Some garment designs and sewing patterns really catch your eye... that is what happened to me with the Jolène design by Ready to sew. Every time I saw a post about it, I fell under its spell before I had even checked which pattern it was...
I held off buying it for a year, given my resolutions for 2020 and 2021, but I finally gave in at the end of 2021 after seeing a blouse posted by an Instagrammer I enjoy following, mggplusplus. If you would like to follow her, do! She wrote the book "Coudre à la surjeteuse", which I recommend. I actually gave this book to my mum for Christmas to encourage her to use her overlocker a little more; anyway... I am getting sidetracked. Back to that famous Jolène blouse!
Emilie (Mggplusplus) made it in a gorgeous verdigris shade with the balloon sleeve extension... after that, I gave in 😅. BUT, to stick to my resolutions at least a little, I had to sew it straight away (that was the deal with my resolutions)... so I did, and here is the story.
Emilie's famous version from the Mggplusplus account, with balloon sleeves
My version with dolman sleeves
The pattern
Jolène is a blouse or dress with gathers at the front and back that incorporate the bust and waist darts. It is very clever from a patternmaking point of view and looks beautiful. This is the detail that gives it a little retro feel and made me fall for the design. It also has a collar (available in two versions in the basic pattern) and a peplum/skirt gathered at the waist, which can be lengthened for a midi or maxi dress.
You will find the Jolène dress/blouse pattern on the Ready to sew website in sizes 32 to 46 (height 1.65m, B cup), available only as a PDF for €10.29.
So I had to grit my teeth a little to assemble the approximately 30 pages of the pattern sheet. I would have preferred a printed pattern, but there is not one 😅. That said, the sheets are easy to assemble and align properly, so it took time but was straightforward.
There is also an extension for adding balloon sleeves, different collars or a ruffle at the bottom of the dress, priced at €6.05.
Please note that 1cm seam allowances are included.
The supplies
To make Jolène, you will need:
- Fabrics such as poplin, broderie anglaise, chambray, lightweight denim, flannel or cotton lawn... Allow 270 x 140 cm for the midi dress, 210 x 140 cm for the knee-length dress and 170 x 140 cm for the long-sleeved shirt
- Lightweight interfacing 40 cm x 90 cm
- Buttons (add 2 buttons for the buttoned pointed collar option): Midi dress: 26 Knee-length dress: 20 Shirt: 14
- Matching thread
For my version, I chose a cotton lawn from the Japanese brand Echino (Kokka) that I had brought back from a trip to Japan and that had been waiting for the right project. I had two remnants measuring 80cmX110cm, and size 36 with dolman sleeves fits comfortably into this amount of fabric.
I chose 11mm glitter buttons, which you will find in the shop, along with the lightweight interfacing and matching red Güterman thread.
The toile and alterations
The pattern designer recommends making a bodice toile to check that the size fits you well. I followed her advice and made a size 36 bodice toile (without the collar), and I am glad I did because I needed to make two important alterations:
- raise the armhole by 2cm
- add 2cm of ease to the bodice
Without making a toile, I would not have been able to wear my blouse: it would have been too tight, and I would not have been able to raise my arms... You really cannot say it often enough: making a toile is useful!
You can see that Gisèle (my dress form) is a little tight across the bust 😅
The techniques
The brand rates Jolène as intermediate, but I think it involves quite a few techniques. I would be inclined to say advanced intermediate, or for the adventurous 😊, as you will need to make:
- carefully interfaced collar, collar stand and button placket
- gathers on the front bodice, back bodice and peplum/skirt
- a collar with a collar stand (I recommend basting it before attaching it)
- a button placket
- buttonholes
- hems, including the curved hem at the bottom of the shirt
It is a lovely project for learning all these techniques, and I must say I thoroughly enjoyed sewing it.
The sewing experience
This was a lovely sewing experience for the first Ready to sew pattern I had tried. I am delighted that I made a toile before cutting into my precious remnant. I am also very happy that the alterations I made to the pattern worked perfectly for the fit of my blouse (I can breathe and raise my arms! Hooray!). I think I will be tempted by the balloon sleeve extension to make a dress for spring.
If you feel like sewing a lovely shirt or dress and are not too afraid of tackling these techniques, I really recommend giving it a go!
That brings this pattern review to an end... Are you tempted by this lovely design? Let me know in the comments; I would love to hear from you 😊
Get your needles ready!
