The Sew and Tell Project

When Amy from Peek-a-Boo Pattern Shop released a sneak of the summer blouse she was working on, I knew I wanted in. It was light and flowy, and oh so cute!

The Barcelona Blouse is a loose, flowy top that is perfect for summer heat. It includes a sleeveless and petal sleeve option, and can be made with either knit or woven fabrics. The top yoke is lined, which makes it perfect for a lovely lace fabric. It is available in sizes XXS through XXXL; I tested the size XS in the first round, and the XXXL in the second round.

My big girl’s top is from the first round of testing, and it should be noted that the fit was tightened a bit throughout the lower body, and the v at the neck was originally deeper. I went to Hobby Lobby for clear elastic, found a clearance on spring fabrics, and left with this lovely geometric/Aztec fabric. The lace is woven, backed with plain white quilting cotton, and the knit is a drapey polyester/Spandex blend that is just so soft.

In my opinion, it’s not easy to find a top that a twelve year old girl likes, especially one that her mother made and selected the fabric for. This shirt was a homerun!

She was only a little dismayed when I really did make a matching one for myself. I was told that this is the only time we can ever wear them together.

Overall, this is a pretty simple sew, with a nice clean finish thanks to the lined yoke. The petal sleeves are really cute, and I bet it would be pretty easy to hack the pattern to add a longer sleeve for a cute fall top. This top would also be a great maternity top; with the bottom portion gathered, it would be super easy to increase the width for a growing baby bump.