Pattern hacks are easy modifications that extend the style choices of your beloved patterns. We love Virginia’s easy change to the Geneva V-neck Blouse to create a gathered cuff. Take it away, Virginia!
I love the look of a classic v-neck blouse, so I decided to sew The Liesl and Co Geneva V-neck blouse, which comes with both a flared sleeve and a lantern sleeve.
We are heading into autumn here now, so I wanted a blouse that I could wear in the cooler months, so I decided to use a cotton/linen blend fabric and gather the flared sleeve into a cuff with a bound placket.
I normally shorten my Liesl and Co shirt sleeves by 1,” but as I wanted the cuff of my sleeve to sit slightly below my wrist, I lengthened the sleeve pattern by ½.”
For the bound placket, I measured in from the side of the back of the sleeve pattern 4″ and drew a line that was 4 ½” long from the bottom of the sleeve. For the binding pieces, I used the neck binding pattern piece and cut two pieces of fabric slightly longer than the line I had drawn. Finally, I cut two pieces of fabric 10 ½” long and 3 ¼” wide for the cuff.
I sewed up a toile of just the sleeve with the placket to check the length of the sleeve and the width of the cuff. I sewed the blouse as per the instructions, and after inserting the sleeves, I cut the slit line I had marked on the bottom of the sleeve and sewed on the placket binding. I then sewed up the side seams and underarm seams as per the instructions.
I interfaced both sleeve cuffs with tricot interfacing (my favorite for any light/medium fabric), then gathered the bottom of both sleeves to fit the cuff with ½” of the cuff overhanging the edge of the sleeve.
I sewed the right side of the cuff to the wrong side of the sleeve.
Then I stitched the short end of the cuffs, right sides together, and trimmed the seam allowance.
Next, I folded the cuff in half over to the right.
I then topstitched the edge of the cuff to cover the previous stitching line after hand basting to ensure it didn’t shift when sewing.
Finally, I added a buttonhole and button to the bottom of each sleeve.
I used medium-weight cotton/linen blend fabric, and I love how the sleeve puffs out near the cuff.
Shirts and blouses are my favorite things to sew, and I really enjoyed sewing this pattern. The wonderful instructions made it very straightforward. I took my time, and I used French seams on all of the seams, including the shoulder seams, as I love the way it looks so good inside as well as out.
I will make many more of the Geneva V-neck blouse in the future. For my next one, I want to use a more drapey fabric with the gathered sleeve and cuff again, but I may increase the flare of the sleeve to give more of a bishop sleeve look.
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