Today I'm sharing a foolproof formula for making your own peasant top pattern, quick and easy, in any size you want.

Learn to sew PEASANT DRESSES ( with keyhole neckline & side slit pocket) for all the girls in the family with this step by step sewing tutorial

Free Peasant Blouse Pattern With Sewing Tutorial. Sew this cute top! Easy sewing project. Free Peasant Blouse Pattern With Sewing Tutorial.

It's still really warm here. It is, after all, early August in North Carolina, and I'm not complaining; if I wanted cool weather, I...

I've been losing weight recently (yay!) and as my sizing is at the moment in fluctuation, and many of my blouses now look like big, baggy, daggy night-shirts on me (and funds are a bit tight at the moment) I needed to make myself some cheap tops/blouses, (that also suited me and looked nice). I decided to make myself a couple of peasant tops. I couldn't find a commercial pattern that I liked (they all seemed to have really low cut necks), and I found a wonderful tutorial by Vegbee on how to make a peasant blouse for little 'uns. It really showed me how to construct a peasant blouse. You rock, Vegbee! I needed to find a way to measure myself to make an adult-size peasant blouse (I kind of muddled along at this, I'm terrible at mathematics!). This has taken me about a week of measuring, sewing 5 toils - the neck-line and arm-holes were tricky... I over estimated my size on one of them... you could have fit two of me in it! Yes, I do suck that much at measurements! Lucky I sewed using the largest stitch on my machine! I prefer a slightly higher neckline, so I make my armscye (the armhole) deeper. Adjust the depth of the armscye to suit yourself, to be shallower, if you prefer ‘an off the shoulder’ or lower (wider) neckline. Just for your information: Step One – Find your measurements: Find your ‘width’ (measurement 1) You need to find where your widest measurement is. To do this, measure yourself around your bust and your hips. (I say to measure your bust and hips because some are bigger in the bust than their hips and vice-versa) My widest measurement was around my hips, which was 124 cm or 49" Divide this amount in half – for me, it was 62 cm or 24 ½" Divide this in half again – for me, it was 31 cm or 12 ¼" Whatever your measurement, add 4.5 cm or 1 ¾" For me, this measurement (Measurement 1) was 35.56 cm or 14" Find your ‘length’ (measurement 2) Measure from the top of your shoulder, over the point of your bust, to however long you want your top For me, this measurement (Measurement 2) was 74cm or 29" Find your armhole ‘depth’ (measurement 3) Measure your armscye (arm-hole) by measuring from the top of your shoulder to how deep you want your armhole, to approximately the seam-line under your arm. For me, this measurement (Measurement 3) is 31.1cm or 12 ¼". Step Two – Draw up your pattern pieces: Ruling up the bodice paper On a large piece of paper* draw up a rectangle with the dimensions from Measurement 1 and Measurement 2 – for me that was a rectangle with a dimension of 35.56 cm × 74cm or 14" × 29". This will be the bodice section. Ruling up the armhole: On the rectangular piece of paper, at the upper right corner, measure down 25.4 cm or 10", make a small mark. From the upper right corner, measure across (to the left) 15.24 cm or 6", make a small mark. Rule a light line between both points. Ruling up the neckhole: On the same rectangular piece of paper, at the upper left corner, measure down 3.8 cm or 1 ½", make a small mark. Rule a light line from this point to the point previously shown. Drawing both the arm- and neck-holes: Use a curved ruler / flexible ruler to draw a curved line from one point to another (as shown in illustration) If you haven’t got a curved ruler, just sketch it very lightly with a pencil until you are happy with the curve. Then go over with a darker pencil line. If you take a piece of string, and lay it over the harm-hole and measure it (green line in illustration below), it should be about 31.1cm or 12 ¼", which is Measurement 3. You may have to adjust the angle of your curved ruler / sketching to get to be the right depth for you. I haven't really mentioned the neck-hole depth and measurements, because it is elasticized/drawstring and you can adjust the elastic (or drawstring) to suit your sizing requirements. You will end up with the arm- and neck-holes drawn as shown in the picture below Now for the sleeves: I am having a ‘puff’ sleeve, so I need a bit of space in my sleeve I want a slightly longer sleeve to make it puffy, but not too puffy. My sleeve will need to be about 45.72 cm or 18" long, by 27.94 cm or 11", on the fold (opened up it would be 45.72 cm or 18" 55.88 cm or 22"). This can be made shorter, the choice is yours. The sleeve pattern is easy to make, take a rectangle, and use the neck- and arm-holes of the bodice section as a template. An explanation follows. Take another piece of rectangular paper, 45.72 cm or 18" long, by 27.94 cm or 11", place it beneath your bodice section. Hold the smaller piece of paper in place by paper clips or some other non-permanent adhesive (such as blu-tac or low-stick tape). Cut around the neck-hole and arm-hole guidelines (the parts discarded are represented by the grey bits). These are the paper templates that you should end up with. Mark your pattern pieces so you know which part is what. Step Three – Cut out your fabric: Laying out and cutting the fabric: Layout the fabric, place the bodice section on the fold, and the sleeve section on the fold. Cut out. I cheat a bit and cut two layers on the fold – be careful, though, some fabrics are naturally a bit ‘slippy’, and this can cause issues when cutting out (such as one part being misaligned). Step Four – Sewing your blouse: Sew the sleeves to the armholes: Place a sleeve piece on a bodice piece, sew around arm-hole (shown by red line). Place the second sleeve piece on the other arm-hole. Sew (shown by red line). Fold over the sleeves (as shown), so that the armholes meet Lay second bodice piece on top, sew where shown in the diagram (indicated by red lines). Pull sleeves out, lining up edges. Sew the side seams: Sew from sleeve end down side to bottom hem (as indicated by blue line). Sew the neck casing: Fold over neck-hole to make the casing for your drawstring or elastic, sew down, leaving a hole for you to thread the drawstring or elastic through. Thread the elastic through, fasten ends of elastic, sew down opening. Sew the sleeve casings: Fold over sleeve ends to make the casing for your drawstring or elastic, sew down, leaving a hole for you to thread the draw-string or elastic through. The finished blouse: Ideas for finishing: Hem around bottom, maybe add lace, ric-rac, ribbon or Broderie Anglais Add elastic around waist (at bottom). Add elastic under bust and hem around bottom (like in the picture below). If you do this, use bias binding or tape and sew it to inside of blouse under bust-line. Thread elastic through and secure. Length of elastic is measurement under bust minus 5 cm or 2". My measurements (they may be handy for you for layout): * I got an end-roll of unprinted on white newsprint paper from our local newspaper for AUD$4.00. It is about 80 cm (32") wide and can have anywhere between 30 meters (approximately 32 yards) and 100 or more meters (approximately 109 yards) of paper on it. PDF (1.15MB) of tutorial here .

Isla puffed sleeve top is a lovely design inspired by Emerson Fry. It features puffed sleeves, slit front neckline and double tie details. Spend some hours on it and you will get a great piece of garment for your work or day out. Let’s have a closer look at this design: As usual, my pattern is made in 10 sizes from XXS to 5XL so you may find a suitable size for yourself. If you are not sure which size suits you, take a look at the measurement table before doing anything here: SIZE GUIDE. The pattern is made using layered PDF, please check for your desired size before printing so you won’t waste your paper. I have included a first page with many details about sizing and printing, so please first read the first page and make sure you know what size you need! If you still do not know how to print a layered PDF, please check for the printing instruction in this post: PRINTING GUIDE. My patterns are now made in both A4/Letter paper and A0 paper format so you can print at home or at any print shop! For home printers, you can print this using your home printer and either A4 or Letter paper. I calculated the printing area so that you will be able to use either type of paper to print the pattern out perfectly. Always print the first page first and check with the test square if you are printing at the right scale before you print out the whole pattern – avoid waste of ink and waste of paper, save the earth! Some PC may print smaller than actual size even when you choose 100% scale – I don’t know why this problem exist, but my HP laptop cannot print true to size. I have to scale up to 103% to get the right size. You may need to check with your PC to see if it prints true to size, if not, scale up a bit. I was informed by a reader that you can also print the pdf as image to get the right scale, however I never tested it on my computer. SEWING INSTRUCTION You will need Fabric of your choice. This pattern is intended for woven fabric. Some 1/3 inch (1cm) wide elastic for sleeves Scissors, pencil or fabric marker, ruler, pins Sewing machine/Serger or needle and thread Printed pattern How much fabric do you need for this piece of garment? To be precise, you may need to check how much fabric you need before buying. It will depend on the selected pattern size, the width, and design of the fabric you plan to use. Just to be sure, print all the paper patterns and lay them out at the width of fabric you plan to use (usually from 90 to 150 centimeters or 35 to 60 inches). Measure how much fabric you will need. Don’t forget to account for pieces that need to be cut multiple times and pieces that are cut on the fold. Cutting instruction: After printing out and taping all the pattern pages together, you will get something similar to this: You will see that there are 2 sets of lines on each pattern piece. The inner lines are sewing line (and you sew along these lines), and the outer lines are cutting lines (you cut the fabric along these lines, remember the folding lines where you have to fold the fabric before cutting). The distance between sewing line and cutting line is seam allowance, and it varies from point to point. For example, the side seam allowance is about 1/2 inch (1.2cm), and seam allowance at hemline is 1 inch (2.5cm). This is the reason why I do not remove the sewing lines from the pattern. Please use it as a guide to know how much seam allowance you need to give at each seam. The fabric will be cut into following pieces: Front Yoke: cut 4 (2 mirrored pairs) Lower Front: cut 2 mirrored Back Yoke: cut 2 on fold Lower Back: cut 1 on fold Sleeve: cut 2 mirrored A piece of bias tape for the tie straps Place the pattern pieces on the fabric, pin the pattern pieces to the fabric to secure them in place. Using sharp scissors, carefully cut out the fabric pieces along the outer lines of the pattern. Take your time to ensure precise and clean cuts, as this will affect the fit and overall appearance of your garment. Make sure to mark all notches and other design features such as darts, pleats, draw marks etc. from the pattern pieces onto your fabric. When sewing the garment, pay attention to notches, they must match up. Sewing instruction: 1. Serge/zig zag stitch the raw edge to prevent fabric from unraveling. 2. Gather the top edge of the Lower Back and Lower Front pieces to match the bottom edge of the Back Yoke and Front Yoke respectively. 3. Make 4 pieces of tie straps. This is a tutorial on How to make spaghetti straps/drawstrings. 4. Place two Back Yoke pieces right side facing, pin and sew the neckline. Trim and clip the seam allowance for smoother curve. Staystitch the seam allowance to the inside piece if needed. 5. Place one pair of Front Yoke right side facing, put the tie strings in between two layers, one at the very top corner of the center front line, one about 4 inches (10cm) from the first string. Sew the neckline and the center seam. Clip corners, seam allowance and turn the fabric over. Staystitch the seam allowance to the inside piece if needed. 5. Place Front Yoke and Back Yoke right side facing, pin and sew the shoulder seams. Fold the lining layer in and press to flatten. 6. Place two Lower Front pieces right side facing, sew the center seam starting from the hem toward the neckline, stopping and backstitching at the notch. Fold the unsewn seam allowance inward and sew to keep it from turning out. 7. Press the seam allowance on the Front Yoke to the wrong side. Place the Lower Front in between two layers, right side facing up, pin and sew very closely to the folded edge to join. You can refer to the first video of this post for a clearer visualization. Repeat with the back of the garment. 8. Turn the main garment over and sew the side seams. 9. Gather the cap of the Sleeve piece, matching the measurement of the armhole opening on the main garment. Sew the under arm seam of the Sleeve. Fold the seam allowance at the bottom end of the Sleeve and sew the hem, leaving 1 inch opening. Measure a piece of elastic so that it fits nicely on your bicep and cut. Thread the elastic piece into the casing created by the sleeve hem and sew two ends of the elastic together. Sew to close the casing. 10. Turn the Sleeve right side out. Pin it to the armhole opening on the main garment so that the right sides are facing. Match the notches, pin and sew to attach the Sleeve to the main garment. 13. Fold and sew the hem of the top. Give it a good iron and you’re done! If you think sewing with two layers of the yoke is too tedious, you can skip it and use bias binding to finish the neckline. And here is the download link: ISLA PUFFED SLEEVE TOP SIZE XXS – 5XL (A0 PAPER FORMAT) ISLA PUFFED SLEEVE TOP SIZE XXS – 5XL (A4/LETTER PAPER FORMAT) To download just click on the link above and choose “Save link as”. The PDF file will be downloaded to your device. An advertisement may pop up, just close it and continue with your download. In case some ads attempt to make you enter your personal info, just ignore and close it. I do NOT require any kind of information to download my pattern files. Happy sewing! And don’t forget to share your project on my Facebook page: Tiana’s Closet Sewing Patterns or tag me on Instagram #tianasclosetsewingpatterns, I will be thrilled to see the garment in real life! Tiana

Pleats are classic. And used in a doll dress they can be classic cute. They are also simple. There are also variations on the pleat theme. One pleat in the center, two pleats on the side, pleats in the front and back, lots of pleats... This first tutorial is for a simple center pleat. At

In my last post, I showed you how make a facing for a basic doll dress. A facing is one way to finish raw edges. When you line a simple sleeveless dress, you something extra, a reversible dress. Cute, simple and a bit magical from a child's point of view.

How it will look with string. How it will look with just elastic. Supplies: Fabric of any type. I've used scarves and for this lace one it was a set of curtains. Create a rectangular tube from your choice of fabric. Mine measured 25 x 18in. for one side and a set for the sleeves which was 16 x 8 in. Be creative…I've used scarves, pillow cases, etc. This was a set of curtains. Cut enough so the sleeve will fit into the bodice. Pin and sew the sleeves right sides together…. Sew the other side as well… and repeat for the other sleeve. It will look like this... fold over the top part, sleeves included. Iron or pin for it to stay in place when sewing. Sew a seam that will allow for the elastic or string to go through. Make sure to leave an inch gap open so you can put the elastic through. Because I used lace, I just put the elastic/string through one of the holes. With a safety pin, pull the elastic through… Once done sew the elastic together… and sew up the remainder opening… Here are some other DIY projects I used from scarves: Fringe poncho here DIY Kaftan here

There are a few new projects in the works. The top I started some months ago is in construction. This will be a Mexican peasant top, but it needed some crochet around the neckline which was finis…

Raglan peasant tops are classic. They are also simple to make. The main skill involved is knowing how to thread elastic through a casing. And I explained that in an earlier post here . Cut out two sleeve pieces and two body pieces.

How you handle the edges of a doll dress can change the look of the dress. I am going to cover several basic ways to finish edges on a doll dress beyond the basic fold over a quarter inch and machine hem, otherwise known as a single fold hem. Very basic, (a word my older daughter uses as an insult).

Raglan peasant tops are classic. They are also simple to make. The main skill involved is knowing how to thread elastic through a casing. And I explained that in an earlier post here . Cut out two sleeve pieces and two body pieces.