Flannel Blouse

Back in mid-December I took a little wander through the Anthropologie in Carmel, looking for scented candles. While sniffing the various options, I happened to notice a rack of plaid flannel shirts that didn't look like plaid flannel shirts. They were more like blouses that happened to be made of flannel. It was a cold and windy day outside; I had a vision of a nice, soft, warm flannel blouse that could be my very own.

The idea stuck with me, so I made a visit to Hart's to check out their wares. I found this Robert Kaufman mammoth flannel in a color way called Turquoise Surf. It spoke to me, so I grabbed a couple of yards and got to work.

I used Burdastyle 06/2011 #104, a top I've made a few times before. I like this top because it makes it easy to finesse pattern matching. The design lines are very simple and there are no darts. Burda uses a few gathers at the shoulder instead.

I cut the cuffs on the bias to avoid plaid matching there. I would have cut the button band on the bias too, but I didn't have enough fabric. When I was standing at the cutting table two yards seemed like plenty to make me a top. But I forgot to notice that this fabric is 44 inches wide, which is narrower than I'm used to. Doh! I tried to match up the horizontal lines at least, and I don't think it came out too bad.

I kind of wish I'd interfaced the cuff pieces. I decided to skip interfacing altogether, because two layers of flannel seemed like it was about as thick as I could deal with. I think it's just fine for the button band, but those bias cut cuffs warped a bit with handling. It passes the galloping horse test, though, so I'm not too fussed.

This is my second flannel shirt, along with my flannel Archer. I've been loving them. Winter on the Central Coast can feel even colder in the house than it does outside. A flannel shirt is just the thing to take the edge off.

My pattern review is on PatternReview.com here.