BLOUSE | Nostalgia

I sometimes can't help feeling a hint of emotional attachment when I upcycle clothes - especially if they used to belong to a loved one...When my nan passed away last spring I've inherited half her wardrobe.  Since then I've been thinking of ideas to give her clothes a second life and keep her memory close to me.   When I was in desperate need for a blouse in preparation for my latest summer holiday I had an idea:

I chose my nan's soft mint pastel granny top, the kind that come in never-creasing polyester with quite horrid iron-on plastic jewel designs (sorry:).  I picked it because I loved its level of colour for the summer & the fact that it was quite shapeless as I wanted the blouse to be a little oversized/ square around the shoulders.

I planned on taking mostly plain bottoms on my trip so I decided to add a little print interest to the blouse by replacing the centre panel with a gorgeous patterned strip of silk which came from fabric off cuts.  Here's how to:

one mark CF & central panel on front, width to be ca. 10 cm minus 1cm seam allowance either side
two unpick neckline of marked area, cut away central panel along line marked by inside pin
three measure length needed for contrast panel, add hem allowance, pin hem contrast panel
four pin & sew contrast centre panel to body
five close neck line
six shorten sleeves or tuck shoulders if needed