Marthe

Ahh life. It gets busy doesn’t it? Just as I was slowly getting my sewing mojo (sewjo?) back after the holidays everything else kind of took over. School and getting a driving license (at the prime age of 30 – I figured it was time) meant less energy for sewing. I am loving driving by the way. I’m not particularly good at it, and yesterday I did this obligatory first aid course that was basically all about teaching you that driving KILLS, but I still love how it makes me feel like an adult.  Almost.

But back to sewing! I’ve done quite a lot of pretty damn adorable sewing for a few of my friends babies, which I will blog about shortly. But for now let’s talk Marthe.

I’ve been drooling over this pattern for ages, but for some reason I never went ahead and bought it. I think it was my dread of having to (mis)translate french instructions that put me off, so imagine my utter delight when I saw that they include instructions in English as well. Not sure whether this is a new thing, but it is definitely a good call by RDC.

It’s a super easy make. My only issue was the neckline that insisted on not lying flat. But after some great advise on Instagram from all of you who know so much more than me, I solved that by adding a little dart on the shoulder. I cut a size 42 which was lucky because I completely forgot that I  had to add the seam allowances! Ended up sewing very narrow 1/4″ s.a. and luckily it worked out. I also added 3cm in length to the peplum piece.

The fabric is this gorgeous Indian hand block printed cotton from Cloth House that I picked up on my last trip to London. It’s not a print I would normally go for, but for some reason it was kind of calling out to me in the shop. I knew it had to be something pretty and flowy so pairing it with the Marthe pattern was perfect. I managed to squeeze this out of less than 2 metres of 114cm wide fabric. Their supply list is definitely slightly pessimistic in terms of how much you need!

A note: With this hand block printed fabric you have to wash it with salt beforehand to rinse off excess dye. I got quite vague instructions when I bought it so ended up doing it in the machine. Wrong. Should have carefully hand washed it in warm water with salt until the water ran clear. Doing it in the machine meant that the white background is now a very light shade of pink. Still looks great, but just something to keep in mind.

I am so making more Marthe’s. It’s very comfortable and the silhouette is bang on. I really need to make some more ‘casual but yet fancy’ clothes and Marthe is a great pattern for that I reckon. Maybe one in black?

Project cost:

• Fabric: £16 (I think it was £8 per meter but not sure)
• Pattern: £6.50

Total: £22.50

• Marthe blouse
• Repulique du chiffon