Peasant Tops for Adults

A few weeks ago Jess over at Craftiness is not Optional shared these peasant tops she made for her daughters.  I thought the peasant blouses were adorable, and since Jess swore they were the easiest thing ever to make, I decided to give one a shot in an adult size!  I couldn't find any good adult peasant top tutorials, so I used this tutorial and this tutorial as guides to create my own adult pattern.  And it worked!

Well, sorta.  I ran into a little trouble with the sleeves.  I think I cut them wrong or sewed them wrong or something.  I never really figured it out which, so for two days the top sat on my kitchen table (where I sew) and every time I walked past it I'd say jokingly to my boyfriend, "My sleeves ain't right!"  Eventually I quit following both of the tutorials' instructions and made up my own way.  I got out my seam ripper then cut off part of the sleeves and sewed them on a different way, just for good measure.  I'm pretty sure no one's ever made sleeves like this, since the seam is on the top.  But whatever!  It worked and it fits. :)

 

 Isn't this shirt so cute?  I'm in love with the fabrics.  Can you believe I got them at Jo-Ann's?

Oh, and, by the way, since this post isn't flower-related and I'm still doing my May Flowers event, I made asked my boyfriend nicely to go with me to the botanical gardens and take pictures of me in my new shirt.  You can thank him for the photography.

Anyway...I didn't put elastic in the sleeves because I thought that was a little bit childish and I also sewed on a tie at the bottom of the blouse, a la Jess from Craftiness is Not Optional.  I didn't make the tie quite long enough to tie a bow, but I think it looks like I did it on purpose, don't you?  All I did was sew a tube that was twice as long as the circumference of the shirt.  Simple!

This was my first top to sew and I'm proud I made my own pattern, plus some adjustments to the original blouse.  I used the same technique for the tie on my peasant top as I did for the tie on my pink party skirt.  I always thought modifications to patterns would be hard to make, but I'm starting to learn that once you know a few basic skills in sewing you can mix and match to create almost anything.

The pattern I made for this definitely needs some adjustments, and I'm not sure if I can replicate the shirt again or not, but I think I'll try when I get the chance.  Who knows, maybe I'll make an adult peasant top tutorial for you!  So keep checking back if you like this shirt.  Until then, happy crafting!

--CC