The 'Yangon Yellow' Blouse

A highlight from my recent trip to Myanmar was visiting Shwedagon Pagoda – one of the country's biggest landmarks. And I had the perfect new me-made blouse to wear for the occasion :)

I made the blouse using this Economy Design pattern. The blouse features an awesome scalloped collar, faux buttons (it slips over the head) and a neck closure (no side fastenings).  It's great because it requires only 1 yard of fabric and is perfect for when you have a piece of special vintage fabric!

 

I've made the blouse once before with some feedsack fabric:

 

 Photo credit: Darja Bilyk

The fabric for this blouse is mid-century vintage that I got at the local vintage fair and I only had a small amount--so it was perfect for the blouse pattern.

This time I also inserted yellow lace around the front faux placket and the cool feature on the sleeves...

I paired the blouse with a vintage skirt that I also got at the same vintage fair.  I just love the colourful look-- it fit right in at the pagoda with all the rich yellow colours.

The pagoda was amazing...it's a Buddhist pilgrimage site and the locals come to meditate and pray.  There's 'corners' for the day on which you were born where you are supposed to pour 21 scoopfuls of water over the Buddha and other statues.  My corner was the 'Friday corner' and it was really great to see everyone taking part--from young to very old and they are very welcoming of tourists as well.

No one wears shoes either inside the entire complex as a sign of respect.

There were so many little pagodas and shrines within this massive complex.  There were also several big gongs that you could hit (the custom is to hit it three times)--and anyone could do this.  It was really great to see all the ways in which people could participate in making the space their own -it was truly a community space.

So I'm super happy my new me-made blouse got a special outing to this spectacular country and location!  I'm also hoping to make more of these blouses as they are super quick to sew but also very versatile for traveling!

I'll be going to Myanmar a few more times over the course of this year and next for work --so I'm hoping to explore more of the country!  And more pictures from this recent trip are coming soon!

Photography: Chiara for Shoot My Travel