Literary Sewing Circle Project: a Norma Blouse in swimmingly cheerful yellow

And now for my own project for this round of the Literary Sewing Circle! I was inspired by the fabric with this one. I love yellow, and had seen this fabric at my local Fabricland a while back. So when I was thinking about what to make inspired by Snap, I couldn't help but think of all of Frances' time in the pool. And this Bathing Beauties print had to be used! 

I decided to make the Norma Blouse by FibreMood. I downloaded this pattern quite a while ago when it was their featured free pattern. I looked at a few reviews online and decided to make a couple of changes. I raised the V of the neckline by an inch, and added 2" to the length. I didn't change the sleeves at all. 

I basted the last 5 inches or so of the side seams so that I could try it on once the buttons were on and decide if I liked the width or not. I had added about 1/2" to each side seam, but I thought it was just a little snug at the hemline once I finished. So I took out about 3.5" of stitching on each side and made a side slit. I think that was plenty, and it fits more comfortably now. 

One funny thing about this was that I spent a lot of time trying to decide on buttons. I had some yellow ones ready but they just didn't seem to work. I'm not sure if they were the wrong tone, or just faded into the background or what, but once I tried these little red ones I knew they were the way to go. The pattern calls for four buttons, but since there is one at the very top of the placket, and then one right at bust point, I just measured and decided to add a couple. I went with six, although could have left the bottom one off. I like it this way, though, and I do prefer buttons to be set closer together than patterns often call for. 

I really like the sleeve on this one. This is a medium weight cotton, so the gathers at shoulder and cuff really hold their shape nicely. 

The blouse is a wee bit short, even with my added length and short torso -- when I raise my arms the hem raises a bit too, and so I think I'll be wearing higher waisted skirts with this one for safety's sake ;) 

I love the colour! The only change I wish I would have made is a small swayback adjustment - there are a few too many wrinkles in the lower back but oh well, it's not the end of the world. This is a cheerful summer blouse that I think I'll enjoy wearing. 

Literary Sewing Circle: A Project Roundup

 
This round of the Literary Sewing Circle brought lots of fantastical, fun projects. The elements of the book inspired a lot of different ideas from a range of readers. Here are the ones that were shared for the roundup! 

Over on Instagram, longtime participant @conlon.jan decided to take the green slime that Howl creates in a temper as her inspiration and made a Seamwork Cosmo blouse! 

New reader @dolorousrattus used the colours of Howl's suit as her beginning and made a grey and scarlet sweater echoing his style, using the Kajo pattern from Named. 

Over on Threadloop, Sara has shared her Magic Pants, a pattern by Anne Tilley -- inspired by the atmosphere of magic in the book in general. 

And on PatternReview, a few members shared their projects too. SewLSC made McCalls 7975, referencing both Sophie's 'fine gray dress' and the twists of fate she faces throughout the book!

VivianZ made a flamboyant vest with a pattern from Cutting Line Designs, to reflect some of the wild flashes of colour from Howl's spells 

Litapita took her lead from Sophie's cutting up and restitching of Howl's suit, and cut up a shirt she'd made for her husband to make a new pair of pjs! 

Silverdell also thought about Sophie's habit of cutting up Howl's suits (particularly the blue and silver one) and made a colour-blocked top from a Japanese pattern book. 

And of course, my own - a Celeste Dress inspired by Calcifer. This perfect fabric has all the swirly colours of Calcifer's flames, a perfect match. 

This was a fun round of reading and sewing! Thanks to everyone for participating. (And if I've missed your project somehow, please let me know, I will add it) . 

Look for the next round of the Literary Sewing Circle in Spring 2026. 

A Celeste in Calcifer Colours: a Literary Sewing Circle project

I finished my own project for the Literary Sewing Circle this week, and I love it! My inspiration came from the description of Calcifer, especially when Sophie first sees him when she ends up in the Moving Castle for the first time. 

She stretched out a creaking arm and heaved a log on the fire, which sent a spray of green and blue sparks flying up the chimney. She heaved on a second log and sat back, not without a nervous look or so behind her, where blue-purple light from the fire was dancing...she turned back to the fire, which was now flaring up into blue and green flames. "Must be salt in that wood," Sophie murmured... She was side tracked a little by imagining a face in the flames. "It would be a thin blue face," she murmured, "very long and thin, with a thin blue nose. But those curly green flames on top are most definitely your hair...and those purple flames near the bottom make the mouth..." Curiously enough, the only orange flames in the fire were under the green eyebrow flames, just like eyes, and they each had a little purple glint in the middle that Sophie could almost imagine was looking at her, like the pupil of an eye...

 

 The unusual colouration of Calcifer's flames made me think of a fabric I had in my stash -- actually an old sheet (probably from the 80s) that I've had for quite a few years. It leapt to mind and I couldn't stop thinking about it. The hard part was trying to decide what to make with it. I certainly didn't want to waste the fabric, as it is totally unique -- hard to get more of a thrifted sheet from years ago! 

I ended up going with a dress I've made before, which I also thought was pretty suitable to the Calcifer theme. It's the Celeste by Itch to Stitch, as a nod to Calcifer's previous existence. 

I made a couple of modifications this time around. I lengthened it slightly so it's just below the knee, and I extended the sleeve from a short to a 3/4 length, with enough of a turned under hem that I can fold a small cuff as well. Just as with my first version, I didn't put a side zip in, although this fabric is a bit more unforgiving than the linen blend of the first one so it's a bit of a shimmy to get it on. 

I really love how it turned out, and am particularly pleased with the sleeve. I extended it but then checked against another pattern that I liked, and realized that I needed to make the sleeve a bit straighter, as it would have been too narrow at the hem the way I'd first drawn it. A handy way to double check - now the sleeve is perfect. 

I took pictures at an art opening at my library; I felt like it was a good occasion to wear this. Love this easy to wear pattern, and I'm especially happy with this version, which feels more like a fall/winter version to me than my first one which was in floral print with short sleeves! That one is a summer staple. I'm sure I'll get a lot of wear out of my Calcifer dress. 

Rainbow Glass Print & a 90s Blouse: A Literary Sewing Circle Project

I finished my blouse! For my second Literary Sewing Project for this round, I was very taken with an image in the book in which our narrator Violet visits an estate for sale, and finds 'the Rainbow Room'

There is a section of greenish-yellow Vaseline glass, one of pink and green Depression glass, marigold carnival glass, cranberry glass, a group of old cobalt-blue poison and perfume bottles and sun-tinted amethyst glass. Then across the windows at the front of the cottage, the ones facing the water, there is a huge collection of ruby glass.

The cobalt and ruby of this description made me think about a cotton fabric I've had for a very long time. I decided that a crisp summer blouse would be a perfect use for this fabric, although I waffled over which pattern to use for quite a while! I wanted something sleek, without fussy details, to suit this cotton. 

Looking through my recently purchased vintage patterns, I found this Simplicity 8964 pattern (c.1999) with the perfect blouse. Very straight lines to work with my quilting weight fabric, and just the right size to be able to fit onto the amount of fabric I had as well. 

I had to make a few fitting changes, but not that many. I lengthened the body of the blouse by one inch, and removed the shoulder pad allowance (1/2") That means I took 1/2" out of the shoulder seam at the outer edge, and a 1/2" wedge from the shoulder to the armscye notches. I also trimmed down the sleeve cap very marginally, about 1/8" between notches. I also added some width to the sleeve as I don't like tight sleeves. 

The pattern went together very well, although I did try it on right after sewing in the darts and shoulder seams -- I'm not always fond of back bodice darts, they often don't work for me with my short back and larger hip, and this time I didn't like them either! I considered narrowing them, but decided to just remove them and then I tried it on again and liked it fine so just left the back undarted. This didn't affect anything else because the back is simply turned up and hemmed, to meet the front facing. But...I probably should have made a bit of a swayback adjustment. Oh well!

I searched through my extensive button stash but only found one set of navy buttons in the right size. They are subtle and they work, although I don't really love them. They'll do for now! 

In the end, I do like this pattern a lot. And I'm pleased to have found a use for this fabric as a garment. I've had it for a long time; I picked it up while thrifting because it was pretty but wondered if I'd just have to use it for a craft project. I like it made up into this blouse and it definitely makes me think of our shared read this round! 

Terrace Top for the Literary Sewing Circle

I had a bunch of ideas for my project for the Literary Sewing Circle this round. I decided to make this quick one to start with.

I have made a few Terrace dresses by Liesl & Co and have always wanted to make a top version. I had this very soft vintage tablecloth in a bright yellow floral that reminded me of the marigolds that Violet and Bliss planted around the sign for the Purple Barn. So I decided to use it! 

I feel like it fits the book both because of the marigold link and because it's upcycled-- it looks like a 70s piece that could have been for sale at the Purple Barn! 

I cut this to a top length but otherwise just followed my regular process from the 3 previous Terraces I've made. However, I was sewing late at night so made a few rookie errors! I sewed it with a 5/8" seam allowance when it should have been 3/8" - but thankfully it still fits! I raised the neckline a bit so I could fit the entire flower in but I think it's a bit high. I may go back in and cut it down again, or I may not. 

Anyhow this is a bright Dopamine Dressing top that I'm going to enjoy wearing. The 70s vibe goes well with my jean skirt, too! 

Full Moon Bag for the Literary Sewing Circle

After my recent bagmaking workshop, I was inspired to make another bag for my Literary Sewing Circle project! I chose the Full Moon bag by All Well patterns, in a nod to the title of our book as well as the folktale about Chu Cuoi , the man in the moon. 

I had some cream corduroy left over from my recent attempt at a Vogue jacket, and I thought it would make a lovely bag. Along with the corduroy, I had all the necessary items - binding, interfacing and some fittings from a cheaper bag I thrifted a year or more ago. I took that bag apart and used the tabs and strap to give some contrast to this moon coloured Full Moon bag. It's like moonlight and shadow ;) 

This bag is a free pattern, and it's pretty straightforward. There is no lining but I interfaced all of my corduroy pieces with a medium weight fusible to give it a bit more heft. There is a pocket on the outside, and one on the inside. 

The hardest part was sewing bias binding over the interior seams. I was very glad I had some little clips when doing this, as pins were impossible. It's pretty messy, but it's inside so as long as I caught all the edges in I wasn't about to unpick unless absolutely necessary ;) I also used a black 12" zip from my stash as contrast, and I like the effect. 

The trick with this fabric was to be sure to cut it with the nap going down, on all pieces. That way the bag feels smooth when I'm holding it or moving it around - the opposite direction feels awful to my hands and I would never use a bag that felt like petting a cat the wrong way! It was also a bit thick to sew through when there were multiple layers at an intersection; I only broke one needle though. It was too lightweight, when I replaced it with a 90/14 it worked very well, as long as I was going at a slower speed and paying attention. 

This is quite a nice bag, and I really like the finished effect! It's big enough to slip a paperback into for those times that you need some backup, too ;) At least if you make the "large" size option like I did - there is also an option for a "small" that could be very cute in a fancy fabric. I find that the chain is a tiny bit long on my short body so I may take a few links out. But with the tabs I can always switch out straps as well. I enjoyed making this, the second bag I've ever made (excluding tote bags). Definitely an easy go for a newbie like me. 

An Oxford Dress for the Literary Sewing Circle

It's time for me to share my project for this round of the Literary Sewing Circle! I considered many things, including patterns that I already owned and plan on making someday. But I couldn't get the Oxford Dress by Treize Cocquelicot out of my mind, after sharing it in our first inspiration post. So I went for it! 

I used some watery print rayon from my stash - I have had it for a long time so was pleased to use it. I only had 2.5 m however, so had to make the short sleeve version. I intend to make the puffed and cuffed longer sleeve another time! This view worked really well with the short sleeve, however, as the rayon challis is very soft and probably wouldn't hold the shape of the puffed sleeve anyhow. 

My alterations were very minimal. I added 1" to the skirt length, graded it from 42 at neck to 44 at waist, and added pockets. I didn't have enough fabric left for four pocket bags, so I pieced together the largest scraps I had and cut the pockets from those bits. The skirt is so full there was no need to worry about seams showing through. This is all I have left from my 2.5 m! 

I stitched the top of the pocket bags into the waist seam to anchor them and this seems to have worked well. I changed a few things in the construction as well - the bodice is lined, and you are supposed to sew the main piece to the skirt then hand stitch down the lining over that seam, for a beautiful clean finish. I just sewed it all together as one and zigzag finished the seam, pressing up to the bodice. There is a slit at the back neck so you can get this over your head, and instead of making a thread loop I sewed a little elastic loop into the opening edge. The pattern suggests this as well as a few more ideas for that area.

The only unusual things about this pattern come from the translation, mainly. The back button loop is called a "flange" but she means the button loop. Also, it's important to note that the sleeve notches are the reverse of English patterns; the front notch is a double notch, and the back one is single. I made a special note on the pattern pieces when I traced them so I would not forget this! 

Overall this was a quick and uncomplicated project. I really like the floatiness of the rayon and it's a cute basic summer dress. While I was sewing I was worrying that the bodice looked quite small but it isn't, it fit just right according to the size I cut corresponding to my measurements (which is generally 42/44 just like Burda). The pattern runs from 32-48 in European sizes so it is fairly limited, unfortunately, as it's a really lovely design. 

I enjoyed making this Oxford Dress from a print reminiscent of the river, or maybe Colonel Mering's fishpond! I hope you have all enjoyed reading and found a fun project to make as well.