Add a Peplum to Any Garment; Use a Flounce Pattern

How do you make a traditional shirt more interesting and on trend?  Add a peplum!  This one is especially nice since the hem is a fold.  Read on to understand what this means.

Embroidered cotton blouse with peplum from waist to high hip

 Take a traditional shirt pattern and mark your waist location on the pattern.  Mark a 1/2" seam allowance below the waist, and cut off the portion of the tissue below this mark.  Your shirt pattern is now waist length.

Peplum inserted into waist seam

For the peplum pattern, you could use a full circle skirt pattern, or adjust a flounce pattern.  Keep in mind the pattern below is cut on a fold.  The dimensions of my flounce pattern are:  Upper Waist measurement 22", Lower Waist measurement 42", depth 12".  Seams allowances are 1/2".  If you are confused, cutting on a fold means the cut panel is 44" x 84" x 12".

Peplum pattern; cut 1 on a fold

The Upper Waist and Lower Waist edges are both gathered to the waist seam.  The center of the peplum pattern is the hem fold.  The Upper Waist edge appears on the outside of the garment.  The Lower Waist edge sits underneath the garment, against the body.  You don't have to hem the peplum!

Back view of peplum blouse; waist is very fitted

You could wear this blouse under a jacket or pelerine; the peplum can be flattened down if you prefer.

My long sleeve does not have a separate cuff pattern.  To create a mock french cuff on this blouse, I left the lower 4" of the sleeve seam open.  I stitched buttonholes in both hemmed edges.

Sleeve cuff detail:  french cuffs

To make cuff links to match the shirt buttons, I took buttonhole twist and tied two shank buttons together tightly.  The link stands firmly.  If the two button shanks slid off each other, I could add a drop of glue.  Metal buttons are more likely to slip than plastic.

Make custom cuff links with two buttons and heavy thread

This technique could also be done to a jacket or sweater.  Thanks for reading my post.