The Edith by Maria Denmark

The last piece I have to share that I made prior to PatternReview Weekend is an Edith blouse, made because of the Camp Shirt contest set for PR Weekend. I needed a button up, flat collar shirt, and since I've always meant to make Maria Denmark's Edith Dress, I thought that the blouse view would work for me here!

I measured the flat pattern and adjusted it slightly -- mainly adding in a bit of width on each side seam below the bust to the hem, as usual for my pearish figure. I didn't really make any other adjustments as I was sewing quickly on deadline and thought of this as my (hopefully) wearable muslin.

As it turns out, it fits amazingly well! The darts are a bit wonky, and I will have to lower and shorten the bust darts slightly, reduce the length of the front darts by about an inch or even a bit more, and both raise and shorten the back darts. This blouse fits well but these adjustments should help another rendition sit better and fit even more comfortably.

The collar/facing step was straightforward. It went on like a dream and looks really great. I saw Riversmocker's version on PR that had a contrast collar & that is something I'd like to try on a second go round. It looked great!


I used some stash fabric from the thrift store pile in my sewing area. I pulled out this piece which was oddly shaped, having already been cut into, and wondered if the narrowish pieces of the Edith would work. They did! Another problem with the fabric was that there was a small stain and tiny fraying hole right in the middle of one side. Most fortunately, I could lay out the back piece with the centre of the wide back dart right over this spot :)

I squeezed it all on to this rescued fabric, and didn't think about pattern matching until it was all cut. Oops! Again, the sewing gods were with me. The front matches better than I could have managed if I'd tried! And I found these little silver buttons in the stash, which just worked perfectly.

I put my blouse on Dotty, my dress form, and pinned the position of the buttons very carefully, to make sure everything lined up. And then put the final stitches in... this was the most painless make ever. I couldn't believe how it all worked together so wonderfully.

I've worn this outfit a few times now - it's cool but also perfect for work or for days out. I am definitely going to try the dress view of the Edith, with those alterations I mentioned earlier, and hope it will all go as well on the second try!