Some time ago, Coralie Bijasson came to visit us at the shop. During her visit, she kindly gave the team two versatile patterns for jumpsuits, blouses, and dresses. Quick as a flash, Céline and Marie fell for Astrid, in the blouse version. They share their sewing story with you!

The pattern

The Astrid pattern is a superb sewing pattern pack combining blouse, dress, and jumpsuit models, all in several lengths, from short to long.

You can choose a sleeveless version or one with sleeves.

The proposed sleeve ends at the elbow and tightens with an elastic band.

The top features a shoulder yoke and gathers to fit the volume of the bust and shoulders. The cut is straight but, for the jumpsuit and dress versions, the waist is highlighted by an elastic band.

For the pants, the legs are straight and wide, with or without an Italian pocket.   

As Coralie Bijasson says in her presentation: "This pattern is perfect for all occasions: to wear in the city, at the beach, or for a dressy evening." And as Georges says, "What else?" 

Information for sewing this pattern

Astrid is a pdf pattern available on the shop's website at a low price for such a set of versions. You really get great value for your purchase 😊 This pattern is offered in a range of sizes from 34 to 56. As always with Coralie Bijasson, 1 cm seam allowances are included and the pattern is in color, which is very practical for following your size or grading between sizes.   

For the blouse version, as with the other versions, I would say the pattern is accessible after making a few first garments. It is very interesting for discovering new techniques.

In the seamstress’s basket

For fabric, the choice is vast! The designer guides us toward light, flowing but non-transparent materials, such as viscose crepe, linen, lightweight wool, chambray, or cotton. We can add to this list tencel / lyocell which will give the garment fluidity and is perfect for this fall! 

In the seamstress’s basket, you’ll need:
- fabric, between 1 and 4 meters depending on the version and size of your choice, 140 cm wide
- some fusible interfacing suitable for your fabric
- some bias tape
- some elastic 1 cm wide
- some buttons, between 6 and 7, 12mm in diameter
- some matching thread

Marie and Céline’s supplies

Marie
I went with a gorgeous Japanese cotton lawn from the Hokkoh brand in the “Wild Flowers” collection that Eugénie recently brought into the shop. And of course, it won’t surprise many if I tell you I chose the mauve tones... I love cotton lawn. It’s a very soft, light, flowing fabric that isn’t slippery, very pleasant to wear. If you want to learn more about this fabric, it’s right here! With the lightness of this fabric, I interfaced the button placket with H180 interfacing. The buttons come from the stock inherited from my grandmother: small, very discreet white buttons because the fabric's pattern speaks for itself 😊

For the bias tape, I made it from the fabric so it blends as well as possible with the pattern.

For the thread, I took a dark mauve Gutermann bought some time ago from the shop's display. By the way, a little tip: when you have to choose a thread color, try a thread a bit darker than your fabric color. Lighter shades stand out, darker shades are more discreet.  

Céline
Céline had fallen for this cotton poplin with a ladybug pattern some time ago, without yet knowing what she would sew with it. Now it's done!

Marie's version

Of course, with my X-shaped figure, I always have to juggle a bit between sizes and I find it hard to resist a few adaptations.  

I chose a 36 at the bust, a 34 at the waist, and a 42 at the hips... You can see in the photos that thanks to this combination of sizes, the blouse doesn't hang loosely overall (as if I had made only the 42) but fits my silhouette. Astrid features a round neckline that rises very high on the neck. Personally, I feel more comfortable with a lower neckline. I slightly widened the neckline to have more opening around my neck, but not too much to preserve the gathers at the front. These simple adaptations are technically accessible and entirely doable in the open workshop courses we offer to support you in your sewing adventures!

Céline's version

As for Céline, she chose to make it in size 36 sleeveless and ten centimeters shorter. For the finishing on the armholes and neckline, she opted for a white and red gingham bias tape to enhance the rustic feel of the fabric. For the buttons, just like Marie, they come from her stash: "For the buttons, I have a box full of all kinds of buttons inherited from my mom and grandmothers. I found blue buttons perfectly matching my fabric, but since I didn’t have enough, I added a yellow and two green ones, giving a little rainbow touch that I find well suited to the fabric’s patterns."

Difficulty level and technical points

Coralie Bijasson classified her pattern as intermediate level in terms of difficulty.

We find this accurate: the blouse version is a good step after a few easier first garments.  

 The technical sewing points of the Astrid:
- the buttonholes
- the invisible bias at the neckline
- the shoulder yokes in sleeve style
- the junction of the button placket / neckline bias

None of it is insurmountable and it’s really fun to do, trust a seamstress!

Our sewing experiences

Marie always loves sewing Coralie Bijasson’s designs: "They are beautiful, well thought out, technically well finished, and precise. They have character while being timeless and flattering... I sewed this blouse after working on rather technical pieces (bras for the courses) and I enjoyed switching to an accessible sewing project that still offers plenty of nice details to make with a polished finish!" And for my next pattern... I think it will be a Coralie Bijasson. Yes, again!" For her part, Céline made her blouse in an afternoon. She really appreciates this kind of quick-to-make model that still leaves room for some personal touches if you want. Here she didn’t add anything, but on the next one she will put piping between the yoke and the lower back.

And I'll hand over to Céline to conclude: "In short, the Astrid blouse is a simple, quick, and customizable model. Between the light cut, the variety of fabric options, and the finishes that allow for some fun, it’s a pattern I highly recommend and I’ll soon be making a version with sleeves more suited for autumn."    

So, Astrid? Tempted? Get your needles ready!