McCalls M8043
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Vogue V8773 (2011) 

Fabrics:
Blouse: mystery polyester masquerading as a handkerchief linen from an American Sewing Guild stash exchange. Self fabric buttons and rouleau loops. Duoplex and Powernet waist stay from BraMaker’s Supply.
Skirt: mystery heavy rayon/polyester satin novelty print from another ASG stash exchange. Purple cotton/poly batiste underlining from Fabric (dot) com. 

This blouse was an experiment; I made it to try out some pattern alteration ideas. One of my students is large busted, but really likes styles that are fitted to the underbust. In styles like this, the cup pieces are not attached to each other, but are attached to the underbust band. On a large busted figure, the attachment point is well below the level of the wearer’s bra. The other fitting option is to raise the band, which then cuts an unflattering arc across the wearer's bust. We needed a fitting solution. To create a flattering full bust adjustment, I did a full bust adjustment on the cup pieces. I fit the under bust band to my rib cage. At the suggestion of fellow sewist and Donna Jason Design's designer, Jennifer Smith, I then stitched the cup pieces together above the band — just far enough to cover my bra band. Magic! The second issue with the blouse is what bra to wear with it. I was inspired to attach bra straps to a waist stay by a Threads Magazine article, (Vol. 124, Apr-May 2006, p.48.) I usually create my waist stays from petersham, however none of the petersham in my stash was the right width for the bra closure. Susan Khalje's post using powernet for an inner corsalette inspired me to create a waist stay out of Duoplex (front) and powernet (sides). It was easy to place bra closures on the ends. I tacked the stay at the side waist of the blouse. When I wear the blouse, I unhook my bra and attach it to the ends of the waist stay. My bra band and waist stay make an X just below the fabric band. It is very comfortable and secure; it gives me the support of a bra without it being visible. The skirt is a princess seamed fitted straight skirt I made a few years ago. I underlined the skirt in purple cotton batiste. I finished the many seam allowances with nine different techniques to prove to my students that you don’t need a serger to finish a seam! The finishes: Hong Kong lining; Hong Kong binding; bias bound; net bound; hand overcast; machine overcast; machine zig-zag; machine straight stitched and pinked; and turned and machine straight stitched. Pictures and instructions for the finishes are available in my blog.