Simply Style Belcarra Blouse

This week, I have my second Belcarra Blouse to share with you, dear readers. Why did I make another one so quickly after the first? Aside from the fact that I really love this pattern, I also really despise tracing pattern pieces. When I find something that works for me, I like to make it more than once to get the maximum benefit of said pattern pieces.

When I made the Celebration Belcarra Blouse, I ended up with quite a bit of yardage left over, given that the pattern called for 2.25 yards of fabric for my size. Curious, I decided to see if I could squeeze a Belcarra Blouse out of less than 2 yards. I happened to have 1.5 yards of Simply Style by V and Co. in my stash, and it worked! I had to piece together the neck binding instead of using one continuous piece of fabric, but I didn’t mind. The amount of waste in garment sewing bothers me a bit. What do non-quilters do with their scraps? What am I going to do with the scraps once I graduate from quilting cottons to more traditional apparel fabric? In the meantime, I will pat myself on the back for using so little yardage on this shirt.

Another change that I made was narrowing the back piece by 1/2”, which makes it feel a little more fitted, but still loose and comfortable. I also used a smaller seam allowance on the neck binding. Both of these alterations helped narrow the neckline somewhat, but it’s still a little bit on the wide side.

All in all, I love this Belcarra Blouse even more than the first one. The fabric has a nicer feel to it, even though they are both quilting cotton, and the grey color is more my style. This pattern is so awesome, I’ve already started on a third one!