Turtle-neck into blouse project

I one day tried on a shirt I hadn't worn in awhile. I loved the color  but the size was too big and the fit was just too.....floopy. That's my description. I cannot come up with a work that correctly fits the fit of the shirt so I made one up.

Here it is on my lovely assistant (dress-form) Seawolf.

See what I mean. Floopy.

It had some sort of oil stain on it, even after several washes. And I just didn't have enough hangers. So I opted to donate it. But, I had an idea and decided before I gave it away, I would experiment and see if I could turn my ugly turtleneck into a cute blouse. It's always a toss-up to take a ready made shirt and make it into something else. Especially if that shirt is made from a fine jersey. Knits are hard to work with if you're out of practice.

So I drew out a few designs and here they are.

These are some rough sketches I jotted own in my sketchbook. 

I decided to go with option B. It's the one in the middle.

So, I started to mark out what I wanted with some ribbon. I also cut off the sleeves. 

I marked where I wanted my neckline with tailors chalk.

I then started cutting and pinning to match my sketch.

I had in my sketch cap sleeves and a waist sash. I changed these a bit in the end.

I marked out where I wanted my drawstring waist.

Then I added a drawstring casing and pulled some elastic through it. Then I took my sleeves and folden them twice and stitched them on the arm seam to stay folded. 

I think it turned out pretty well, The only change I plan to make is to cut off the elastic ends and add a self drawstring so It doesn't shout at you so much. 

Here's the sketch I started with....they aren't exact but are similar enough.

But I like both of them and aren't unhappy with starting with one and ending with another. That's one of the hallmark tendencies of mine. I start on one path and work until I'm at a different destination. But hey, that's creativity for you. You have to be flexible sometimes.

Another thing I learned while doing this project. You must be careful and respectful of knits. Especially the fine gauge modal ones. They are a bear to work with. Especially if you don't work with them often. Remember serger's are your friend, and check your feed dogs, tension and stitch so that they are correct for your project.

Ruth