among blouses.

You will end up with a weird floppy square/rectangle with no opening, one side plain bias and the other with seams on it. The flat side is the back of the blouse while the seamed side will be the front but tha is your choice.

Shake out the blouse and lay out on a flat surface. Determine the bottom edge and cut a body opening from corner to corner. Do not cut through any previous stitching.

Determine the size of your desired arm holes. Eight to nine inches is typical but additional length can be added when you try on your blouse before finishing. Cut two slits for armholes from the shoulder down the sides.

Fold the blouse together along the center front so that the armholes line up with each other. To cut out a neckline, mark a point about four inches from the fold toward the shoulders. On the fold, mark a point about three inches below the neckline. Cut a curve from the mark on the fold to the mark on the shoulder. On the front only, cut another curve about one inch below the first, cut on the fold, to the mark on the shoulder. (I used a template from an old t-shirt to cut this hole)

Try on your blouse and adjust any of your cuts for the arm holes and neckline to suit your taste and body size. Simple tubular sleeves can be added as this point.

Finishing – The raw edges can be finished by serging, or serging then sewing a small hem, or sewing a small rolled hem or applying a bias binding.

Notes:

As an alternative to the blouse, this pattern can also make a jacket. In that case increase the width measure by an inch or two, add tubular sleeves to the arm holes and open the center front.

The pattern can be enlarged to make a dress by doubling your length measurement and completing as noted. It can also be used for a skirt by adding about twelve inches to the length and adding an elastic waist band.

The neckline can be adjusted for a variety of shapes – a slit or V can be made about eight inches long. A collar can be added if desired but required additional fabric.

The addition of an elastic waistband would result in a blouson edge.

If you have some time and want to try a unique bit of clothing sewing try out this top. I don't think you will be displeased with the results.

THANKS SUZY! YOU CONTINUE TO INSPIRE ALL OF US.

BTW - Dayton Texas has a lovely store in it called The Vineyard. It consists of a series of boutiques selling knick knacks, flowers, clothing and accessories. There is also a great little cafe that sells wonderful sandwiches, salads and a tempting looking daily special. The clothing area had a discount rack and I scored a brown French Terry sweatshirt for $10.00. They also had a large variety of unique purses, including one made of candy wrappers and some of the most beautiful pajamas a girl could want. Definitely worth a visit if you are in the area.