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I would have never worn brown or any color close to brown when I was younger, but this year’s Pantone color really caught my eyes.
Mocha mousse is a vibrant and deep color and I was drawn to it. So I looked for something close and I experienced Eglantine and Zoe’s caramel Polk Poppies viscose twill* for a pussy-bow blouse called Zamora*.
The Zamora blouse
This pattern is a re-writing of a staple, namely the pussy-bow blouse. It features a deep V neck with a buttoned placket and a wonderful bow tie.
The sleeve options are 3/4 or long, with gathered cuffs.
The sizes range from US oo to 20 and there’s an option for cups (A to DD).
There are lovely tucks at the front, bust darts, and optional fisheye darts for shaping at the front and back (double darts at the front).
If you’re not keen on deep necklines, the designer wrote an article about how to raise it. And if you’re not a fan of bow tie, she also wrote an article about skipping it.
You will need some lightweight fabric with drape. Viscose twill or tana lawn would be perfect.
A narrow hem finishes the blouse.
I only shortened the blouse: -1/2″ at the upper S/L line and -1″ at the lower S/L line.
“Polk Poppies” caramel fabric for my Zamora
Eglantine and Zoe’s viscose twill* was the right choice for the Zamora blouse.
I used a brand new universal needle in size 80* and some Gutermann thread* (#934).
The shoulder seams are reinforced with stay tape* and the button placket with Vlieseline G785* (my go-to interfacing for cupro, viscose, any lightweight fabric).
All of the pintucks were carefully pressed with an iron set at 2, without steam.
Those released pintucks took ages to transfer:
- I cut the pattern piece along the lines of the pintucks
- I placed the pattern piece on the right side of my fabric then used my chalk pen* to transfer them, without distorting the fabric
- I pressed the lines as instructed
I did the same for the darts since I added all of the fisheye darts for a slimmer fit.
WARNING: The bow tie placement notches are wrong on the pattern piece: the “cut on fold” double arrow should be on the other side of the rectangle.
Even the buttons
This blouse will be perfect with any pants or skirts. Since I almost always wear denims, it adds a cute touch.
I chose to sew Eglantine and Zoe’s Shiny caramel buttons*. Their diameter is only 10mm and they are lightweight enough not to drag the fabric down.
That sewing project is not tricky (compared to the Acari trench-coat I made just before!), but pintucks and darts were time-consuming.
I’ll probably sew other blouses, but I may size down to a size 6 because, even with the darts, I find it a bit too loose to my taste.
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