A feminist top?

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Simplicity Pattern S0918

A couple of weeks ago, I bought this lovely rayon fabric at Pintuck and Pearl (a local-ish shop in NH…see here).  I had seen it before at this store and kept thinking about it, so I went back to buy it.  I decided to make Simplicity S0918, with long sleeves and a wide bow.  A Pussy-bow, to be exact.  A while back on a shopping excursion with a friend, I mentioned loving big bows on women’s tops and she told me that was in fact called a ‘Pussy Bow’.  I kind of think that’s hilarious, so I decided to do a little research before writing this post.

Wikipedia mentions that in the 1940’s the Gibson Girl look was popular (a curvy athletic type of woman) and that style inspired the bow (see here).  Also, apparently Margaret Thatcher was a big fan.  In the PBS documentary: Makers, Women who make America, it is mentioned that in the 1970’s and 1980’s, when more women were entering the workforce, they wanted to fit into a male-dominated world and this was their version of the neck tie (see here).  In another article I found, titled: ‘The Female History Behind Your Floppy Bow Blouse’ on the Jezebel website,  it is the author’s opinion that these bows are named after female genitalia (see here).  Hmm.  Should I be wearing this with pride?  Is it some sort of feminist top?  Maybe.  I don’t know.  But I still like big bows.  I love to hear where names and various fashions emerge, so I hope you enjoyed this brief history lesson.  Getting back to the top…..

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After washing the fabric, I got to cutting and sewing.  The fabric is ‘Snack Time rayon in blue’ by Sarah Watts for Cotton & Steel.  It was wonderful fabric to work with.  I have enough leftover that a certain girl in my house might be getting a top too.  The pattern, Simplicity S0918, was very straight forward and the fit was spot on.  I cut a size 16 and needed to make no adjustments.  The shirt is boxy but I like it.  I think I could take the sides in a bit but am going to sit with it for a while.  The husband gave it two thumbs up and my daughter (and photographer) thought it was great too.  There is light ruching on the front where the shoulder seams are (they are lowered a bit to right below the collarbone) and a tiny bit of ruching on the sleeves.

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In other news, my almost 8-year-old daughter made these delicious pumpkin muffins (and bread) last night.  She is loving baking.  The only thing I did last night to help her, was to put it in the oven.  I’m finding it a nice way for us to connect and what a great way to introduce fractions!  We couldn’t find my teaspoon and only had a 1/2 teaspoon available and my girl figured it out on her own that she needed to double many of the spices.  Proud Mama!

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Pumpkin Muffins & Bread–fresh from the oven and two were already gobbled up.

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