Mel's Named Clothing Viscose Dobby Sade Blouse


I’d been lusting after a copy of ‘Breaking the Pattern’ by Named Clothing since before it was released  - imagine how delighted I was when one of my favourite patterns from the book came as a free gift with Simply Sewing magazine! The Sade blouse has that classic ‘simple but chic’ vibe you expect from Named and I loved the floaty shape and pretty tie details. Although I adore wearing dresses, I have been making a conscious effort to sew more separates to add to my wardrobe and the Sade blouse was top of my list.

I started my search for the perfect drapey fabric – something lightweight to suit the relaxed, loose-fit silhouette – and it did not take long to find it at Sew Me Sunshine! The Karen Palms Viscose Dobby by Lady McElroy caught my eye immediately. The dark navy background would make this garment very wearable and it had pops of some of my favourite colours in the tropical foliage design including greens, rusty pinks and yellows. The beautiful drape and silk-like feel was ideal and the slight texture appealed to me too as I have not sewn with dobby before. Harriet mentioned in the product description that the fabric may need lining, but I thought the Sade blouse would look lovely over a camisole, so even if it was slightly sheer it would be fine. 

The pattern and instructions were really clear and easy to follow. The only fiddly part of construction was binding the neckline, but the rest of the sewing was very straightforward – a patient beginner could tackle this project easily! I cut the pattern pieces and fabric one evening after work and then made the blouse from start to finish one Sunday afternoon. I would recommend using a microtex needle to sew this viscose dobby – I didn’t have one and noticed that a regular size 70/12 was making tiny pulls in the fabric. I tried a ballpoint needle, which wasn’t perfect, but pulled a lot less than a regular needle. I would also recommend not using an old Victorian pine table to sew on – I caught the fabric on a rough part of the wood and pulled it right down the back piece! *face palm* You can just about see it if you look closely, but I doubt a muggle would spot it unless you pointed it out!

I made the blouse in the size 3 as the size chart suggested based on my measurements. I think if I made it again I would probably make the size 2 as it sits a little further down my shoulders than I like and the neckline is quite wide. Initially I didn’t make any alterations and I really disliked the sleeves! There seemed to be so much fabric hanging down under my arm that they didn’t look like the photo or in fact like sleeves at all! I felt quite disheartened and left the blouse on my mannequin for a few days, then came back to it and realised that they were simply too long and the excess fabric was pulling the whole thing out of shape. I did a bit of pinning and decided to chop off 8am and re-sew the ribbon channel - they look SO much better now! Named patterns are evidently drafted for someone who is 5’8” and I am a mere 5’4”, so it’s not surprising this alteration was required!

I’m really pleased with my blouse and have discovered that it looks great with lots of skirts and trousers in my wardrobe, giving me lots of outfit options! The fabric isn’t sheer at all so I have been quite happy wearing it without a camisole underneath. A really lovely feature of the blouse is that you can very easily swap the ribbon ties to alter the look. I’ve been wearing a narrow navy ribbon, but swapping it for something gold and sparkly could make the blouse more luxurious for a night out, or a lighter colour could give it a more summery feel.

I definitely want to make another Sade blouse – next time I would use a plain fabric so I can pair it with some of my patterned skirts and trousers. Harriet has some wonderful double gauze fabrics in stock that would be perfect – rose pink cotton double gauze is such a pretty colour, or how about some subtle glitz with the mustard gold dots cotton double gauze? Either would be ideal for the pattern and a dream to wear against your skin!

I was provided with this fabric free of charge by Sew Me Sunshine in exchange for this blog post and all thoughts and opinions are my own. You can see more of my sewing through my Instagram account @stitch_make_bake

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