My Uptown Folk Blouse in Sew News, Apr/May 2016

My first new pattern of this year is out - I finished a while back and have been waiting and waiting to be able to share with you!

It is part of an article I wrote for the current, Apr/May 2016 issue of Sew News magazine that shows you how to make a sweet embroidered peasant blouse for summer. You can download the pattern for both the blouse and embroidery for free through May 31, 2016 (for the instructions you'll have to buy the magazine), after which it will be for sale through as a standalone pattern on the site.

It's a clean-cut, easy-to-sew blouse that I really enjoyed designing and making. The embroidery design is based on the folk wear of the Palóc region, though I took quite a few liberties with the colors and placement to create it. I just got the sample and my complimentary copy of Sew News late this afternoon so I haven't had time to press it and take decent photos of anything. But it's a fun, free project (for now) so I wanted to get it out there for all of you to enjoy! I will try to get better photos soon. Here's the cover of this issue (there are some cool projects in it, if I do say so myself!):

I

also made a non-embroidered version of the Uptown blouse in a lovely Anna Maria Horner Voile I've had in my stash for years. I've worn this blouse nearly to bits last summer. In this version, I machine-finished the sleeve hem and neckline, and used a vintage button for the neckline closure instead of ties.

I love this pattern because it uses fairly little fabric, and can be made to look completely different depending on the fabric and colors you use. And I think it'd look great with the stretch twill True Bias Hudson pants that Lauren Dahl posted about recently, which I saw on Instagram and just adored. And now you see one of the reasons I've been looking for ways to style peasant blouses!