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A Rainbow Seersucker Peasant Top [Scroop Henrietta Maria]

Hello friends!

Surprise! It’s not a dress! 😉

I don’t often wear pants — especially in the warmer months — but I wanted a loose-fitting top to wear with jeans.  Basically, I needed a blouse that looked good with skinny jeans and didn’t cling to me.  I had seen the Scroop Henrietta Maria pattern a few months before and it stuck in my mind.  It’s no secret that I’ve long had a love for peasant dress and blouse styles, but I was uncertain whether I actually needed to buy another pattern.  After all, I have several vintage blouse patterns I could make, but this one seemed to offer something a little different, as well as fitting in with my favored aesthetic.

Source: Scroop Patterns

Scroop Patterns is a relatively new pattern company designed by Leimomi Oakes of The Dreamstress. I have followed her blog for a few years now (as well as the Historical Sew Monthly) and I am always inspired by what she creates.  Leimomi is well versed in historical clothing and her pattern company mixes historical fashion with modern appeal.  Leimomi is a fashion and textile historian and sewing teacher, so I expected a professionally drafted pattern and I was not disappointed.

The Henrietta Maria pattern is a shift dress or top with raglan sleeves.  It has tucks on the neckline and on the sleeve cuffs and the top has options for both a straight and shaped high-low hemline.  This version is View B with the shaped hem.  I didn’t find it quite long enough in the front and didn’t have enough fabric to cut it much longer, so I added a hem band.  The hem band is just a piece of fabric cut to fit the bottom of the top, folded in half horizontally and sewn to the shirt.

The fabric for this blouse was a find.   As I’ve mentioned before, I love to go thrifting and antiquing and I’m always on the hunt for sewing stuff.  However, I don’t often look through the fabrics at thrift stores as I am usually disappointed by a pile of quilting cotton and fleece remnants.  I happened upon this multi-colored check print seersucker at one of my favorite thrift stores and scored it for $1.  ONE entire buck for about 3 1/2 yards!

As I was trying to do some pattern matching with this blouse and the print is directional, I didn’t have quite enough fabric to cut out the full length of the sleeves, so my sleeves are little shorter.  I also had to adjust the amount of tucks on the sleeves due to the shortened sleeves and where they fit on my arms.  I put the majority of the tucks where they’re more noticeable and tacked down the rest of the sleeve facing.

Laddie popped in

I am super happy with this top and definitely look forward to making another.  This top has been in weekly rotation since I made it, and I’m thinking that I should also make a coordinating skirt to wear with this.  I already have plans to make the dress version in a summery cotton voile and I’m sure it will be a staple.

Happy Sewing!

 

Comments

  1. What a fun top for summer! I like your thinking on the hem band.I always learn something new here from you.Looks great and what a steal! I’m a big fan of tucks, so I liked this interesting combination on the sleeves. I actually think the shorter sleeves look nicer.Great job!

  2. This is such a super-cute top! In your from-behind photo, I thought you had switched to a cowgirl hat at first and thought it looked spot-on with the checkered shirt for a more casual look, too.

    Love those bright colors – for DOLLAR! Awesome find, indeed!

  4. This top looks gorgeous on you, I just had to buy it for myself. The next trick will be to find the perfect material.

  6. that is so CUTE! love the colors on you and an interesting pattern.

    • Thanks, Beth! I think it’s a pretty unique pattern and very different from any others that I have in my stash.

  7. You look marvelous!! This is a very flattering pattern. I’m always afraid the peasant shirts will look shapeless but not so for this one!

    • Thank you, Lynn! It is a little shapeless and probably makes me look larger than I am, but it’s the look I was going for with slim pants, so I think it works. 🙂

  10. I love this top on you! What a find with the fabric! When I first saw this pattern, I wasn’t keen on it, but this version makes me rethink that. 😀

    • Thanks, Andie! Yeah, I had to think about it for a while and mull it around in my brain until I took the plunge, but was glad I did.

  11. I love it! I saw that pattern today and thought it was pretty. But a bit too “fussy” for me! You look beautiful!

  12. I’ve been so interested in what the thrifted fabric was going to become! What a fun pattern–all those tucks make for a really interesting detail. Your hat is perfect on you too–I love the scale of it.

    • Thanks, Elizabeth! I couldn’t wait to sew that fabric and glad I found the perfect pattern to pair with it. I wear that hat out in the sun now as I am basically a vampire. 🙂

  15. Love that pattern. I like peasant type tops but not the elastic that usually is present in those types of patterns. I only wish they did a tissue version. I avoid PDF patterns like the plague, but I might have to make an exception. Great score on the lovely seersucker. A perfect pattern/fabric match!

    • Thanks, Theresa! I definitely know how you feel as I prefer paper patterns, too. This one isn’t so bad to put together as it doesn’t have many pattern pieces.

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Mrs. Hughes: A retro inspired, vintage garment sewing and plus-size dressmaking blog by Tanya Maile Hughes.