Sew and Tell: Neon Betsy Patina Blouse

Welcome to the first installment of our new project-spotlight feature: Sew and Tell!
In our Sew and Tell segments, we're going to be highlighting fun and inspiring makes, and learning a snippet or two about the process.

Our first maker is Megan Fleshman (@megmadesewing), who has hacked and stitched her way into a super-fun neon blouse! 

Fabrics: Betsy Neon Violet, Betsy Neon Persimmon, Betsy Sorbet, Betsy Berry Giggle, Betsy Berry Sour Apple
Pattern: Friday Pattern Company Patina Blouse

DuckaDilly:  What inspired this shirt? Fabric, pattern, necessity? 

Megan:  The fabric definitely came first here! I loved the prints and the colors and *had* to be able to wear all of them. Since I was starting with a handful of fat quarters, I was going to have to color block them to be able to use them for a garment. Colorblocking isn’t something I do often so I was really struggling to come up with a pattern to pair with my fabric. I eventually stumbled upon Chelsea’s blocked Patina blouse and knew right away that it would be a perfect match. 

 

DD: What pattern modifications (if any) did you make?

Megan: Making a shirt out of fat quarters took both forethought and flexibility. Each pattern piece needed to be matched to a fat quarter and ensured that it would fit. Sometimes that meant rotating the direction of the fabric (non-directional fabrics work best for this type of project) or doing something like shortening the sleeve a couple inches. If these adjustments didn’t work for a pattern piece then I used scraps from other parts of the blouse to make up the difference. For example, the strip at the back hem was leftover from cutting the yoke. Finally, I used some solid white cotton for the facings and under collar–no point cutting those from the good stuff when they’re not going to be seen anyway! 

DD:  If you were to repeat this project, is there anything that you would do differently?

Megan:  My one change would actually come in the planning stage. I’d like to explore options for creating a digital mockup to better see how the final project will look. Ultimately I love how the blouse turned out, but in hindsight there are a couple fat quarters that I would prefer to be in different places. Even though I did a rough layout with the fat quarters to see which ones I wanted where, I think a digital mockup would’ve been more useful. 

DD: What's your favorite way to style with neons?

Megan: I love the juxtaposition of bright neons and earthy tones. Some fave combinations are neon pink with deep maroon or tan, neon lime with navy, and neon aqua with forest green. Its hard to go wrong with this formula! 

Thanks for taking the time to share your make, Meg, and congratulations on the release of your debut quilt pattern, Buckeye Bloom!

xo, DuckaDilly