Peplum Shirt

Stash-busting 2015:  Butterick Peplum Blouse

Many moons ago I spotted this shirt at the mall. It's a Ralph Lauren peplum shirt. It's long gone from the mall landscape (Spring 2014 line), but it still can be found online. When I first spotted it, I thought that it would be perfect for work but I was in the midst of the RTW fast. 

This post is about my own version of the peplum shirt...

The pattern:

Butterick 6097 is the pattern I used which, unlike the Ralph Lauren version, has a pleated peplum. I cut a size fourteen along the shoulders, neckline, armhole and princess seams. The side seams were cut between a size sixteen at the armhole and  eighteen at the waistline. Of course, I had to shorten the sleeves. I didn't make a muslin so I have to say that I'm quite lucky with the fit. I did have to however take in the back across the waistline seam to account for some bagginess above the waistline. It is an adjustment that I will have to keep in mind if I make this shirt again.  

The pattern is well drafted and all the pieces worked together beautifully. The sleeve was a dream to insert. How well everything fit together is my favourite aspect of this pattern. The instructions are well written as well. I did stray a bit regarding the instructions. Instead of hemming the peplum before creating the pleats and attaching it to the bodice piece, I saved the hemming until almost the end. It would have been easier to follow the instructions order but I was unnecessarily concerned if the length would be an issue.   

The pattern does ask for interfacing to be cut for the whole cuff piece which is folded. I cut 1/2 of the cuff pattern piece for the interfacing after seeing the thickness of the front bands. I didn't mind the thickness with the double interfacing in the front band pieces but I felt that it was unnecessary for the cuffs.

I also used the instructions from The Dressmaker's Handbook of Couture Sewing Techniques by Lynda Maynard to create an embellished collar band. The Ralph Lauren RTW version has a contrasting collar band. My version has a ribbon embellishment. 

I used a narrow basting tape to hold down my ribbon during the placement and sewing process.

The basting tape worked like a charm. It made sewing close to the edge of the ribbon effortless and without concern that the ribbon might slip out of place. I can say that I'm thrilled with how it turned out.  

The fabric:

I found this 100% cotton deep green and burgundy striped fabric in the discount section of my local Fabricland store earlier this year. It was the discounted price and the fact that it's 100% cotton that drew me to the fabric (mostly the discounted price). I have to admit that I really wasn't all that smitten over this fabric when I picked it up but it has grown on me since then. The fabric was pre-shrunk by laundering on the regular cycle, a toss in the dryer for forty minutes and then a good pressing on the cotton setting. The fabric held up well and so did the colour.  

The burgundy buttons were a perfect match and discovered in Mama R's button stash. The threads used were left-overs from another project.  

The Stats:

Fabric:                       2.1 metres 100% cotton $14.24 ($12.00 / metre - 50% off + taxes)

Interfacing:            0.9 metres fusible interfacing $3.05 ($6.00 / metre - 50% off + taxes)

Basting Tape:         0.5 metres $0.55 ($0.98 / metre + taxes)

Ribbon:                     0.5 metres $0.25 ($0.45 / metre + taxes         

Thread:                     Finished off 2 spools of thread 

Buttons:                    9 - 12 mm burgundy coloured shirt buttons $0.00 (recycled)

Pattern:                     Butterick 6097 $10.14 ($17.95 - 50% off + taxes)

Reference Book:       The Dressmaker's Handbook of Courture Sewing Techniques 

Sewn on:                  Janome using a walking foot, buttonhole foot and regular presser foot.  

Hand-stitches:      Slip stitched cuff, front band, and collar band.  Hand-stitched buttons.   

Seam Finish:          The inside seams have been finished with a Janome overlock machine.  

Happy Sewing!