DIY Sheer Ruffle Blouse

My favorite past time is sewing. I love creating something new from a thrifted find or better yet, a thrifted piece of fabric. After finding approximately six meters of sheer lavender dotted fabric, I was thrilled to start a project. But I wanted the right project. Previous to this blouse, I had made project that used a self drafted bodice and a peplum ruffle on the bottom. Puffed sleeve pattern pieces from my McCall’s #8801 worked well. Once I had thought through all the steps, I was ready to take on my DIY sheer ruffle blouse.

The first thing to have ready is a pattern of your bodice. I really like Priscillia’s (Kim Dave) tutorial on YouTube called How to: Basic Bodice Block Pattern. You will also need a basic sleeve drafted or use a puffed sleeve from another pattern. To create a ruched or puffed sleeve from a basic sleeve, refer to this tutorial called,

Step by Step Tutorial

Cut our your bodice and sleeve pieces
Sew the darts
Sew the shoulder seams together and then the side seams.
Determine where you want the bodice length to end prior to adding on the gathered flounce.
Determine how long you want the flounce. Mine was approximately twelve inches. Add your seam allowance to your desired length.
For the flounce on the bottom of the blouse, cut twice the width of the circumference of the finished bodice. If twice the width is too much try multiplying the width by 1.5 or 1.8 to get a smaller ruffle.
Gather the flounce. (I gathered the front and back of the bodice separately)
Pin, hand baste and sew on the flounce. (see flounce on bodice below)

Due to the sheerness of this fabric, I decided to make a reversible tank top to wear underneath. I chose the reversible tank top pattern as it is double in fabric and the seams are virtually invisible. Click on this link, How to DIY a Reversible Tank Top to learn this easy top.

Step by Step Continued

9. Gather the sleeve cap (hand stitch or machine stitch on a large stitch setting).

10. Prepare the end of the sleeve where the cuff or elastic (for a gathered wrist) will go.

11. Add the sleeve to the bodice

12. Add snaps to close the cuff (if you chose a cuff). Sew buttons on the outer cuff to dress it up.

13. I used bias tape to finish the neckline. I made my own bias tape from cotton the same colour as the blouse. Cutting a strip on the bias at a 45 degree angle long enough to sew around the neck was all it took.

14. The last piece to add on was the front ruffle. This was done with two pieces. I took a piece of the sheer fabric in the width I wanted. It came just to the edge of the puff sleeve. As I had the blouse on, I estimated where I wanted the ruffle and measured how long it would be. It came to approximately 12 inches. I doubled the fabric length and gathered it to the twelve inch measurement. The last step was sewing it on. I didn’t hem the inner side of the ruffle as I used a selvage edge instead.