Another Lottie Blouse Hack – A simple 3/4 sleeve top!

Lottie Top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comHello dear sewing-lovers! Today I’m sharing another Lottie Blouse hack. The original Lottie Blouse pattern comes with puff sleeves and a pussy bow & keyhole neckline.

I wanted to make a simple 3/4-sleeve top to show off the busy print of this very girly bag fabric. I like the Lottie Blouse pattern (Simple Sews) and have made 3 variations already. The pattern was included in Love Sewing magazine last year.

Pattern alterations:

– slimming down the sleeves by removing the gathering at the top
– removing the keyhole and bow
– raising the neckline and adding a facing
– adding 15cm slits at the lower side seam (inspired by a Boden top)

source: www.lovesewingmag.co.uk

Lottie Top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

I didn’t follow the original instructions. The Lottie Blouse doesn’t use the set-in-sleeve technique and the sleeves are sewn in flat. This makes the gathering at the puff sleeves quite easy and generally I like using this technique for knit fabrics. As I changed the sleeves, I used the standard set-in-sleeve method to get the ease right at the sleeve cap.

The neckline facing is understitched and attached to the shoulder seam allowance with a couple of hand stitches.Lottie Top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

I finished all seams with my overlocker. The sleeves and hem edges are all machine stitched – overlocked and turned in once and kept in place with topstitching approx. 5mm from the edge. This gives a nice neat finish and the machine stitching is barely visible.

Lottie Top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comI stitched the side seams up to  approx. 15cm from the hem. I then pressed the seams open. The seam allowance is kept in place by topstitching 5mm from the edge, starting at the hem. I stitched up to the point where the side seam stitching starts, then stitching at an 45° angle, first up, then down again, forming a little triangle shape at the top of the slit. Lottie Top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comLottie Top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comTo be honest, I’m not quite as happy with this make as I hoped to be. First, the fabric. I have 3m of this polyester blend, which I got for almost nothing at a charity shop. The quality is really nice and I saved it up for ages. I finally decided that I had enough to make a top and still have enough left for a dress. Looking at the top now, the fabric choice wasn’t the best. I just really don’t like the print on it. It would’ve looked better on a dress I guess. I might use the rest of this fabric for the Sew Over It Vintage Shirt Dress.

Second, the fit isn’t the best. The Lottie Blouse fits me quite well, but I never realised that it is quite tight across the bust. It now makes sense, because the keyhole always gaped a bit, but this wasn’t much of a problem as it is covered by the pussy bow.

Now that I removed the keyhole and raised the neckline, the top is a bit tight. Furthermore, removing the fullness of the sleeves doesn’t help either. As you can see in the picture below, the top rides up and distorts the neckline when I lift my arms a bit. Meh!

Lottie Top by Thisblogisnotforyou.comWell, it’s good enough to wear at home in the garden and I have learned my lesson!

I recently made yet another Lottie hack and hacked the blouse into a dress (pictures coming soon!). Again I removed the keyhole (but kept the bow), but this time I added an extra 3cms across the bust. The fit is so much better now!
Lottie Top by Thisblogisnotforyou.com

What’s your favourite pattern hack? Have you ever been really disappointed after trying something new?


Happy sewing!

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12 thoughts on “Another Lottie Blouse Hack – A simple 3/4 sleeve top!

  1. I love the fabric and can understand why you did away with the keyhole. Thanks for making me wiser. My favorite hack was doing away with a zipper. I chose a jersey fabric for a dress with a straight skirt and fitted bodice. The result is one of my favorites: a black jersey dress that is comfy and yet slim, with a waist of tiny, cartoon monsters.

  2. I really like the styling and the changes you have made to the pattern, even if you think it is too tight. How did you work out how much to slim the sleeves by? I really hate ‘puffy’ sleeves but never know how much to adjust a pattern to remove the gathers.

    1. Thanks! I measured the armhole and removed the excess by slicing the pattern at sleeve centre and taking out a bit (by overlapping the parts) until the measurements were the same + added ease. Sounds really complicated but it was fairly easy as the sleeve was probably drafted this way (hence the wide sleeves).

  3. And I was jyst thinking that i really like the fabric as a top! I’ve only just hacked my two patterns; adding flounces to a Mabel skirt and mashing an archer with a mcalls blouse pattern for fit, they were both really successful. Think my most disappointing make was the seamwork leggings which only just got over my feet!

    1. Sounds pretty cool! I love pattern hacks. I have so many patterns that fit really well, but making the same thing over and over again would be boring! yay for pattern hacks!

  4. Oooh love it! That fabric is amazing!! It’s a shame it’s a little tight across the bust but hopefully you’ll still get plenty of wear out of it and can adjust your future lotties to have a bit more room!

    1. Thanks!! I actually wore it quite a few times already 🙂 And yes, I’ve already made another and this time it’s just right! 🙂

  5. What a lovely explanation! Hey dear, you have shared the things that I am looking for so many days. You sew a simple top, but I am new in the sewing technique. I have learned so many important things from your article. Thank you, dear.

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