Shop girl Valerie’s most recent makes both involved simple pattern hacks that you can learn about in two of our upcoming classes. See the details and learn more below!
The Adrienne Blouse (Friday Pattern Co.)
I love a statement sleeve, and I love a simple knit top (they’re so fast to make!), so the Adrienne Blouse was a must for me this Spring. The front and back of the Adrienne Blouse are cut with the same pattern piece, so I knew I would have to do a bust adjustment.
You *can* put a dart in a knit top, but what if you don’t want to? Luckily a dartless bust adjustment is actually a bit easier and more intuitive than the regular kind (you still need to do a little math, though!).
The first section of our Adrienne Blouse Garment Series finished up last week, but we’re having another in June. (We’ll also be covering more traditional bust adjustments in a Tools & Techniques class in May!)
I used our Perla Knit in black for my Adrienne Blouse. Besides the bust adjustment, I made the sleeves a bit longer and the hem a bit shorter. Now…what to wear with it?
The Self-Drafted Asymmetrical Skirt
It’s not always this easy, but sometimes it just all comes together: this skirt happened because (a) I have been in love with this striped cotton poplin since it arrived in the shop; (b) I’ve been wanting to hack my pencil skirt block into something dramatic and asymmetrical; and (c) I needed something not-plain to wear with my black Adrienne Blouse!
It might seem like alchemy to start from a simple pencil skirt and end up with the pattern above, but it’s simpler than it seems. If you’re interested in drafting your own skirt block that fits you perfectly, and can be the basis for *literally any style of skirt ever*, you need our Skirt Drafting class.
The best part is that since you start with a skirt that already fits you perfectly, there’s minimal pattern testing past the slash-and-spread stage (confession: I did absolutely none; I cut directly into my striped poplin!).
I was a little anxious to share the photo, so (another confession) I tried it on and took pictures before I hemmed it. But I’m very happy with the results! If you experiment with pattern hacking, share your results with us!
