Simplicity 5030, or The Dino Blouse

I have finished it, photographed it and - despite having computer troubles for a couple of weeks that I won't bother to get into - gotten the photos to finally present to you: The Dinosaur Blouse. Appropriate for many occasions, especially job interviews and other places one needs to be fancy. Fancy with dinosaurs.

From The Year 2050

This blouse started as fabric my mother bought me when I was away at college. It wasn't much - a little over a yard - and so I constantly wrestled with what I would make out of it. A pencil skirt, maybe? Maybe... something else? Then, it hit me: a blouse! It would be just enough to make a blouse and it would be fun.

So I used the pattern I've used before, with the Peter Pan collar, because it had a nice fit (and it may have been the only vintage shirt pattern I really had at the time), and whipped it together relatively quickly. (I only noticed the pattern was upside down after cutting the first piece.. but you can't really tell because half of the patterning is sideways anyhow. Oh, well!) Unfortunately, I didn't have any buttons. And I needed buttons.. dinosaur buttons.

From The Year 2050

I was sure they had them, that they existed, but it probably took me a month or so of intermittent trips until I finally found some La Mode stegosaurus buttons. Not quite what I'd remembered, but the only dinosaur buttons I'd found or probably would find.

I anxiously stitched them on and made the buttonholes (which I think I've gotten much better at - maybe I can make a button-all-the-way-down dress now!) and put it on. At first I was going to match the dinosaurs so that the pattern would run evenly, but the fronts aren't quite straight, so they are what they are.

Check out those stego-buttons! From The Year 2050

I love it and I'm so glad I found something wearable to make out of this. The sleeves need to be shortened, but I guess this is a trend I'll have to deal with when making vintage patterns. The shirt makes me feel hip and nerdy and vintage and it's perfect. Ah, it feels good to have a dino blouse!