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Mathilde / Handmade Wardrobe

October 1, 2019 2 Comments

Opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. Read our site policies.

Sewing the Mathilde Blouse: what worked? What didn't? And where can you find fun, fresh fabric to pair with some beautiful buttons for adding to your handmade wardrobe? This post has the answers.

Tackling sewing tops was at, well, the top of my summer making list. As an intermediate sewist, it was starting to feel like time for a challenge, and techniques found in a lot of women’s shirt patterns seemed like right thing to try next. Specifically, I’d only ever done buttons on my Boardwalk Duet, and for some reason French seams hadn’t yet crossed my sewing table… ever. Enter the Mathilde sewing pattern from Tilly and the Buttons, sewn in On Lines fabric , and finished with the most adorable vintage buttons.

Vintage buttons via Etsy
The vintage button set I used for this top. Image via nevadafuffsstuff on Etsy.
Sewing the Mathilde Blouse: what worked? What didn't? And where can you find fun, fresh fabric to pair with some beautiful buttons for adding to your handmade wardrobe? This post has the answers.
Sewing the Mathilde Blouse: what worked? What didn't? And where can you find fun, fresh fabric to pair with some beautiful buttons for adding to your handmade wardrobe? This post has the answers.

Fabric Selection

Being a smart sewist, I made sure to look through the Mathilde pattern hashtags and posts on the Tilly and the Buttons Blog for inspiration before making my official fabric selection for this top. A lot of folks went for an allover polka dot or solid for their Mathildes, but I was kind of wanting a striped shirt in my wardrobe, and I was hoping to find something to help me practice a bit of pattern matching as well.

In my fabric hunt, I fell in love with On Lines from Art Gallery Fabrics’ Aligned collection right when I saw it. If you know me or my style at all, you’ll not be surprised. The primary colors, interestingly-combined geometric shapes, and the overall barcode-ish vibe* were 100% calling my name.

*I am a former Librarian. ;)

P.S. In my search, I think I only found one other person who attempted stripes (probably because of the tucks across the front of this blouse). But I said screw it, I wanted an excuse to play with this fabric, and I figured I’d learn the hard way why people avoided stripes. As predicted, pattern matching wasn’t possible in most of the blouse, but again, I didn’t mind.

Sewing the Mathilde Blouse: what worked? What didn't? And where can you find fun, fresh fabric to pair with some beautiful buttons for adding to your handmade wardrobe? This post has the answers.
Sewing the Mathilde Blouse: what worked? What didn't? And where can you find fun, fresh fabric to pair with some beautiful buttons for adding to your handmade wardrobe? This post has the answers.

Thoughts & Feelings about the Mathilde Blouse pattern

I got a physical copy of the Mathilde pattern while vacationing in Denver because when in Denver, one is morally obligated to visit Fancy Tiger Crafts. And when you’ve been curious to try a pattern from a particular company and it’s right there on clearance, you really have no choice but to go with it.

I don’t believe the pattern is available in print any longer, but you can still get the pattern PDF from the Tilly website. An interesting thing about this pattern was that the instructions read more like a tutorial than an old-school sewing pattern. That, plus the instructive tutorials on the Tilly blog, make this an advanced beginner-friendly sew.

Sewing the Mathilde Blouse: what worked? What didn't? And where can you find fun, fresh fabric to pair with some beautiful buttons for adding to your handmade wardrobe? This post has the answers.
Sewing the Mathilde Blouse: what worked? What didn't? And where can you find fun, fresh fabric to pair with some beautiful buttons for adding to your handmade wardrobe? This post has the answers.

What I’d change

Once or twice I felt myself wishing the instructions were a little more traditional, but that’s more personal preference than anything.

As usual for my body type, the finished pattern is just a skosh too big everywhere other than my boobs and hips when I work from just a bust measurement. Lesson: It’s very clearly time for me to learn how to do a full bust adjustment from a smaller size to achieve a good fit in both the bust and torso.

Design-wise, I have two critiques for Mathilde. She’s just a little too short – how the heck will I ever wear this tucked into something? For my personal style, that’s something I need to remember and/or adjust for. Added to that, the sleeves are pretty voluminous, which rules for photo shoots, but it’s a lot of fabric near my elbows. (In literally every designer’s defense forever, though, I rarely wear jewelry or other getting-in-the-way things because I’m just that kind of gal.)

Sewing the Mathilde Blouse: what worked? What didn't? And where can you find fun, fresh fabric to pair with some beautiful buttons for adding to your handmade wardrobe? This post has the answers.

In the end

Hair-splitting aside, I really enjoyed sewing my Mathilde! It was a fun challenge to find a couple logical places to pattern match. French seams? Turns out they’re not so bad! And even though I’ll likely take in this top at the back for fit, this was my biggest and best button installation to date. My Mathilde makes a great canvas for some truly cute red flower buttons (found in this Esty shop), and it shows off some of this lovely fabric too. Looking forward to tromping around Chicago in this all fall!

Sewing the Mathilde Blouse: what worked? What didn't? And where can you find fun, fresh fabric to pair with some beautiful buttons for adding to your handmade wardrobe? This post has the answers.

Opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. Read our site policies.

Filed Under: Handmade Wardrobe, Sewing Tagged With: french seams, handmade wardrobe, mathilde, me made, Sewing, tilly and the buttons, vintage buttons

About Heidi

Heidi Gustad (she/her) is a craft book author & designer specializing in yarn crafts. Her work combines vintage and modern design elements, prioritizing color and graphic motifs. Her first book, Latch Hook: 12 Projects for the Modern Maker, is out now.

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Comments

  1. Patty McGuire

    October 5, 2019 at 7:30 pm

    Oh my gosh, Heidi!! It’s so beautiful! I have not attempted a top yet. I have done pajama pants, which I love and various house hold items and bags galore. But never a top. I want to try sewing from some of my other patterns first to get warmed up enough. I do love this version, and I think the stripes look amazing.

    Reply
    • Heidi

      October 7, 2019 at 1:51 pm

      Thanks so much! I think I’ve decided to take in the back right where the pattern isn’t currently matched but close. But the odds of that happening in the near future are… slim. ;) -H

      Reply

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Heidi Gustad from Hands Occupied / Craft Book Author and Knitting, Crochet, Latch Hook and Macrame Designer

Hi! I’m Heidi (she/her/hers), and I’ve been helping yarn crafters untangle various techniques on the internet since 2010. I got my start here, as a blogger, and since then I’ve shared more than a few tutorials here and on YouTube as I’ve grown as a pattern designer. 🧶 

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