Marni silk blouse - muslin cold feet
15 January 2010, 12:14In light of NancyK’s conclusion that KnipMode designer knockoffs aren’t as thoroughly tested as the rest of their patterns, I decided to make a muslin of the KnipMode August 09 Marni catwalk blouse before cutting into my nice teal silk satin (charmeuse).
Only now that I’ve got my bedsheet muslin done, I’m unsure about whether I like it or not. Now, you do have to use a bit of imagination here to block out the busy bedsheet prints (in reality, it’ll all be one solid teal colour, plus collar and cuffs):
Ignoring the frill, the base pattern is just a basic collared shirt pattern, albeit with lots of shaping darts and a concealed button placket. It’s far too long, which is easy enough to fix, but otherwise okay.
It’s the frill I’m not so sure about – is it going to be “too much” when done up in shiny satin? Is it too big and fussy? Or is it fabulous, and what sets this apart from any old blouse? I truly am torn, so if you could please leave a comment declaring it either fussy or fabulous, I’d greatly appreciate it.
While I’m deciding over the blouse, I’m finally breaking into the gorgeous lingerie kit Sigrid brought me last May(!!) and refining my last bra sewing efforts with a couple of tweaks (and brushing up on my skills with her awesome collection of lingerie sewing tutorials!) .
There’s a generous amount of fabric there, so I’m also making my TNT KnipMode thong panties, and fingers crossed squeezing a camisole out of there, too (a modified BurdaStyle Bambi?). Pattern Review have just started a lingerie contest (ending at Valentine’s Day, if you celebrate) so there’s lots of help and resource links in the contest thread if you fancy dipping your toes into sewing lingerie. It’s really not difficult or fiddly, and if you mess up, only you and your dearest will see anyway. And it’s seriously addictive fun!
tags: designer, knipmode, kwik-sew, lingerie, muslin, top
I’m in doubt as well. I think the drape of your fabric will make or break this. I do like the purple Knipmode version, but on your muslin the frill seems larger. Perhaps this is only due to the stiffer fabric. In that case: fab. Otherwise, I would think about making the frill narrower. I would never have picked this blouse myself, but that’s one of the reasons I enjoy your blog so much. You always make me see patterns that I hadn’t looked at twice in a new way.
— Hilde Jan 15, 02:03 PM #
FAB!! I think the frill will drape much more easily in the fluid charmeuse and will not stand out as much as it will be the same colour. Looking forward to seeing it in the real fabric!
— Racheljm Jan 15, 02:10 PM #
Fabulous! I love the silk fabric that you chose for the blouse. The frill will look wonderful!
— cindy Jan 15, 02:27 PM #
Ehh, I say fussy, but then again, I guess it’s not really my style. Too over the top. I don’t think I’m ready to sew any “lingerie” per se, but I do have some jammies I want to make soon.
— Jenny Jan 15, 02:52 PM #
It looks exactly like the photo, just a bit bulkier than in muslin than it will in the silk. At first I wasn’t sure, but the more I look at it I think that it will suit your figure and be a winner. This is not a blouse for a large bust, so this will not be on my list of projects!
— Nancy k Jan 15, 02:56 PM #
Fussy. I do love a good flounce, and I agree that the knipmode purple model is much more drapey and lovely than the stiffer cotton muslin fabric, but …I think the flounce is a little too big for my tastes. I made up a muslin of an older dubarry blouse with a smaller flounce, and about that size was my personal level of comfort.
— allison Jan 15, 03:00 PM #
It’s a bit much for me. However, if you need signature pieces, I think the flounce fits the bill. If there were a way to make the flounce detachable (perhaps with buttons, and then placing them around the whole collar as a feature when the flounce was not on) then it would be adaptable to both? Looking forward to seeing what you decide!
— Dalila Jan 15, 03:51 PM #
I think it would be fab, especially when made up in that pretty silk.
— Amy Jan 15, 04:04 PM #
I’d be more enclined to fussy. But apart from the print aspect, it’d be immensely better in a drapey silk, to be entirely honest. Maybe you can just slap the frill onto a shirt you already have and love, since there’s nothing to the base?
Oh, I like Dalila’s detachable suggestion! If you attach it to a 3rd band with buttonholes that you can button up between the other 2, I think that’d do it pretty painlessly.
— Marie-Christine Jan 15, 04:25 PM #
personally I’d say fussy, though hopefully it would drape better in your chosen fabric. I think for me the frill is just a bit too big, but that could be easily changed.
— Bridget Jan 15, 05:34 PM #
with the frill as is, fussy. With a smaller frill (shouldn’t go over the armhole seam), fabulous!
— ghainskom Jan 15, 05:49 PM #
Fab, the silk will do the trick. It’s maybe a bit over the top, but I think I would love this blouse with jeans and boots. With a skirt for me it’s too ladylike…
— Teddie Jan 15, 07:20 PM #
The frill is seriously fabulous. But, you can hedge your bets with this trick from one of my mother’s old blouses, made by a dressmaker in Taiwan.
Make the frill detachable by adding button bands. My mom’s buttoned over the CF buttons. But you will need buttons on the L shoulder as well. Use well-color-matched buttons on the shoulder and it will be very unobstrusive, even w/o the frill.
— Grace Jan 15, 09:16 PM #
I would definitely make the flounce detachable. And maybe narrower. You’ll just have to play with it to get the right proportion.
— gwen Jan 16, 12:12 AM #
I personally feel itchy about this sort of over-the-top. But it’s something that has to do with my personality and personal style more than anything else. I’d suggest you first shorten it to desired length and see how it looks in proportion to that.
— Hana - Marmota Jan 16, 12:30 PM #
Fussy, certainly on anyone less than about 5’10” tall!
But making a detachable frill is a seriously good idea – and you could easily narrow it later if that seemed to help.
— Anne Frances Jan 16, 01:07 PM #
Hm, I have been looking at this pattern several times myself and I can’t make up my mind either. I tend to love and hate the major asymmetry and over-the-top-ness in equal measure. Personally, I keep shying away from make something similar for another reason though (the same reason I don’t wear big necklaces or scarfs): It seems like it would be impractical and get in the way whenever you do something which requires bending forward even the smallest bit.
— lauriana Jan 16, 01:35 PM #
Your muslin doesnt look any more ‘frilly’ than the photograph and the silk will certainly drape better than bedsheet. I would be inclined to go with the frill – without it the blouse is just ‘any blouse’.
Have fun with the lingerie while you decide.
— Kim Hood Jan 16, 08:26 PM #
I could be too late on this because you may have already made up your mind.
I like the frill and think it will lie much better in your silk but I would consider trying to reduce the width in the upper portion so it’s not wider than the shirt underneath. Having said that, looking at the pink/purple example in the magazine page, this may not be necessary because in a more flowing fabric it might just hang down.
— Rachel Jan 17, 12:33 PM #
Yeah, I think you’re right, it does seem a bit to frilly. Although, after saying that, I do think your silk will drape much nicer than the cotton, so that’s something to keep in mind. I must say though I LOVE The combo of the two fabrics you picked out. Nice.
— Jill Jan 18, 02:03 AM #
Ok I like the design but it is “out there “.I wonder whether the body of the shirt could be made with the dull side and the fabo frill in the shiney.I like it though but there is no point making it and then never wearing it . How would a cheap poly do in making a wearable trial run??
— marianne isaacs Jan 18, 03:55 AM #
On second thought, go for it. What the hell, you do feel good in stuff that’s out there, so no reason that one won’t work too. At least it hits the asymmetry button squarely :-).
— Marie-Christine Jan 18, 11:00 AM #
I like the blouse. I think it would look better in a solid. But otherwise the pattern is absolutely gorgeous!
— senaSews Jan 18, 03:33 PM #
I vote Fab. It’s a whole lotta look, but you can carry it off.
— The Slapdash Sewist Jan 19, 12:30 AM #
The bedsheet is messing with me a little, but I say FABULOUS : )
— Katherine @ ZipZapKap.com Jan 20, 04:00 AM #
It’s Fabulous! Look, I even used a capital ‘F’! Go for it – it will be soooo ‘statement’ :)
I’ve only just discovered your blog and I’m hooked! Really fascinating stuff here. I’ve never heard of Knipmode before but I’m intrigued! Where do yu buy them? I’ve looked at the website but it’s all in Dutch(?)
— Debzy Feb 18, 02:22 PM #