The Portrait Blouse
This sweet blouse is figure-flattering and
amazingly versatile. Make it in a cotton eyelet
and pair it with shorts in the summer. In wool
jersey, it’s a great wintertime layering piece with
a pencil skirt and cardigan. And it’s absolutely
smashing in a drapey silk satin for a glam evening
look. There are very few fabrics this design won’t
work in! I would just avoid anything that’s too
stiff (like taffeta, for instance), as it won’t provide
a flattering drape. The length of the blouse is
relatively short, so add length at the hem if you
like your tops on the longer side.
I N ST R U CT I O N S
1. This neckline needs to be stabilized well so that it
won’t gape. Stay-stitch ½" (1.3 cm) from top edge, or
use one of the other methods described on page 77
(A).
2. Stitch front-bust darts, and press them (B).
3. Stitch dart tucks on front and back pattern pieces
by bringing the two lines together and stitching.
Backstitch at beginning and end of the tucks. Press
tucks to the center of each piece (C).
4. Stitch blouse front and back together at the
shoulder seams. Press open (D).
5. Stitch front and back together at side seams,
starting at upper notch and leaving left side open
under lower notch for zipper. Press seams open,
clipping into seam allowance at waistline to allow
seam to lie flat (E).
Copyright © Gertie's New Book for Better
Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch published by
STC Craft | Melanie Falick Books, 2012.
KEY SKILLS
• Working with slippery fabrics
• Narrow hems (see page 64)
• Hand overcasting (optional; see page 55)
• Fabric interfacings (optional; see page 72)
• Hand-picked zipper (see page 56)
SUPPLIES
• Portrait Blouse pattern pieces (from
pattern sheet 1) following layout on
page 198)
• 1.5 yards (1.4 meters) 45" (114 cm) blouse
fabric or 1 yard (.9 meter) 60" (152 cm)
blouse fabric
• 9" (23 cm) zipper
• ½" yard (.5 meters) interfacing
FABRIC NOTES
My sample blouse is made up in a
dotted silk charmeuse. Charmeuse is
known for its luxurious feel and signature
sheen. It’s also known for being fussy
to work with because it’s so slippery.
The two best tips I can give you are:
1) Put weights on your pattern pieces
when cutting out, and cut with a rotary
blade. This keeps the silk from shifting
as you cut it because it remains flat on
the table. 2) Hand-baste your darts and
seams together before stitching on the
machine. This may seem like overkill,
but it makes working with charmeuse a
snap, rather than a nightmare. Plus, on
a small project like this one, there aren’t
too many seams to baste. Remember to
remove your basting before pressing!
GERTIE’S NEW BOOK
FOR BETTER SEWING
A MODERN GUIDE TO COUTURE-STYLE SEWING
U S I N G B A S I C V I N TA G E T E C H N I Q U E S
G R E T C H E N H I R S C H Photographs by Jody Rogac
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Copyright © Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch published by STC Craft | Melanie Falick Books, 2012.
 #. caption
A. Stay-stitch neckline. caption
B. Stitch bust#.darts, and press them.

#. caption
C. Stitch dart tucks, and press. caption
D. Stitch front and#.back together at shoulders.

G. Stitch facings together at

shoulder seams.
#. caption

#. caption
E. Stitch blouse together at side seams; press open. #. caption
F. Apply interfacing to facings.

#. caption
H. Pin and stitch facings; understitch. #. caption
I. Hem sleeves.

#. caption
J. Insert zipper.

Copyright © Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch published by STC Craft | Melanie Falick Books, 2012.
 6. Apply interfacing to your facings (I, see page 10. Hem bottom of blouse as you did for sleeves.
72). For my sample blouse, I used silk charmeuse
as sew-in interfacing, but you can also use a 11. Insert side-hand-picked lapped zipper

fusible in a weight to match your fashion fabric.
Tip: You can match your interfacing to your skin
tone to avoid show-through of your facings on
light-colored or slightly sheer fabrics.
7. Stitch facings together at shoulder seams (G).
8. Pin facings to neckline, right sides together.
Stitch facings to blouse. Trim, grade, and clip
seam allowances. Press and turn facings to the
inside. Understitch facings by hand using a pick
stitch (H, see page 52). Finish outer edge of
your neckline facings by pinking, zigzagging, or
hand-overcasting (see page 55). Tack facings to
shoulder seams.
9. Hem sleeves, using one of the two methods in
sidebar below. For both methods, clip upper side
seam notch almost to line of stitching so sleeve
hem can lie flat (I).
(J, see page 57). (Your zipper will go in
upside down in a blouse, so zipper pull hangs
just below hem of blouse when closed.)
Turn back zipper opening seam allowance under
½" (1.3 cm) and press. Pin this pressed fold
over zipper tape, pinning as close to zipper teeth
as possible. Match zipper stop to lower edge
of blouse hem. Conceal top of zipper tape by
turning it under and stitching or trimming it with
pinking shears. With a zipper foot, stitch next to
zipper teeth to secure it.
12. On front side of zipper opening, turn seam
allowance under ⅝" (1.5 cm) and press. Close
zipper and pin right seam allowance so that fold
covers zipper teeth. Hand-pick zipper in place
on right side, using a double strand of beeswax-
coated thread. (Press the thread in a press cloth
first to melt the beeswax.)

H E M M I N G S L E EVE S
For thick fabrics like wool jersey: Turn under and press
Thick fabrics.
the sleeve’s 5⁄8 " (1.5 cm) hem allowance. Turn under the
hem allowance’s raw edge, so it meets the fold, and press
it in place. Edge-stitch the hem’s inner fold, or slip stitch it
invisibly by hand. Press the hem.
For thin fabrics like charmeuse or voile: Make a narrow
hem by machine as follows. Stay-stitch 3⁄8 " (1 cm) from
the sleeve’s raw edge. Press the raw edge to the inside of
the blouse, so the stay stitching line falls just inside. Next,
sew a second row of stitching just to the left of the stay
stitching. Press the new line of stitching, and carefully trim
away the remaining hem allowance, using small, sharp
scissors and cutting right next to the second stitching
line. Press the hem again to the inside, and sew one final
row of stitching along the inner fold line. This last stitching
line will show on the outside of your blouse, so be sure to
stitch an even distance from the bottom of the hem. Thin fabrics.

Copyright © Gertie's New Book for Better Sewing by Gretchen Hirsch published by STC Craft | Melanie Falick Books, 2012.
 1 T H E P O RT R A I T B LO U S E

Size 2 2
Size
Size 4 4
Size
Size 6 6
Size
Size 8 8
Size
Size 10 10
Size
Size 12 12
Size
Size 14 14
Size
Size 16 16
Size

Buttonhole

Gusset
Stitch Line

CB Center Back

CF Center Front

N OT E S :

• All patterns are size 2–16

• Use tracing paper or dressmaker’s carbon paper
and tracing wheel to make a copy of your size
• Some larger pattern pieces need to be pieced
together. Trace and match up on indicated line.
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The Portrait Blouse

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© Gretchen Hirsch

Cut 1 on Fold

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The Portrait Blouse
F R O N T FA C I N G
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Cut 1 on Fold Interfacing

Cut 1 on Fold Fabric
STC Craft | A Melanie Falick Book, an imprint of Stewart, Tabori & Chang | New York
GERTIE’S NEW BOOK FOR BETTER SEWING

The Portrait Blouse

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