The only drawback is trying to find a peasant pattern that isn't a "Bible Bodice". A message board I used to frequent called anything too deeply cut to be modest "Bible gowns" because they are "low and behold!" Peasant patterns have a tendency to be cut a little like that so moms, in their desire to improve on the modesty, tend to over tighten the neckline, making the sleeves cut in the armpit, and then the girlies don't like them. Well, all that is over now. I've found what I've dubbed "The world's best peasant pattern ever." It's not cheap. You won't find it on sale at JoAnn's for .99 on their super sale days, but then you won't spend any gas going to get it, don't have to pay for shipping, and can print as many copies as you need at home removing all need for storage space for it.
Behold, the Best Peasant Pattern Ever!
Available from The Handmade Dress, this pattern is a modest $9.95 to download or $10.95 (plus $1.50 shipping) to purchase printed. As I said before, I recommend buying the download and saving your home's storage space.The pattern comes in sizes 6 months-4 years or 5-10 years as shown.
Samantha Caffee's instructions are very simple to follow even for a beginner.
The Handmade dress has other patterns I'll be recommending from time to time, but this is the first. I want you to notice that I am not using it as the picture indicates. We're not doing a separate skirt, bubble or otherwise. I'm turning that bodice into a lovely blouse and a nightgown by adding extra length to it.
Are you ready? Let's do this thingie!
Peasant Blouse:
Ok, as you can see from the picture, I added paper to my pattern to create a blouse length. However, I just used a scrap piece and I didn't cut it to any predetermined length. This is because the pattern doesn't give one. This is where common sense meets pattern piece. Are you ready for a simple formula for creating a blouse out of a bodice?
1. Use the pattern chart to determine your size. I'm cutting a size 10 here because it's what I want. Go by chest measurements and if necessary, size up, not down.
2. Measure from the shoulder to where you want your blouse to hit. Usually just barely above the hip for under jumpers.
3. Then, simply cut your blouse about 1-2" longer than that. If it's going under a jumper, don't be too worried about getting the blouse too short. After all, you don't need it to cover a stomach that is covered by a jumper anyway. If you're going to wear with a skirt, then be sure it is at least about 4" longer than the waist so that when your little girl raises her arms, she's not flashing belly buttons to the world.
Here we go. First, I like to make things as easy as possible. This pattern really does that well since the bodice fronts and backs are identical. So, what I did was lay the fabric on my cutting surface exactly as if I'd just rolled it off the bolt. (So 44" wide fabric is folded in half with selvedges together on one side and a long fold on another.) Then, I folded it over again. Now I have four layers of fabric and about 11" wide (this'll vary based upon the width of your fabric but it's about average).Now, the next thing we do is lay down the bodice front.
Notice that I'm putting it on the fold? Notice I'm not putting it on the fold where the selvedges are? Both pieces (front and back) need to be cut on the fold (as the pattern indicates). As you can see, I left about 3" below the pattern because it wasn't long enough. For the record, about half of that white space on the bottom half of that pattern piece I added. I think if you folded from top to bottom, you'd have the true bodice pattern for this peasant blouse if you wanted to make it a dress instead of blouse. Me, I'm doing the top, so it has extra taped on as well as that extra fabric on the bottom.Now, when I cut that out, I'm going to have two pieces cut on the fold. Those two pieces will make up the front and the back of the garment! Yep. One cut of the pattern on the fold, and I have both front and back cut out. All I'll need at that point is to cut the sleeves and the garment will be cut! But, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. Let's cut away the extra fabric first.
And look! There it is. See those curves that connect the short straight piece to the long straight piece? Those are your armholes. Those are two of the 10 seams that this garment requires. Yep. We're only talking 10 seams/hems. Pretty simple, isn't it?See those extra lines? Those are other sizes. I've cut on the size 10 line, but there are several other size options for you on the pattern. That's another great thing about this printable pattern. You can cut each size out as you like and print the next size when you're ready for it. No fuss, no muss. Ready to go when you are.
Now we cut the sleeve. Again, the pattern was for a short sleeved dress, but I wanted a 3/4 length sleeve for a country look. So, I taped more paper on there. I think if you look closely you can see where I taped on extra. That extra was at the bottom of where the sleeve should have been.To be sure of how long your sleeve is, measure from the armpit to wherever you want it to fall and add another inch or two. Then on your fabric, from that point parallel to the word "fold" on your pattern, measure down and make your sleeve seam that length. Voila.
Mine will have 1/8" elastic about 3" above the hem for a nice basque look to it.
Don't worry about cutting things too long. You can try them on before you hem them and cut off the extra. That extra can be saved to make adorable little doll skirts, small pieces in doll quilts, or even used to tie around a bundle of cards for a gift. Don't be afraid to "waste" a little fabric now and then. You can always repurpose it for something else.
Object Lesson: Here is the sleeve pattern on the fabric before I cut it out. Don't ask why I showed it to you all cut out first. I don't know why it was that way but I'm not redoing it. See, take a lesson. Just because something isn't precicely perfect, doesn't mean that you have to fix it right then. It might save time to simply move onto the next step and incorporate the correction into it. This'll save you doing things like ripping out a seam all the way instead of maybe just an inch or two so you can connect the prior pieces first and then resew it. Better to rip 2" than 20!
Peasant Nightgown/Dress:
Ok, as you can see from the picture, I used the same pattern as for the blouse! . Are you ready for a simple formula for creating a gown out of a bodice?
1. Use the pattern chart to determine your size. I'm cutting a size 5 here because I'm making this for Lorna and that's what she wears in this pattern. Go by chest measurements and if necessary, size up, not down.
2. Measure from the shoulder to where you want your gown/dress to hit. Gowns are usually longer than dresses. Now, Lorna wasn't awake and my measuring tape was in the bedroom when I did this, so I decided to use a length of fabric I had that I knew would be close and if it's too short, I'll add a ruffle. It'll be an adventure!
3. You need to cut your gown about 2-3" longer than your measurement length by the time you take into consideration seam allowances and hem curvature. I'll explain what that is when we get there. No stressing now!
Ok, this is a piece of fabric laid out as if it was just rolled off the bolt. Then, I folded it in half again with cut ends together. Technically I have two folds. The long side that runs parallel to the selvedges and the one at the bottom.Warning: If you have a directional print, do not fold it over like this! You'll have one of your pieces running upside down! For directional prints, cut them both the same length and make sure they are running the same direction!
Now, look at how silly that little piece looks with all that extra fabric! I've laid the "place on fold here" edge on the fold like I'm supposed to. See that "Fold" in the middle of the pattern? Normally that'd be cut off and added to another pattern but I didn't do it that way. The fold that is on the actual edge of the pattern is the one I'm talking about.
Ok, we're going to start cutting. First you cut the top excess off and then cut around that armhole. After that is where we deviate from the pattern.
See how I cut at a steady diagonal? You can cut all the way to the selvedge side if you want it really full. Normally, I would. However, since I know I might be adding a ruffle, by doing that, I can ensure a nice full ruffle with only 4 pieces of fabric. Excellent!Note: in order to make the bodice fit right, I like to cut down it slightly straight under the armhole for a couple of inches before I try to flare it toward the sides. Be careful when doing that though. You do want it to graduate smoothly from that side or it won't hang correctly.
On a silly side note, isn't that print pretty? Won't Lorna look adorable with her little doll at Christmas time and maybe a mop cap to cover her chopped hair? Giggles.
Ok, if you haven't already done it, now is the time to cut that fold or cut off the excess fabric you want. Measure, cut away, do what you need to do, but you need to have the edges of your gown cut now. If there are 20" of folded fabric below where you need your hem, cut it straight. If you folded it, as I did, at the exact spot where you want it cut, then cut the fold as shown.The point here is to have that cut edge because the next part is probably the trickiest part of making the whole gown and it's easiest if this is just a nice square edge. (P.S. THIS IS NOT HARD.... it's just the trickiest part. It's kind of like saying that wiping your nose is the trickiest part of sneezing.)
Once that fabric is cut, you need to round the edge. If you don't, you'll have "handkerchief points" on the sides of your gown. It's funny, but that's how these things work. When things aren't a straight line, you have to adjust for it. When you cut on the diagonal like that, the fabric stretches too so you have to account for that as well.Now, I'm not going to give you all kinds of perfect and precise measurements. The fact is, I don't know how. I just eyeball things and so far, they've always worked. So here's what you do.
On the side of the gown where the under arm goes (opposite the fold. DO NOT START AT THE FOLD), about 1.5- 2" from the edge, cut a very long skinnyish pieshaped wedge off the bottom. As you cut toward the fold, it needs to get skinnier until somewhere about 6" from the edge, you stop.
This isn't an exact science. It doesn't matter if it's perfect or not. Just cut some off the side, taper toward the middle where the fold is, and call it good. I promise it'll work if you don't stress out. If you stress out and overcomplicate it, it's not my fault. Of course, if it's just a nightgown and you don't care about the handkerchief points on the sides, leave them. Me, I like to cut some off. Just cut from about 1.5"-2" on the diagonal edge, curve it toward the center front, and let it fly. You'll be happy.
Next come the sleeves. Again, you need two cut on the fold, so as with the Peasant Blouse up there, I just took one piece of fabric as if it was right off the bolt, folded it in half lengthwise again (so selvedges are laying on top of the fold) and cut on the new fold that I just made.I can't wait to sew this thing up. It's so fast and simple that I tend to recommend it as a first project for a young girl just learning. With this particular pattern (no, I do not get any thing at all from the pattern maker for recommending the pattern. She doesn't even know I'm doing it), it is a simple thing to create a lovely garment. And, as you'll see with her other patterns in the future, she knows both how to design an easy one to use, something versatile, and feminine. I love her patterns.
All cut out and ready to sew. Wasn't that easy?There are a few simple things to remember with this particular (and most) peasant patterns.
1. They almost always need to be cut on the fold.
2. If your front and back are not identical as this pattern is, you need to keep track of which armhole is front and back on both the sleeve and the bodice pieces. "Big Three" patterns (Such as McCalls, Simplicity, or Butterick) will always have a deeper armhole in back than in front so the sleeve pattern will have one shorter side than the other for the armholes.
This is what the gown pieces look like when opened flat. (I have them laying on top of each other for the picture).The sleeves will look like shorter versions of it.
Oh, wait, I think I have a picture of them. Let me look.
And there it is. One sleeve.Tomorrow (Lord willing) I'll sew one of these up and show you how to sew them now that you have them cut.
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