Did you spend your summer seeing Hoya blouses all over your Instagram feed like I did? The simple mock wrapped blouse was released as part of Deer and Doe’s Botany collection earlier this year and seemed to be everywhere! Or maybe I just kept seeing photos of the same one… 😂

I was eager to try another Deer and Doe pattern though, and so I took advantage of their Black Friday 20% off deal to buy the PDF version of the blouse. I figured it’s only a blouse so there shouldn’t be so many pages to cut and stick together!

Fabric-wise, I was already sorted. The Cloth House warehouse had gotten in touch with me a couple of months ago with an offer of 2 metres of fabric in exchange for a review. And let’s face it, I never say no to an opportunity for free fabric! (I have fabric hoarding issues…). Anyway, whilst I was at their lovely little store in Camden, I picked up a beautiful piece of fabric (I think the tag said it was silk!) in a nude tone with a horse silhouette print over it.

The fabric has a lovely lightness and drape to it and I had always planned to be turned into a blouse at some point. The Hoya just turned out to be in the right place at the right time!

After doing lots of overly complex projects recently, I was glad to be going back to something a bit simpler. It took me just an evening to whip this up.

The pattern itself come with 2 sleeve lengths, the 3/4 length ones also feature a little tab to gather the hem slightly. The front mock wrapped pieces are both fully lined. The bodice hems are finished with a facing for a super neat finish.

I opted to make the longer sleeve length – I have a thing for elbow length sleeves! I cut a size 40 and graded to a 42 towards the hip for some extra wiggle room. In hindsight, I should also have done a big bicep adjustment too as the sleeves are slightly tighter than is truly comfortable.

Overall though I absolutely love this blouse!

I kept the opening loose at the front and am planning to wear it with a camisole underneath. Whenever I get bored of that though, I’m planning to add a little invisible press stud in the V to keep it closed.

I think this fabric worked really well for this blouse. It definitely needs a bit of drape to avoid looking too boxy! (I’d recommend visiting the Cloth House warehouse if you’re in London for some fabric shopping by the way. They stock some lovely things!!).

I’ve really enjoyed using Deer and Doe patterns so far. There’s something so elegant about the final results that I want to keep using them over and over! There will definitely be more Hoyas in my life soon!