Keyhole Neck Blouse
A women's hip-length pullover blouse with a stand collar, a faced keyhole and pleats at the centre front, and long sleeves gathered at the cap with buttoned cuffs.
When To Wear
- For the office with a pencil skirt or straight trousers.
- For daytime events, tucked into a skirt or worn loose over trousers.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Slightly flared from the bust, with fullness at the centre front coming from the pleats.
Length: Hip length, straight hem.
Collar: Stand collar of two pieces, one of them interfaced; the inner stand is stitched in the ditch of the collar seam.
Front: Cut in one piece on the fold. Below the stand, a keyhole opening finished with an interfaced facing, framed by pleats that run diagonally down from the neckline.
Sleeves: Long set-in sleeves, gathered at the cap, with a pleat and a slit at the lower edge (topstitched 0.1 cm from the fold) and an interfaced cuff with one button and buttonhole.
Back: Cut in one piece on the fold, with a short slit at the back neck bound with a bias strip; it closes with a button on the left end of the stand and a rouleau loop on the right.
Finishing: Shoulder and side seams overlocked and pressed towards the back; hem turned twice by 1 cm and topstitched.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. A faced keyhole with a clipped corner, a bound continuous slit, a rouleau loop, a stand collar and cuffs finished by stitching in the ditch, and a gathered sleeve cap.
Fabric Recommendations
Light to medium-weight blouse fabrics with soft drape: crepe de Chine, viscose challis, cotton voile or batiste, lightweight satin.
Additional Supplies
- Fusible interfacing (keyhole facing, stand collar, cuffs)
- 3 buttons (1 for the stand collar, 1 for each cuff)
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Back – 1 piece (cut on fold)
- Front – 1 piece (cut on fold)
- Slit Facing – 1 piece
- Stand Collar – 2 pieces
- Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Cuff – 2 pieces
- From fusible interfacing:
- Slit Facing – 1 piece
- Stand Collar – 1 piece
- Cuff – 2 pieces
Sewing Instructions
- Fuse interfacing to the Slit Facing, one Stand Collar piece and the Cuffs.
- Cut a bias strip for binding the back slit, twice the slit length + 4 cm long and 5 cm wide. Press it in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Mark the slit line on the Back and cut it. Spread the slit open into a straight line, place the bias strip on the right side, aligning the raw edges, and stitch. The seam allowance along the slit length should be 0.5 – 0.7 cm, decreasing to 0.2 cm at the bottom of the slit. Fold the bias strip to the wrong side around the seam allowance and stitch in the ditch of the first seam.
- Overlock the outer edge of the Slit Facing. Place the facing on the Front right sides together and stitch around the keyhole opening. Trim the seam allowances, clip into the corner, turn the facing to the wrong side, press, and baste it to the Front along the neckline edge.
- Fold and baste the pleats on the Front.
- Stitch the shoulder and side seams of the blouse, press seam allowances towards the back, and overlock.
- Cut a bias strip 2.5 cm wide and 5 cm long for the rouleau loop. Fold the strip in half lengthwise, right side in, and stitch 0.3 cm from the fold. Trim seam allowances close to the stitching, turn the strip right side out, and shape the loop. Adjust the loop length.
- Place the two Stand Collar pieces right sides together and stitch along the upper edge and ends, starting and ending exactly at the collar seam line, with the loop inserted between the layers at the right end. Clip the curves, trim the corners, turn right side out and press. Stitch the outer stand to the neckline, fold under the raw edge of the inner stand and stitch it in the ditch of the collar seam.
- Run a gathering stitch (loosened thread) along the top of the sleeve cap and gather. Fold and baste the pleat at the lower edge of the sleeve. Overlock the sleeve edges separately. Stitch the sleeve seam from the armhole to the slit mark, press seam allowances open. Topstitch the slit 0.1 cm from the fold. Set the sleeves into the armholes, press seam allowances and overlock.
- Fold the Cuff in half lengthwise, right sides together, and stitch the short ends. Start and end the stitching precisely at the marked cuff attachment seam line. Turn the piece right side out, press. Stitch the outer cuff to the sleeve, fold under the seam allowance of the inner cuff, and stitch it in the ditch of the cuff seam.
- Press the bottom hem of the garment to the wrong side twice by 1 cm and topstitch.
- Make buttonholes on the cuffs and sew on the buttons. Sew a button on the left end of the Stand Collar.
