A mudan is a type of woody peony native to China. For my sleeved version of the Beatrix blouse, I chose an Art Gallery fabric called Shanghai Edition Mudan Romance Moss. The fabric appealed to me because the lacy design evokes the ferns that my husband loves to plant.

I also gained a whole new respect for mosses after reading The Signature of All Things which is a great book. If you haven’t read it yet, you should! This has been a summer of ferns and mosses.

We have an area along the side of our house that was torn up when the prior owners set about to widen the driveway. They hadn’t planned to sell and ended up leaving the driveway as well as several other home improvement projects unfinished. In an effort to stem erosion and be budget-minded, my husband has been planting ferns and mosses that he has collected. He buys all our produce at a local farm and they generously allow him to bring specimens back from their wooded area and transplant them alongside our house. My husband has really enjoyed this project-I think he even surprised himself- and it has become somewhat of an obsession so when I saw this fabric on sale it appealed to me and I thought it would be perfect for a Beatrix blouse.

I waited to make my real version of the Beatrix until Rae did the Beatrix sewalong and I am so glad I did because her tips were excellent and her directions very clear. I ended up following along a few days late because weekends are when I work long shifts as an RN and no sewing happens but I was able to catch up and do a couple of the steps each night.

This time I read Rae’s very clear guide of how to choose your size. Funnily, I ended up with the same size I always cut, a Medium with an added inch since I am tall.

I experimented with a wider tuck of a tiny bit of fabric along the neckline. Next time around I will use the hollow chest adjustment that Rae recommends in the sewalong.

I had fun picking out buttons.

I used orange buttons from my button jar.

I used 7 buttons due to the added length. I only had 6 orange.

The top button is slightly more red.

I followed Rae’s very clear instructions for the curved hem.

I love the way the design of the blouse has the button placket enclosing the hem and the neck facing for a clean finish.

There will definitely be more Beatrix’s in my future! Great pattern and great tips on Rae’s blog.

Fairy houses from the healing garden at the hospital. They were made by patients and their families. Magical!