Yzé Blouse Review
This post is my honest opinion using a pattern I received free of charge from P&M Patterns
Hey there and happy Friday! How are we all doing these days?
Our family is doing fine and just trucking along here in northern Virginia. I had a few weeks of disinterest (aka: missing sewjo), but I’m happy to report that I’ve gotten back to sewing and creating this month which always feels good.
One of my first projects back at the machine was this Yzé blouse from P&M Patterns, a French pattern company that is branching out more into North American markets. The low back of the Yzé had me hooked and I knew I just had to give it a try.
Yzé is a woven A-line blouse or dress with a couple sleeve and neckline options, like a pleated flutter sleeve or long sleeve, an optional back pleat, and three back neckline depths. A thoughtful detail included for the longer sleeve versions is a “shoulder pad” cut from tulle or organza to give the shoulder a little lift and highlight the pleats.
I chose the mid low back neckline and flutter sleeve since we’re in the humidly thick middle of summer right now and used some leftover sage green viscose twill (previously purchased from Blackbird Fabrics) for some nice drape in the A-line cut. I made a size 48 and didn’t make any fit alterations to get a feel for how the pattern is right out of the package.
While the company is French the pattern instructions are available in both French and English, so I didn’t need to translate the instructions to English myself which is always a bonus. I wasn’t familiar with how P&M instruction booklets are organized and therefore had a bit of a learning curve there (pro tip: there is a size chart, its just at the end of the pattern booklet instead of the beginning like many North American patterns), but once I familiarized myself with the layout and content organization things went quite smoothly and I really enjoyed making this blouse.
I love the way this top feels when I wear it—I’m definitely sold on the low back style! It feels wonderfully feminine yet uncomplicated, which I think is my wardrobe ideal. Moving forward I’ve identified a couple things that I’d tweak for future versions. First, I need my typical narrow shoulder adjustment. As is, the shoulder is too wide for me and turning into a cap sleeve before the flutter even begins. Second, I also need to add a full bust adjustment (another usual adjustment for me). Its possible I could get away without one in the sleeved versions, but because the flutter sleeve blouse is essentially a tank top, I’m getting a lot of gaping at the front armscye. A bust adjustment and dart would fix that right up. French patterns tend to be designed around a slimmer, less curvy frame and I’ve noticed they don’t usually mention bust adjustments to the extent that American indie patterns tend to, so if your bust is larger than a sewing B cup I’d make sure to consider adding a full bust adjustment too.
My one critique of the pattern is that the size range is not as inclusive as I’d like to see. The largest size is a French 52 with a 48” bust (and a 50 3/8” hip, but that’s flexible since there’s a lot of ease around the hips), which isn’t particularly accommodating. Again, looking at indie patterns as an American I’ve noticed that many European—and especially French—pattern companies continue to use a limited size range, and P&M even has more sizes than some others! The pressure has been put on US and Canadian based designers to expand their sizes (which is a good thing!), however it seems like many European designers have been able to mostly avoid this criticism and pressure to adjust. I’d really love to see more of these European companies getting on board and offering a wider and more inclusive range of sizes. I mean, this pattern is super cute and I know there are lots of individuals that would just love to make it too!
