Improvements on the Blouse

I feel that making this blouse has been an important learning experience in gathering knowledge from the example provided, using the pattern, and using knowledge from our previous units. There are a few little things I did differently on this blouse than how they were done on the example. 
The Center Back:
The center back on this blouse holds the buttons and button stand. It is a part of the blouse that needs to be strong and durable. On the example given to us by the National the button stand is left unfinished with the raw edges showing on the inside. It is already starting to fray a little, something I wanted to make sure and avoid. Following the guides on the pattern I made the seam allowance and the width of the finished button stand the same so that when I folded it over to form the button stand it, essentially, has three layers of fabric underneath it to add to the strength. On the first fold over I did a machine stitch line about 1/8th inch away from the edge. It is folded again and then was tacked in before the button-holes were done to secure it. On the button side everything was done the same except that I also did a machined line between the end of the button stand and the row of buttons. Just to make sure it didn't move but I also made sure it would be covered up by the button-hole side when buttoned. I feel like these are all good improvements to the center back button stand using the pattern directions and fundamental studies techniques. 
Top Stitching vs. Hand Sewing:
This is a very important change from the original to the blouse I made. Much of the example was top-stitched using a machine. This could be for a number of reasons, but most likely is that it was done for speed. I used a mix of top stitching and hand-sewing. On the cuffs and collar instead of top-stitching close to the seam I slip-stitched the collar lining inside so there is no top-stitching required. But on the hem I used a machine stitch close to the edge. A hem stitch or slip stitch would still leave marks on the fabric so it was decided that a straight stitch would be better and could count as a design decision. I think this mix of hand sewing and machine sewing was effective. I'm not sure how long it would take to make this blouse in a work-room but I felt like the hand-sewing didn't take any extra work and for me it produced neater results.