liesl’s ribbon-trimmed gelato blouse

Since we’re preparing for the Gelato Blouse + Dress sew-along, the sewing for which kicks off next week, I thought I would jump in with a quick mini-tutorial in case you’d like to customize the pattern a bit.

I came across this crinkle gauze in a local fabric store. Crinkle gauze is different from double gauze because the yarns themselves are highly twisted, so the fabric really does have a tendency to crinkle/wrinkle naturally–in a very appealing way. It was a very popular fabric in the 1980s, as I recall, and I haven’t seen it much since. But it’s light and airy and perfect for summer, and I thought I’d try it out. So I purchased enough to make a Gelato Blouse for myself and one for S, who is a little smaller than a size 0 but can wear a 0 anyway. (I haven’t got a photo of S wearing hers yet, but I’ll post it to Instagram when I do.)

One tip I’ll give you if you ever decide to sew crinkle gauze; press it well before you cut! Not only because it’s easier to cut and sew when it’s pressed flat, but also because crinkle gauze grows and relaxes as you wear it, so if you don’t press it your final, relaxed garment will be very, very big. Like oversized-neckline, hanging-off-your-body big. OK?

I added the ribbon detail basically the same way you would add a keyhole opening/facing, except that I applied a facing (a simple strip of fabric) from the wrong side of the fabric so it would end up on the right of the fabric when I cut and turned it. With me so far? I snapped a single photo after I stitched and cut it since I wasn’t really intending to do a tutorial.

Once the facing was turned to the right side of the fabric, I pressed the sewn center-front edge carefully, then applied the ribbon to cover it, edgestitching the ribbon first on the inside edge of the facing to completely cover the sewn edge and then on the outer edge of the ribbon once the two ribbons were kissing at the center. If the facing fabric is too wide, just trim it to be narrower than the ribbon before stitching the outside edge of the ribbon.

The ribbon, by the way, was from Renaissance Ribbons, who make the coolest, softest jacquard ribbons available, in my opinion. I believe this one was designed by Anna Maria. I can’t find anything like this in Spain, so enjoy their amazing selection! (I swear one of these days I’m going to open a fabric and trim store in the Pontejos district here in Madrid. I get so irritated when I can’t find what I want, which is a lot of the time. Spoiled New Yorker here….)

OK, anyway!

That’s an easy change you can make to the pattern, and it’s a fun little detail that changes the look of the style. If you had a lot of ribbon you could also add it to the waistline, like this. (And if you wanted to go even further you could also add a fun fabric to the shoulders or do some embroidery or something if you really wanted to mimic this style.)

So again, your Gelato pattern is just the beginning. See what else you can do with it! If you don’t already have the Gelato Blouse + Dress pattern you can purchase it now. And don’t forget to join us for the sew-along!