Vogue 1387 in Liberty Lantana

There are some patterns that make their way into my collection soon after release and others that I tend to ruminate on for quite some time before hitting the buy now button.  Vogue 1387 was one of the latter.  I hadn't seen many too many versions on the internet but what I did see, I really liked.  It took a sale to seal the deal.

The fabric I had in mind for my first version was  Liberty Lantana Kenzo, which I bought at The Fabric Store's winter sale last year.  This fabric made me quite nervous given it isn't exactly cheap.  I was tempted to use one of my tried and true patterns and Grainline Archer immediately sprang to mind but I really wanted to make something different this time.  Rather than blindly cut into my lovely fabric I found a piece of fabric I had no plans on making up and made a muslin of Vogue 1387 to check the fit.  I reasoned that if I didn't like the muslin, I could always go to plan b and make another Archer.   As I had no intention of ever wearing this muslin, I didn't bother adding the bands or cuffs.  I also left off the band between the yoke and the front and instead cut the yoke lining twice.

Liberty Lantana is a lovely fabric to work with and presses well.  I took my time with this blouse as is my intention with everything I sew now.  Slow sewing is my mantra but old habits die hard.  With this project I was hoping to create a quality item that would be worn and loved for years.

I changed the sleeve placket.  The placket as drafted is quite traditional and menswear inspired.  Because the front band was quite narrow I chose to bind the placket for a more delicate finish.

The pattern calls for snaps because the button bands are quite narrow.  I really wanted a classic button up front, so I selected some small navy shirt buttons and made button holes, all the time holding my breath, hoping that my machine would play nicely and produce perfect button holes.

All of the above photos were taken after a day at work.  Other than a few wrinkles the blouse wore well.  It is lovely to wear.  I hope I continue to wear it for a long time.