My makes of 2015: Mathilde blouse

This is the second instalment in my 'Makes of 2015' series, in which I'm shining the spotlight on my unsung makes of 2015 - you know, the ones I've been wearing so much that I've forgotten to shout about them! If you missed the last instalment you can find it here. So, what's up next?

My Mathilde blouse! I made this in March last year, and it's been a staple of my chilly weather wardrobe ever since.

I'd been thinking about treating myself to a Tilly & the Buttons pattern for a while, so when Mathilde came along I bit the bullet and went for the online download option (I do love cutting and sticking!). I'm also a bit of a scrimper and saver, so I went for the most complicated pattern so I felt like I was getting more for my money....!

As with most of the unsung makes I'm featuring in this series I have truly terrible photo documentation of them, so apologies for the poor lighting and whatnot. I'll try to do better with this year's projects!

Before I started on my blouse I took a little look at Tilly's Pinterest board which features lots of Mathildes that have already been made - there were even some Mathilde dresses on there, which looked amazing! I was particularly inspired by the piped detail on Lauren's version, so I went a little navy blue crazy and added accents wherever I could.

I had a lot of navy fabric left over from last year's astronomy scarves, so I went ahead and made myself a whole load of bias binding in different widths for different parts of the blouse. I inserted the thinnest binding between the vertical tucks on the front of the blouse, and slipped another strip under where the yoke attaches to the tucked panel - you can see the finished front panel above, when it had been freshly ironed! You'll also notice the excellent centring of the pattern on the middle panel *cough* I know I should have also pattern matched the yoke but there wasn't enough fabric *cough*.

I also added a wider navy edging to the bottom hem (because I was still on a navy blue high), and matched the cuffs and button band too! This turned out to be a great move because I had enough pattern fabric left over to self-cover my buttons, so they really stand out. Ooh, I should also say at this point that the main fabric I used was another of the cotton silks I bought in Malaysia that Christmas with no particular project in mind. The combination of its opacity but drapiness (spellcheck tells me that isn't a word, but it definitely should be) made it perfect for this project - anything heavier wouldn't have gathered so well at the shoulders and cuffs.

So there's the finished blouse! One thing I *would* say is that it was sooooooo hard to take great pictures of this top without me looking like I have a hunch back, or Michelin Man arms, or whatever, so please bear in mind that it looks amazing in real life, and calibrate your opinions accordingly!

Has anyone else tried the Mathilde pattern yet? I'd love to make another one for this summer!