Pattern Review: Celine Blouse by Silversaga Patterns

How gorgeous is this blouse?! The Celine Blouse by Silversaga Patterns is a romantic, feminine blouse, full of beautiful details like ruffles at the neckline and hem, elastic gathered sleeves, front ties and an optional button placket. The body of the blouse has generous ease and if made in a lightweight fabric, it creates such a soft flowy feel.

I made View B for my first version in a lightweight cotton blockprint and then made two sleeveless versions, a hack suggested in the instructions. A dress version would be so pretty too! If you’re curious to see all of the Silversaga Patterns I’ve made, check out my Silversaga Patterns Review.

Keep reading to learn more about the Celine Blouse pattern, the fabric I used and the small modifications I made to make the neckline depth work for me.

The Pattern

The Celine Blouse is another lovely, romantic, feminine blouse by Silversaga Patterns! There are 6 views to choose from and hacking ideas that extend the life of this pattern beyond just “one and done.” The pattern difficulty is experienced beginner and includes techniques like gathering ruffles, optional french seams, sewing a button placket (for Views B and F), and attaching bias binding. The neckline ties are not functional, but Silversaga Patterns has a YouTube tutorial showing how to make the neckline adjustable if that’s something you want to try.

You can find more details about sizing, fabric suggestions and requirements on the website. There is also a Celine Blouse sewing video tutorial if you need some extra visual help. I enjoyed being part of the testing team for the Celine Blouse and if you need some inspiration, be sure to check out all the lovely versions in the Celine Blouse testing gallery.

The instructions, like all of Silversaga Patterns, are laid out beautifully! They are very detailed and guide you along in making a professionally finished garment. At first I was worried about the instructions for all the different views, but once I got started it flowed really naturally from step to step and was able to easily find the instructions for the specific view I was making. The illustrations were very helpful and love the suggested pattern hacks at the end.

For all my Celine Blouses I made a size 36 (US 6/UK 8) – my typical size in Silversaga Patterns (for reference my bust is 34″). This is technically one size down than where I fall in the measurement chart but there is plenty of ease in the bust and body of this blouse. I prefer the slightly closer fit, especially since I have a smaller bust, but there is still volume and ease of movement overall.

How does the Celine Blouse compare to the Chloe Top?

If you’ve been following the patterns released by Silversaga, you may be wondering what the differences are between the Celine Blouse and the Chloe Top. Since I have sewn both, here is my comparison between the two tops!

Sleeves – At a glance, the sleeved version of the Chloe Top does look really similar to the Celine Blouse, especially when the Celine is made without the neckline ruffle, but the main difference between the two are the sleeves and how they are drafted. The design of the Celine Blouse was centered around those lovely full sleeves while the Chloe Top was designed to fit well with sleeves, or without. The sleeves of the Chloe Top are intentionally simple, with less volume and hit higher up on the arm. The Celine Blouse sleeves have more volume at the shoulder, have that extra ruffle at the hem and they are longer, hitting about halfway on the upper arm (depending on your arm length or how tight you have the elastic).

If I had to choose between the two, I prefer the more casual sleeves of the Chloe Top. While the Celine Blouse sleeves are beautiful, the volume and extra ruffle at the hem feel a little too “fancy” on me for everyday wear.

Sewing difficulty – The Celine Blouse has a sewing difficulty of Experienced Beginner and the Chloe Top and Dress is Beginner friendly. The lack of extra ruffles and gathers make the Chloe Top slightly easier to sew, but both patterns have a button placket option with the method on the Celine being slightly different.

Views – Like the name says, the Chloe Top and Dress has both a dress and top option with two views to mix and match with or without sleeves. The Celine Blouse is just a blouse, but has six different design views to choose from plus some ideas to hack the pattern into a dress or sleeveless option.

Adjustable neckline vs. fixed – The Chloe Top and Dress has a adjustable neckline with ties that moves freely throughout the whole drawstring channel. This does involve making buttonholes, but the instructions explain the process very well. The ties are only decorative on the Celine Blouse and the gathers at the back and front neckline are fixed before sewing the bias binding on. However, Silversaga does have a YouTube tutorial showing how to hack the Celine Blouse to have an adjustable neckline.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I think I prefer the fixed neckline of the Celine Blouse! Even though I do like the functionality of the adjustable drawstring I tend to be fidgety and keep messing with the gathers on the Chloe to get them “perfect.”

Neckline height – One last difference I should mention is the neckline depth. The Celine Blouse has a deep neckline and I prefer to raise the neckline so it sits higher. The Chloe Blouse neckline depth is drafted higher and I didn’t make any modifications to the neckline to any of my versions! And plus, the adjustability of the neckline means you can easily adjust the height.

If you want to read more about the Chloe and see all the versions I made (5!) head over to my Chloe Top and Dress Review.

Fabric

This pattern is designed for lightweight woven fabrics like cotton lawn, voile, or lightweight linen so that the blouse keeps the intended soft structure. Keep in mind that some steps might be trickier in a linen that frays easily and using a midweight fabric may make the ruffles harder to gather.

Version 1 (Cotton Blockprint)

After making a toile in an old cotton sheet, I picked a lightweight cotton blockprint from Matchy Matchy Sewing Club for my final tester version. I love how it turned out in this fabric and it really highlights the delicate ruffle details. I had no issues sewing the Celine Blouse in this lightweight fabric but did need to take my time with the tiny ruffle hems and the neckline bias binding.

Versions 2 & 3 (Linen)

I then made two more Celine Blouses, both tank versions following the suggested hack in the back of the instructions. It’s basically View C but without the sleeves and the armholes seams are enclosed with bias binding. I love these tops which have already gotten so much wear and I think are perfect for Summer!

For both of these tank versions, I used a washed linen from Blackbird Fabrics in butter yellow and artichoke green. They are so amazingly flowy and lovely to wear! I didn’t have any issues sewing the Celine Blouse in this linen and think this weight was perfect – not too heavy. Staystitching the neckline and armholes, like the pattern instruct, will help prevent stretching, which linen has a tendency to do.

Sleeveless Celine Blouse Hack vs. Chloe Top

The Chloe Top was first inspired by the sleeveless Celine Blouse hack so it makes sense that they look very similar! If you already own the Celine, it’s very easy to hack it without sleeves. But if you also want a pattern with more options, like a button band, two dress lengths, and short summer sleeves then it’s worth trying the Chloe! Here are the main differences between the two:

Neckline – The neckline is adjustable on the Chloe Top but is drafted higher and on the Celine Blouse, the tie is only decorative and the neckline sits a lot lower so you may need to make adjustments.

Armholes – The Chloe Top was intentionally drafted to be a sleeveless and the armhole depth was tested and fine tuned to fit comfortably across all sizes. The Celine Blouse armscye (or armhole) was designed to have sleeves and the sleeveless hack was only a suggestion at the back of the pattern. Since it wasn’t specifically tested as a sleeveless design, I would suggest making a toile in case you need to make any changes to the armhole.

Views – If you’re looking to make a sleeveless Celine Blouse hack, then you’ll have the benefit of choosing a neckline or hem ruffle. The Chloe Top doesn’t include specific instructions to add these ruffle, but does suggest the hack at the back of the instructions.

Modifications

The neckline of the Celine Blouse is described as a “deep plunging neckline” and is a little low for my preference. However, this is easy to adjust so I raised the neckline different amounts for all 3 blouses I made. Even though I made a toile during the pattern testing, it was hard to get a good idea of how much I wanted to raise the neckline until after wearing the final blouse.

I encourage making a quick toile for this pattern to get an idea of the neckline depth or if you want to try the sleeveless version. I didn’t need to make any mods to the armhole depth, but depending on your preference, you might want to check that they don’t sit too low.

Raising The Neckline

I followed the instructions in the pattern for raising the neckline (and lengthening or shortening the bodice) by placing a piece of paper underneath, marking the amount I wanted to raise, and redrawing the neckline shape.

I also moved the front gathering notches up a little to spread out the gathers which in turn raises the neckline more. Keep in mind that this change can cause some extra wrinkles/gathers close to the armhole which you can see best on my yellow version. On my 3rd green version I didn’t move the notches quite as far to prevent the wrinkles. (Keep reading to see the mods I made for each version)

Version 1 (Cotton Blockprint)

I raised the neckline 1/2” which was better, but still too low for me. I also gathered the neckline a little more to help raise the neckline. Since this view (View B) doesn’t have the bottom ruffle I find it a bit short, so if I made this view again I would lengthen it.

I like a looser elastic fit on sleeves like this so I made it quite a bit looser than what the instructions recommend. I also wanted to check the fit with the sleeves on before stitching the elastic in, so I partially sewed the sleeve seam so I could still access the elastic channel. I chose to skip the french seams on the sleeve seams in order to do this (see photos below).

Later I actually went back and partially unpicked the neckline to try and raise the neckline up. This worked really well and I’m glad I took the time to make this change! To do this I unpicked everything almost to the shoulder seam so I could see the gathering notch I had made. I then marked a new spot to start gathering 2″ from that notch. I sewed new gathering stitches, gathered the desired amount and tried the blouse on to check the fit.

After deciding on the gathering amount/neckline height, I put everything back. I sewed new gathering stitches to the ruffle, pinned that in place, basted it, then sewed the bias binding back on (I cut off about 1″ of excess binding on each side).

The finished height of the neckline is more in my comfort zone!

Version 2 (Yellow Linen)

For my yellow sleeveless version I raised the neckline 1″ and move the gathering notches up 2″. I decided to do less on the next one because the gathers are a little to close to the underarm and looks like it’s pulling (even though it isn’t).

I didn’t need to make any mods to the armhole depth and used bias binding, like the neckline, to enclose the raw seams. I used 1″ bias binding on both the neckline and the armhole, which is my preferred width, and following the bias facing instructions for View C & D. It helps to keep the neckline gathering stitches in the whole time while sewing the bias binding to keep the gathers looking even and neat.

Version 3 (Green Linen)

For my green sleeveless Celine Blouse I raised the neckline even more, to 1.5″ which is where I will keep it for future versions. I also moved the front gathering notches, but only by 1.5″ this time which I think was a great choice – I love where the gathers sit.

I have noticed that while wearing the linen sleeveless versions throughout the day, the weight of the ties pulls the front down. Not really a big deal, but just something to keep in mind and most likely wouldn’t happen as much in a lightweight cotton.

Final Thoughts

I think it’s pretty obvious that I love the Celine Blouse! So much thought and care went into the design of this blouse and the detailed instructions ensure you end up with an beautifully finished garment. I love that there are so many options for this blouse to make it exactly how you want! You could also add extra details like lace or eyelet trim to really make it an heirloom garment.

I’m not sure which Celine Blouse is my favorite, but I know for sure that the two sleeveless ones will get worn a lot this summer! Hopefully this review gave you some inspiration or a starting point if you’re thinking of making your own. Thanks for reading and happy sewing! 🙂