Truly Victorian TVE47 - Countryside Blouse.
Don’t look too closely at the top buttonhole!
The TVE47 - Countryside blouse was the first pattern I ever attempted when I started sewing in the summer of 2023. I probably should have started with something super easy like the Love Notions ‘Laundry Day Tee’, but no. This is me we’re talking about. I saw this blouse and I wanted one. I had no idea about marking the notches in the pattern onto the fabric, or really, how to do anything except sew in a very wonky straight line.
Needless to say, this blouse nearly broke me. Lots of stuff went wrong, and I didn’t have the experience to fix it confidently. The worst moment was putting the sleeves on the wrong side. Not just once, but THREE WHOLE TIMES. I skipped the cuffs and made them elasticated. I loved what I’d created but I just couldn’t finish it. And I never wanted to make it again. Ever.
Until a few weeks ago that is. The TVE47 suddenly popped into my head, and I wondered if I could try it again. This time in, I was much more experienced at reading patterns, and I wanted the challenge. It really is a gorgeous blouse. I had the perfect fabric for it, and the pattern was tucked away in a drawer. There was no excuse.
I dug out the pattern and modified it slightly. I remembered my first blouse being way too bulky at the front and back so I went down a couple of sizes, and narrowed the front and back pattern pieces slightly. I also added about 6 inches to the overall length as I have a really long back and the first blouse barely made it past my waist.
My little helper Daisy was on hand to oversee the whole process.
I love that my cat snuggles up close when I’m sewing. It’s really sweet.
This time around it wasn’t as scary. Remembering to mark in the notches really helped, hehe. But stuff still went wrong! My feed dogs swallowed up the cuff placket thingy which was annoying.
Then I realised that my alterations had made the blouse too small around the neck. I had to cut about 3 inches out of the neck, which I did inch by inch. Because of this, the yoke at the back is a bit shorter than it should be. Thank goodness I lengthened the blouse!
I procrastinated for a few days before attempting the sleeves. I don’t know if things have changed since I printed the pattern, but Truly Victorian has this thing of not making it clear what side each sleeve goes on. If you read the instructions, they say to match the sleeve seam to the notch marked in the arm hole. It took me a few hours to decided which sleeve went where, experimenting with placement and comparing it to other blouses I own. I’d dropped the arm hole slightly, (I’m a sweaty gal and hate tight clothes digging into my armpits), so the all-important notch didn’t exist. With a lot of luck and a million clips, I got it to work.
Experimenting with sleeve placement. And I sewed them wrong sides together like this to start the French seams. It’s so much easier than doing it inside out.
A couple of hacks that really helped this project was doing the sleeves with French seams. I found that fitting the sleeve to the arm hole with a french seam made it so much easier to see what you were doing. When you trim it and turn it the other way to sew, it looks so tidy. I’m obsessed with french seams now!
The other hack is for the gathering stitches for the sleeves and back. When I put in the gathering stitches, I actually secured one end and only worked from the other end. It means I wasn’t fighting with two ends that could potentially come loose. That way, the gathers were much neater and exactly where I wanted them.
Cutting into the neckline, inch by inch. It was a risk but it paid off.
I procrastinated for a few more days before I started on the buttonholes. I did a lot of practice, but I ultimately botched the bottom and top buttonholes. The bottom is lucky as it’ll usually be hidden under the skirt, and the top could be hidden by a broach or scarf. But it’s still disappointing and not done anything to get over my fear of buttonholes!
If you look closely at the top buttonhole, you’ll notice my sewing machine decided to do its own thing! Ditto with the bottom, but it’s conveniently hidden. Oh well.
My thoughts on the rest of this project?
Much easier this time around, but still with a lot of challenges.
Collar: Eek
Cuffs: Eek, but much easier the second time around.
Yoke: Actually kind of fun.
Will I make this blouse again?
Definitely, but I need to work out my proper size. And I need to practice buttonholes even more. Before I try this again, I really want to give Truly Victorian TV494 a shot. It fits tighter to the body, but, ohhh, those leg of mutton sleeves! I can’t wait!
Final thoughts.
Overall, I absolutely LOVE this blouse, and despite my mistakes I felt it came out really well. It ended up a much better fit than my original oversized blouse. I got this fabric from Joann’s when I found out they were closing, and I love that it’s breathable and really lightweight.
4/5 for the pattern. I really wish Truly Victorian were clearer about which sleeve goes where. That would have saved many hours of scratching my head.
My air conditioner is very historically accurate.
The skirt is the Scroop Historical Fantail pattern.
