The June edition of Love Sewing came with a free pattern for the Lottie blouse. I confess I only bought the magazine for the pattern. I had some vintage fabric lying about at home that I thought would be perfect (read delightfully psychedelic) for just such a pattern.
I found that the instructions to be a bit hit and miss. After the first few steps I realised I was better off ignoring them and instead relying on past experience. This was especially true when it came to attaching the bow at the neck.
I also found that it ran large. Based on my bust measurement I chose a size 14 however having made it up using the seam allowances advised I could easily have gotten away with a size 12 (maybe even a 10). To rectify this I ended up taking in the seams at both sides and adding darts at the back.
Despite the poor instructions it was relatively quick to sew up and once adjusted I think it turned out quite nice. All things considered it was worth the purchase. Now that I know what to watch out for I expect it to be quite quick to run up another one. 🙂
