Yes! The Pendrell blouse DOES work in a knit fabric. I finished it up and wore it to work yesterday!
This blouse is so, so soft! It’s like a tee shirt, but elegant. It’s the tee shirt all grown up and sophisticated. Anyways, I love it! I’m really happy with the look of this blouse, plus it’s incredibly comfortable. Great idea!
Some tricks to sewing this blouse in knit fabrics:
- Use a jersey needle with a ballpoint tip, as recommended.
- This blouse does feel a bit larger in a knit fabric, because of the stretch and weight of the fabric. If you’re used to wearing snug-fitting tee shirts, this will fit quite differently. I like it, but if you want a tighter fit you’ll need to make some alterations. (See the photo below – there’s a lot of space around the waist. If it were a silk charmeuse or other lightweight fabric, it wouldn’t be quite so noticeable and you’d need the extra room to get it on and off…)
- Be sure to staystitch the neckline carefully, without pulling or stretching the fabric. You don’t want the neckline to gap or stick out from the body!
- When hemming the body, use a stretch stitch or zigzag so the hem stitches don’t break when you put on the blouse or take it off.
- In fact, use a stretch stitch or zigzag for all seams, for stretchability! (I didn’t – I wanted to sew the blouse exactly as if it were a woven, as an experiment. It works, but there’s a chance if I take it off real quick I might snap the stitches. Do a few tests on your chosen fabric to find the right stitch for your project.)
- If you follow the instructions for bias neck binding, it may be a bit bulky and doesn’t stretch. You could use an alternate way to bind the neck edges, that’s more suitable for knit fabrics, but the original method does work. I quite like the tidiness of the binding the way it’s done though, it’s very stable and clean.
Also, you don’t need the princess seams for shaping in a knit fabric, technically the stretch would provide shaping around your curves. However I really like how it’s shaped around the bust – and if you are larger on top it’s much easier to add to the seamlines! Plus, the seams are there to set in the sleeve or ruffle.
Final verdict? I love the Pendrell blouse in a knit fabric. What do you think?
UPDATE: Like this blouse? Make your own! The Pendrell Blouse is available in the Pattern Store here.
I absolutely love it! I can’t wait till you start to sell the patterns. Each time I see your blouse I love it more and more. Now I want one for myself :)
oh that blouse is fantastic, now i want one!!
Looks great. What fabric did you use? It seems like a 2 way stretch (not super stretchy like a rayon jersey would be)…
I love it! I just bought some french terry which I think would be perfect since it’s a more stable knit. I think it’ll have the effect of a girly short-sleeved sweatshirt. I also love the idea of doing the ruffle version in a fluffy sweatshirt material and leaving the sleeve/ruffle edges unfinished so they curl up a little showing the fleece. I cannot wait for this to be available!
I love it! I may have to try this in a knit (eeek!). :)
looks fabulous!!
Oh!!! So pretty and cute. Who knew knit would work? I heart jersey knits, I think I shall have to make a knit pendrell for myself now. Thanks for the inspiration! Your projects are always awesome sauce.
Oh my… this is goodness. Good job!
It is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!!! I would totally buy this in a shop! can’t wait for your pattern to be available! Maybe not suitable just yet for me as a beginner but very inspiring!
I love it in a knit..it looks fantastic!
I really like it in the printed knit fabric. You look amazing.
It’s great in knit! I love that it’s like a “t-shirt, but elegant.” That is so my kind of shirt/blouse.
It’s lovely! I far prefer this view A of your blouse pattern in the knit fabric verses the original one in the blue woven (but then I’m a big buyer of RTW knit tops so I prefer the fabric LOL!). The look is softer on the sleeves I think :)
I love it in the knit. Just what I thought, a dressy t. I’d love to know where you are finding these beautiful prints. I may have to plan a trip out to the west coast…
I love the idea of wearing it as a dressed up Tshirt. I’d probably size down at the waist and hips though. I love that print too!
this top has such a lovely shape! I’d make it in a plain jersey, maybe black or grey. I know that sounds boring but I’d not want anything detracting from the details. Having said that, this print is fab and looks great on you.
I love it! comfy and lovely is my favorite combo!
Oh my goodness!! I LOVE that print! The colors are beautiful on you!
It looks gorgeous. Especially in comination with that skirt. Beautiful!
Wow, that is gorgeous, and it looks great on you!
It is stunning! I love the colour, and it looks AMAZING in the floral knit! Don’t suppose the fabric is one that is available online its it?
Looks just as nice as the woven version! Usually when going from woven to knit, you need to go down a size, don’t you?
Ooh, I love it! Itwould look equally cute with jeans. Also, I love that fabric – where did you get it?
Hi everyone! Just a quick note to say I’ll try to find the fabric online for you guys – I bought it at my local fabric store so if you’re in the Lower Mainland, head to Fabricana! There are two other colourways as well that are equally pretty. It’s super recent so I bet it will be out there somewhere! If you’ve seen it, let me know!
Very cute! Are your patterns going to fit larger sized women also? If you don’t mind, can you tell me what type interfacing you used for your blue coat?, and what tailoring techniques did you use?
just as I thought, it turned out great! Stabilizing the neckline is essential and there are several ways to do that. Thanks for listening to our requests!
Very cute. The fabric is perfect for that style of shirt. Well done!
Faye, I’ve been getting that question a lot about the blue coat!
I did no tailoring on it at all. I basically only followed the pattern directions which resulted in a nice, soft coat without much structure. I used fusible interfacing, a basic medium-weight type from the local fabric store, and if I remember correctly, I didn’t even interface the front, just the facing! (I’ll poke inside and see, and let you know…) There are no shoulder pads or sleeve heads in my version. Super basic. I like my Lady Grey coat the way it is, but I’m looking forward to doing more tailoring work in my next coat project.
Does that help? Let me know if you have any more questions!
As for the pattern sizing, my patterns will range from a 30″ bust to a 41″ bust. That’s what I have planned so far. They’ll be proportioned so that the hips are much larger than the bust measurement, I believe the largest size I’ve set at 41-35-47. It’s about a Vogue 20 in the bust and waist, and a Vogue 22-24 in the hip. Because bust sizes vary so much, I’d like to incorporate details that are easy for you to fit and adjust, like the princess seams on the blouse. I’m also going to include all sizes in one pattern (not 2-4-6-8 and 10-12-14-16 like Vogue and Mccalls) so there will be a range of sizes to choose from, no possibility of ordering the wrong size.
I’ll definitely have the size chart posted just before the patterns are ready for sale!
I hope this helps. Ask away if you have more questions!
Oh and here is a link to buy the fabric online! (Be warned, it’s not cheap but it sure is pretty…and you can get all 3 colours!)
http://store.sawyerbrook.com/Rose-Riot/productinfo/SO10-077/
Thanks so much to Jessica for the online fabric source!
Your pattern does look fabulous done up in this knit. The whole outfit is just right!
Oh yes, it does work beautifully in a knit. It’s lovely!!
Hi Tasia,
Love the knit blouse. Hem can be stitched with a double needle (for knits) and this will solve the “need for stretch” problem. The knit fabric can be purchased from Fabricana – they do mail orders – but sometimes the shipping costs can be quite high. Still worth doing a comparison with the on line price.
Wow! So excited about your patterns – can’t wait for them to come out! I’m lusting over the fabric you used but blue. How much fabric does the pendrell blouse need?
Thanks @Mary Pona: for the info on knits and ordering from Fabricana :)
@Belinda: I haven’t worked out the requirements for all sizes and all widths of fabric – but here’s what I used:
For the draped sleeve: 1.3m of 54″ wide fabric for size 4, which fits a 32″ bust.
For the ruffled sleeve: 1.4m of 54″ wide fabric for size 4
There’s a lot of wastage because the sleeves or ruffles are cut on the bias. I hope this helps! Pretty soon I should have more information worked out on fabric requirements. If you’re unsure, I’d round up to 2m or 2 yards to be safe…
Wow! That looks too cute. It worked so well with the knit and I love the fabric pattern you used.
Oh, that is so pretty! I’m such a knits girl, so it’s nice to see that this blouse works in both wovens and knits. I cannot wait for the pattern launch.
Oh my goodness, so beautiful. You look gorgeous and this knit is great! Just ordered the Pendrell and am happy you can utilize both knits and woven here. Another win from the amazing folks at Sewaholic!