Victory patterns 1002: Ava Blouse

After reading about Victory Patterns over at Lazy Stitching I decided to get the Ava dress/blouse.
The pattern recommends woven fabrics but I used a purple ponte double knit I had in my stash, because I used a knit I ended up making a couple sizes smaller than normal - a 14 through the shoulders with a 2" FBA which I rotated into 3 darts. Its the first time I've actually made a wearable top with darts in it - they look like they still need work but at least I can wear it! The best thing about the fabric was I could leave out the zipper! I dropped the neckline too by around an inch or 2.


The sweetheart neckline reminds me a lot of Colette Macaron, but I like the peplum and blouse option more on this pattern, and I'm actually surprised at how pretty and flattering it is - I was worried the peplum would add too much around my hips, but I love the soft drape it has, and its so comfortable!



I had a bit of trouble with the binding around the neckline and armholes. It twisted a bit on me, I think it was because I cut the binding a bit wider than recommended and didn't sew it tight enough (which was all my fault, not the patterns!), so I ended up doubling it over again and stitching again just to get a smooth finish. If it was any other fabric that lace I would have unpicked it but I found it was way too easy to cut through the lace by mistake when unpicking.


The instructions were quite good - lots of pictures which I always like. The pattern itself went together really well too - the few dodgy bits are all my mistakes! I'll definately be making it again and I'll do the binding better. I'd like to have a go with the dress too - the pattern comes with 3 different lengths - blouse, short dress and tea length dress, it'd make a very pretty dress.