Criss Cross Applesauce

I am not ready to let go of summer and start sewing for fall. I thought the Sept. Burda magazine might be inspiring, but it has still not arrived.  And the two new patterns ordered from Sewing Workshop (California)  seems to be following the same slow mail trail.   So, I was paging through a couple Mrs Stylebook issues still littering my sewing table from my last project.  I decided to do another drafting project, to keep the momentum going on the drafting self-education.   My casual lifestyle wardrobe includes blouse and they are relatively easy to draft. And I found one with  an interesting sleeve. Here is the  magazine picture. I know. Not real flattering  or inspiring. I totally passed it over. 

It was the drafting instructions for the sleeve that caught my eye.

The translated description is "Origami-like sleeve blouse.  If you look closely, it is a striped blouse composed of multiple colors.  The point is the elaborate sleeves made by stacking rectangular cloth parts.  The material is cotton.  Blouse (39,000 yen) The Cage (Igit and Co., Ltd. Omotesando)" 

 The description makes me think MSB must find ready to wear (RTW) garments and create drafting instruction for them. The sleeves appear be woven, which is emphasized by the use of striped fabric. The garment on the model looked a bit oversize, including the sleeves. 

The shirt had a yoke with extended shoulders, collar and collar stand, a hidden button placket and deep faced curved hem.  

The sleeve pattern is remarkably like a tulip sleeve pattern, but with an angled slash that creates two strips that can be interwoven with the other sleeve half.

My fabric is a  deep stash, red and white silk dupioni  that I machine washed and dried.  The sleeves and yoke lining are white 65% Poly/35% Cotton Sheermist Batiste Fabric.

This was a fun exercise. I learned a couple things. The finished garment looks like the picture on model, very oversize.  In future, I will reduce the  amount to extend shoulder and side seams for  on oversize styles like this. I was pleasantly surprised to find sleeve actually worked. I made mine narrower that the drafting instructions specified and think it looks neater.  Maybe I could extend the slashes the full length of sleeve for a costume.  Reason I am thinking about this is I got a request for a Halloween costume yesterday. A weird lookin cosplay character. 

The title of the blog post was what popped it my head when I thought of the sleeve design.  It took me a minute to realize it is part of a rhyme that teachers say to students when they want them to quiet down and sit cross-legged on the floor. 

Criss-Cross Applesauce, Give your hands a clap. Criss-Cross Applesauce. Put them in your lap.