After finishing an elaborate costuming project, sometimes you just need a palate cleanser. An easy make that sews up in a few hours. But preferably not one that involves doing pattern matching for the first time on stretch polyester! Oh well.

I had some striped stretchy fabric in my stash that I got for free at the annual Costume College Bargain Basement sale. And I just had to use it for something. The fabric wasn’t labeled, and having not done a burn test on it, I wasn’t sure if it’s polyester. But it feels like it probably is. Anyway, I had this simple blouse pattern – New Look 6267 by Simplicity – in my pattern stash and decided the fabric would be perfect for it.

I only had enough of the fabric to make the short-sleeved version, so I chose View D. After watching a couple of YouTube videos about pattern matching, I threw myself into it. Because the fabric’s print isn’t made up of simple, solid- color stripes, the pattern matching was a bit more complicated than I anticipated. Also, because my fabric piece was a thrifted leftover, I didn’t have the extra fabric that you’d ideally need to pattern match. That said, I think the blouse came out nicely. The vertical stripes flow in a way that isn’t too disruptive. The blouse is drapey, comfortable and perfect for summer.