What hooked me on this particular pattern is the collar. The surprise element about it is that it looks like a shawl collar, but it actually isn't. The collar is a separate piece.
Here's my bolero:
I sewed my usual size, which is a 6. The size 6 bolero is drafted to be 15.5 inches long. I'm a proportioned petite, and shortened it because my boleros need to be a little shorter than that. I also shortened the collar and front facing by the same amount so the pattern pieces would match.
If you are a proportioned petite, be sure to check the length if you sew this. A bolero isn't a bolero unless it's bolero length. Boleros that are too long look awful on those of us who are proportioned petites.
The fabric that I used is a stretch beige/sand floral jacquard.
I've sewn with stretch wovens many times, and always interfaced them. I often didn't like the way what I made turned out with interfacing. It had too much body with some types of interfacing, while it was like not having any interfacing at all with the softer types.
This time, I embarked on a grand experiment! I sewed this like I would a knit. I sewed it without any interfacing!
I always stabilize the shoulders on my knits with cotton twill tape--I did that here, too. If there's one thing I can't stand, it's shoulders that stretch!
I haven't worn my bolero yet, so I can't say if my experiment was a success or a bust! I'll come back and revise this post when I know.
Oh, one more thing! I raised the armholes on this, and raised the sleeves accordingly, but when I sewed the sleeves on, I had more sleeve than armhole. I had to make adjustments to make it work.
The mis-match might have been due to the draft of the pattern, or it could have been due to operator error--not sure. If you sew this, check the sleeve against the armhole before you cut.
After completing the bolero, I realized that it didn't really look good with the aqua and white tops that I made this to wear with. When paired with a beige top that I made a few years ago, though, it created a monochromatic look that works for me. The pairing is very versatile--it will work with jeans for a casual look, and with a skirt for a stepped up look:
Oh, and about the RTW pieces that I tossed--before actually getting them out of here, I retrieved a few that I thought I could re-work to be flattering enough for me to actually enjoy wearing. Here are 2 that apart, no longer work for me, but together, they make a very wearable casual outfit. I will definitely be wearing this with jeans during the Fall:
It's only July, but I'm already thinking ahead!
Up next is the peplum top from my Sunshiny Day 6 pak. Vogue 8815's version of the peplum top is popping up all over the place in sewing blogland--I am definitely on that bandwagon! But I'm sewing New Look 6130 first because I really like the asymmetrical hemline!
That's it for now!
Make this day a good one!
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