Hooded Blouse with Princess Seams
A women's short-sleeved blouse with princess seams front and back, a hood cut in one with the centre fronts, a five-button front band and a curved hem.
When To Wear
- In summer with jeans, shorts or a skirt.
- As a light top for walks and travel in warm weather.
Key Design Features
Silhouette: Fitted at the waist by princess seams on the front and back.
Length: Hip length, with a hem curved up at the sides.
Collar: No collar; a hood cut in one with the centre front pieces, with a flat-felled centre seam topstitched 0.5 cm from the seam. The hood is set into the back neckline, and its front edge runs into the front band, forming a V-neck.
Front: Centre front and side front pieces; a dart on each centre front. Front band made by turning the allowance twice to the wrong side to 3.5 cm and edgestitching. Five buttons with buttonholes on the right front.
Sleeves: Short set-in sleeves with a slightly eased cap and a 1.5 cm topstitched hem.
Back: Centre back cut on the fold and two side back pieces.
Finishing: Seams overlocked and pressed open; hem turned under to 1.5 cm and topstitched.
Level Of Difficulty
Intermediate. Princess seams, a hood cut in one with the fronts with a clipped corner and a flat-felled seam, an eased sleeve cap and a turned-back button band.
Fabric Recommendations
Light blouse fabrics.
Additional Supplies
Cutter's Must
- From main fabric:
- Center Back – 1 piece on fold
- Side Back – 2 pieces
- Side Front – 2 pieces
- Center Front (cut in one with the hood) – 2 pieces
- Sleeve – 2 pieces
Sewing Instructions
- Stitch the princess seams of the front and back. Overlock and press open the seam allowances.
- Sew the center seam of the hood as a flat-felled seam: stitch the seam, press the seam allowances towards the left side of the hood, trim the under allowance close to the stitching, fold under the upper allowance, baste, and topstitch from the right side of the hood at a distance of 0.5 cm.
- On each Center Front, clip the seam allowance into the corner. Stitch the darts and press them towards the back.
- Sew the shoulder seams.
- Stitch the hood to the back neckline. Trim the seam allowances to a width of 0.5 cm, overlock them together, and press down. Press the shoulder seam allowances forward.
- Fold the allowance along the front edge of the hood and the allowances along the front edges twice to the wrong side, to a width of 3.5 cm. Edgestitch the resulting front band and the hood edge allowance.
- Sew the side seams. Press the hem allowance of the blouse to the wrong side, fold under to a width of 1.5 cm, and topstitch.
- Sew the sleeve seams. Overlock and press open the seam allowances. Press the hem allowance of the sleeve to the wrong side, fold under to a width of 1.5 cm, and topstitch.
- Set in the sleeves. Ease each sleeve cap between the notches. To do this, sew a line of long machine stitches on each side of the marked seam line and gently pull up the bobbin threads. Place the sleeve and the garment right sides together and pin the sleeve into the lower part of the armhole first, matching the sleeve seam to the side seam and the cross marks on the front and sleeve. Do not ease either the armhole or the sleeve at this point! Pin the sleeve at the shoulder seam, matching the cross mark on the sleeve cap to the seam. Then pin the sleeve into the upper part of the armhole, easing it slightly and evenly. Baste and stitch the sleeve from the sleeve side, starting the stitching at the sleeve seam. Overlock the seam allowances together. In the cap area, press the seam allowances towards the sleeve.
- Make 5 buttonholes along the right front edge and sew the buttons onto the left front.
