When the Eugénie blouse from Atelier Bernie was released a little over a year ago, of course I thought: I’m going to sew it!

Plus, Marie Hélène had given me 1.5m of cotton lawn with a floral pattern after her trip to England. The combination was simply perfect.

I cut it out in July 2023, put it aside during a pregnancy, and sewed it in March 2024 to celebrate our new collaboration with Morgane, the creator of Atelier Bernie... yes, yes, I win the award for the longest project 😂

Anyway, let me tell you about my sewing adventure!

The model

The Eugénie blouse from Atelier Bernie is a blouse inspired by the Edwardian cuts of the early 20th century. Its name refers to Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. Beyond its beauty, she made history for her concern for women's condition and her modernity. It’s a model with a simple appearance composed of a yoke that shapes a pretty neckline and is highlighted by gathers. Its cut is loose for a puffed effect when worn tucked into high-waisted pants.

The Eugénie blouse is offered with a yoke, cuffs, and sleeves decorated with inlaid trims and pintucks. You can use lace trims, broderie anglaise, ladder stitches, embroidered trims... It is also possible to sew the version without a yoke.

The sleeves of the Eugénie blouse are gathered at the sleeve head and at the wrist. They can be plain or decorated with a trim along the arm. The cuffs are long and offered in two versions: one simple, without opening, designed for trim inlay; the other classic with a single slit and buttons.

Finally, a button placket runs along the back to finish this blouse full of details.

Practical information for sewing this pattern

Eugénie is an intermediate-level blouse for the simple version and advanced for the version with trims. It’s great to have this kind of evolving pattern according to your sewing level.

The Eugénie blouse is available on the site in printed and PDF versions.

It is available in a nice range of sizes since it can be sewn from size 32 to 50, and that’s really great. My mom, who wears plus sizes, really likes Atelier Bernie patterns, especially the George dress which she has made several times and which allows for a well-fitted dress despite a fuller figure.

To sew Eugénie, you’ll need quite a bit of time if you choose the version with yoke. Morgane estimates about 13 hours of work, and about 6 hours without the yoke.

Note that the version with yoke requires care and precision. I recommend this version to those who enjoy taking the time to achieve beautiful finishes; otherwise, your pintucks might end up crooked!

In the seamstress’s basket
To sew Eugénie, you will need:

My supplies

As I mentioned earlier, Marie Hélène had given me a nice piece of cotton lawn brought back from her trip to England. So I had 1.5m of fabric.

And despite that, I struggled to fit all the pieces in. I must admit it took me over an hour of Tetris to arrange all the pieces. I finally had to cut the button placket into two parts, but that wasn’t a problem because I made the seam in line with the back yoke extension. This piece was used to its maximum 😂. Well, I recommend buying 2m of fabric as the pattern suggests—you’ll save a lot of time!

I took two spools of good thread: a navy blue for my assembly seams and a white one to attach the broderie anglaise trims.

I chose two types of trims: a very open 3cm one and a small, very cute trim.

I also used my serger to finish the edges, fusible interfacing for the button placket, and 20mm red bias tape.

I rummaged through my stash looking for pretty buttons.

Difficulty level and technical points

Eugénie is classified as intermediate level for the version without yoke and advanced with yoke.
The technical points will therefore be quite different depending on the chosen version.

The technical points (for the more difficult version) are:
- trim inlay
- pintucks
- single slit
- gathers
- bias application
- buttonholes

Making the pintucks and adding trims require a lot of patience and precision. You must not rush but use the iron and plenty of pins!

My sewing experience

To be honest—and it’s not just because this blouse is also called Eugénie—I really enjoyed it! It had been a long time since I took the time to sew such a technical project. Taking the time to make well-aligned pintucks, adding trims... it was almost meditative as a sewing project. It felt good to take my time and enjoy sewing.

For my version with yoke, I chose size 38 (my size in Atelier Bernie). Be sure to check the measurement chart when choosing your size. Morgane designs garments that fit well. So I’m a 38 in her brand compared to other brands where I’m usually a 36 (Coralie Bijasson, Atelier des premières) or even 34 (fibremood, Maison Victor...). So a size check is necessary.

The instructions for choosing and sewing broderie anglaise trims are very detailed and make this somewhat special sewing very easy.

The instructions for the pintucks are also well done, which simplifies the work.

I found three pretty little red heart buttons in my stash. So I decided to use them to close the back yoke. After making sure my head could pass through these openings, I sewed the rest of the placket down to the bottom of the garment.

So I didn’t put any other buttons below the yoke, and I think it looks quite nice with my three pretty buttons.

I think I respected Morgane’s timing with about ten hours of work for the version with yoke and trims.

I find the finishes really pretty, and it makes me want to sew more models from this great pattern brand.

I’m delighted with Atelier Bernie patterns. I find that Morgane has the gift of creating cuts that fit well from the smallest to the largest size offered. Her models are feminine and stylish. I loved sewing Angela for friends’ wedding and Rita for my birthday last year.

George, Jeanne, Simone... are also on my wish list.

Also, I really like Morgane’s universe as a creator who bases a model on a cultural reference; it opens up a whole world...

In short, for all these reasons, you can find Atelier Bernie printed patterns on our site but also from today all the PDF patterns so that even those in Canada, Switzerland, or New Zealand can sew these wonders!

So no more excuses, get your needles ready!