Apache Collar Blouse
Introducing a women's blouse pattern featuring a relaxed silhouette, a distinctive integrated Apache collar, and stylish side hem slits.
When To Wear
This versatile blouse is perfect for a range of casual to semi-formal occasions, offering comfort and style for:
- Everyday Chic: Easy to wear for daily activities while maintaining a polished look.
- Smart Casual Gatherings: Ideal for lunches, casual meetings, or social events.
- Transitional Styling: Works well layered or on its own for changing seasons.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Relaxed through the body with subtle bust darts for shaping, designed to be worn untucked.
Neckline & Collar: Open Apache-style collar cut in one with the fronts and the front facings, joined with a center back seam, for a clean finish.
Closure: Full button-front closure with 7 buttons in vertical buttonholes.
Sleeves: Long set-in sleeves with small pleats at the wrist, bias-bound slits and buttoned cuffs (2 buttons each).
Hem: Straight hemline featuring stylish side slits for ease of movement and a contemporary look.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Involves accurate cut-on collar construction, bound sleeve slits, bust dart sewing, and precise buttonhole and cuff application.
Fabric Recommendations
Achieve the best drape and finish with lightweight to medium-weight woven fabrics that offer a soft hand and good structure for the collar and cuffs:
- Crepe de chine
- Rayon challis
- Silk blends
- Soft cotton shirting
- Linen blends
Additional Supplies
- Fusible interfacing for collar, facings & cuffs
- 11 buttons
- 2 bias strips for binding the sleeve slits (each 16 cm long x 2 cm wide), cut from the main fabric
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Front (with cut-on collar) – 2 pieces
- Center Front Facing (with cut-on collar) – 2 pieces
- Back – 1 piece on fold
- Sleeve – 2 pieces
- Cuff – 2 pieces
- Additional: 2 bias strips for binding the sleeve slits, each 16 cm long and 2 cm wide.
- From fusible interfacing:
- Center Front Facing – 2 pieces
- Cuff – 2 pieces
Sewing Instructions
- Stitch bust darts.
- Stitch the shoulder seams exactly to the corner (mark). Clip the shoulder seam allowance of the front to the end of the stitching (to the corner).
- Cut the sleeve slits along the markings. Bind each slit with a bias strip; finished binding width 0.5 cm. At the top of the slit (on the wrong side of the sleeve), stitch the binding diagonally.
- Set sleeves into armholes.
- Stitch the side seams and sleeve seams in one continuous seam, leaving the side seams open at the bottom for the slits.
- Stitch the center back seam of the cut-on under collar (fronts) and of the cut-on upper collar (facings).
- Attach the under collar to the back neckline.
- Place the upper collar and facings on the under collar and fronts, right sides together, and stitch the front edges and the outer edges of the collar; trim the seam allowances diagonally at the collar corners, clip the seam allowance at the corner between the collar and the front edge.
- Press the hem, slit seam allowances, and lower sides of the facings to the wrong side.
- Turn facings inwards, turn out the collar.
- Clip the seam allowance at the shoulder seam to the corner, turn under the lower edge of the upper collar and stitch it to the attachment seam.
- Sew the upper sides of the facings to the shoulder seam allowances, the lower sides to the hem.
- Topstitch the hem and side slits at a distance of 0.75 cm. Edgestitch the front edges and collar.
- At the lower edge of the sleeves, lay the pleats, placing mark x onto mark o, and baste them.
- Fold the cuffs in half right sides together, stitch the short ends and turn.
- Attach the long side of the cuff to the lower edge of the sleeve from the right side, catching the binding of the front edge of the slit turned to the wrong side.
- Turn under the inner half of the cuff and stitch to the attachment seam.
- On the right front, make 7 vertical buttonholes; on each cuff make 2 buttonholes 1 cm from the front short end.
- Sew buttons to the left front so that they fasten at the top of each buttonhole.
