Rhapsody In Blue….

and plum and cream and florals and so on……

If you haven’t made a Rhapsody blouse…what are you waiting for? Don’t be like me and miss out on this awesome pattern any longer. Can you believe that I had never made one until just a few weeks ago. Fast forward to today~ and I now have 5!!

I LOVE this pattern! My go to woven top pattern used to be the Harmony, and although I still love my Harmonys~ the Rhapsody has moved to the top! I find it so amazing that one blouse(and dress)pattern can create so many totally different blouses! A casual top to wear with jeans, a dressier blouse to wear to work, or a boho blouse to wear with linen pants~ the Rhapsody can do it all!

I HIGHLY recommend grabbing this week’s Love Notions Feature Friday pattern today (4/14/23) for $5. You will not be disappointed!

Details

The Rhapsody blouse and dress is THE perfect thing to fill your closet for summer. (And that’s just what I’m doing!). The Rhapsody has a relaxed fit with just a hint of shaping~ making it perfect for hot and humid summer days. However, with the all the different sleeve options this pattern can follow you right into Fall. This V-neck blouse/dress features a flattering curved hem, gathering at the forward shoulder seam and a back yoke with pleat. The dress version includes an elastic encased waist. The neckline is finished with bias tape.

Features

• Blouse and dress lengths
• V-Neck with optional ties
• French seams
• NINE- yes NINE sleeve options: Sleeveless, Cap sleeve, Short sleeve, Flutter sleeve, 3/4 sleeve, 3/4 sleeve with flounce, 3/4 sleeve with cuff, Bishop sleeve and Trumpet sleeve

I have made the Cap sleeve, Flutter sleeve, Short sleeve and Bishop sleeve. I can’t decide which is my favorite! I’m planning a few more cap sleeved and sleeveless versions for summer. Bishop sleeves are perfect for that transition into Fall~ but also great for cool evenings here at the coast.

Sizing and Alterations

The Rhapsody is available in sizes XS through 5X. Like all updated Love Notions patterns, a full bust front piece is included.

Remember to choose your pattern size according to your high bust measurement. It’s important to do this so you can get a good fit across your shoulders. If you are in-between sizes, make sure you size down. This is a relaxed fit blouse and if you size up you might find it too big in the neck and shoulder area.

For example, my high bust is 40″ and my full bust is 44″. This puts me in an XL. My hips measure just out of the XL, so I have graded out to the 2X for my hips. There is enough ease for my hips if I went with an XL because I used the full bust front piece, but I wanted that little bit of extra room. You might not want as much ease in the hips, so check the finished garment measurements before deciding on your size.  Remember that using the Full Bust front pattern piece adds 2″ to the waist and hip finished garment measurements.

I am only 5 feet tall, and I did shortened the body of the Rhapsody 2″. I also redrew the front bottom curve on my versions. I use the full bust front piece, this piece adds additional length to the center of the bottom front curve. (This is to account for how a full bust might pull up the front hem of a top.) Since I am just at the cut-off for needing the FBA, I find that I don’t need all of this additional length at the center front. On my short sleeved version, I shortened the sleeve by 1″.

Fabrics

The Rhapsody is designed for lightweight woven fabrics with some drape. Fabrics such a rayon challis or crepe, voile, lawn, gauze and chiffon will all work well.

Rayon challis is one of my all-time favorite fabrics~ so I’ve made all 5 of my versions with it. I have a few more planned~ and yup they are all rayon challis. I have seen a few popping up in the Love Notions Facebook group made from lightweight knits(with good drape) and they looks awesome, so I’m sure I will eventually need to try that out as well.

My newest Rhapsody is made with the 3/4 sleeve with the flounce. It’s important to check the sleeve length of this before you attach the flounce. I shortened the sleeve portion of this view 2″. This may be my new fabric type to sew up the Rhapsody! This is a polyester crepe from Alyssa May Designs. This print is no longer available, but she has a beautiful selection of fabrics at great prices!! Excuse the subpar photos of this blouse. I sewed this up earlier this week in anticipation of the Feature Friday sale~ then disaster struck and my basement flooded. I’ve spent the last 2 days with the restoration company going through everything! Luckily I had a lot of things in plastic totes! (And my sewing studio is NOT in my basement!!!). I quickly grabbed these photos while there was just a bit of light left.

I have recently made a few Rhapsody blouses with a hacked Bishop sleeve with a ruffle cuff. You can read about this hack at this blog post.

Tips for Sewing the Rhapsody

• Change up your Rhapsody! For some of my versions, I did gathers on the back instead of the inverted pleat. Simply gather between the pleat markings.
• You can color block the Rhapsody. The sleeve and yoke can be made with a different fabric, or even just your bias binding!
• When doing gathering stitches, don’t cut corners and sew just one row. Two rows of basting stitches help to make your gathers looks nicer AND make them easier to stitch over. I like to do my basting stitches at 1/4″ and 5/8″, this way when sewing your 3/8″ seam you are sewing in-between them. Yes, you will need to remove the one row when finished. I’ll be honest~ way back when I was lazy and used to just sew one row, even though directions always said 2 rows. Believe me, it really does make a difference!
• Staystitching~ DON’T skip it! I like to do it as soon as the front and back are sewn together(not waiting until Page 8-Step 6). This prevents your neckline from stretching out. Yes, wovens that have a bias cut edge can easily stretch out. I do my staystitching just 1/8″ from the neckline edge, which means I don’t have any visible staystitching after my bias tape is sewn on. (It’s no big deal is yours shows~ it can easily be taken out)
• For a really professional look- try making your own bias tape. It really elevates the look of your finished blouse.  I find that store bought bias tape is just a tad too stiff and doesn’t look as nice. Don’t be afraid to push yourself to try making your own. It’s easier than you think! Be sure to use the link on Page 10 of the tutorial. Remember that Best Press or any type of spray starch will help you immensely!

• When cutting out “shifty” fabrics such as rayon- make sure NOT to let your fabric hang off your cutting table. The weight of the hanging fabric pulls on the fabric and can result in your pattern pieces being distorted.

Thanks for stopping by my blog! If you enjoyed this blog post, please consider subscribing to my blog!

MaryAnne 🙂

Remember to follow me over on Instagram to see all my latest makes! You can also follow my Facebook Page, Sew Mary Mac to see my sewing makes.

@sewmarymac~ instagram

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You can grab the Rhapsody pattern HERE.

This is an affiliate link. It costs you nothing to purchase from this link, it just helps fund my fabric addiction which allows me to test and review more patterns.

To receive an additional 10% off the pattern price, use this coupon code LOVEMARY10 . This coupon code can be used at anytime on any pattern….even a $5 Feature Friday pattern. This code changes every quarter, so check a recent blog post if you find this code isn’t working.

I am currently a Love Notions Patterns Ambassador. I purchased this pattern a few years ago, before I became an LN Ambassador. All fabrics were purchased by me. As always all opinions are my own.

Fabric Resources

Raspberry Creek Fabrics

This is the best rayon challis to work with if you are new to sewing with rayons. I find that their rayon challis isn’t as slippery or “shifty” as some. It washes beautifully and is the perfect weight.

Cream Large Floral rayon challis: is from the Spring 2021 collection, but is still available HERE

Blue Ditsy Floral rayon challis: is one of the winners the “March Madness” contest this past March and is available HERE.

Alyssa May Designs

This is an awesome source for beautiful light weight crepes.

Stylemaker Fabrics

Plum Botanical Floral rayon challis: is from the Fall 2021 collection and not available 😦

Boho Patchwork rayon challis: this was purchased a few years ago and I loved it so much I have been waiting for the perfect pattern. I finally found it!

I always find the best rayon challis at Stylemaker Fabrics. The prices may be a tad higher than some other shops, but the quality is outstanding! With rayon challis, I feel you get what you pay for. Sign up for their newsletter, and be sure to enter your birthday. During your birthday month they send you a 25% discount code. I always place a BIG order in September!!