How to Make a Sari Blouse
A sari blouse is a tight-fitting upper body garment with colors matching the look of an accompanying sari dress draped around it. This blouse can be short sleeved or sleeveless. Its necklines typically vary depending on the more specific design intended for it. It also usually shows the person's mid section as it often ends just below the bust area. Some prefer the blouse to cover the entire mid section, but it is not ideal to extend to the hip area. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Tape measure
- Pen
- Paper
- Fabric for the sari blouse
- Accessories and adhesives (optional)
- Cardboard for blouse patterns
- Ruler
- Scissors
- Fabric marker
- Pins
- Threads
- 2 pairs of blouse hooks
Instructions
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1
Plan what kind of neckline and sleeves you want to use, as these are important when taking body measurements. Measure the body using a tape measure. For the armholes, measure the circumference of the arm where the sleeves will end. For the full front length, measure the blouse height from the top shoulder to at least 6 inches or more under the chest. For the full back length, measure the blouse height from the top shoulder to the lower part of the body where the blouse will end. Write down the measurements for the blouse's full front length, full back length, sleeve length, arm holes, chest, under the chest, waist, shoulder, neck breadth and front neck.
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2
Buy the fabric and accessories you want to use for the sari blouse. Many sari blouses use hand-woven and sheer materials like chiffons, which are often embroidered or decorated with checks, stripes or other geometric or floral designs. Some saris can also use less expensive fabrics with simple solid colors, block printing designs, tie-dye designs and other ornaments and patterns. Often times, saris use gold and silver threads, pearls and precious stones as well.
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3
Make cardboard patterns that will guide you in cutting your fabric. Draw front, back and sleeve patterns based on the body measurements for accurate fitting. Separate your back pattern equally into two; make one overlap with the other for at least 1 inch for closing the blouse once it is worn. Leave enough allowance for stitching the contours of the cut fabric, which should be at least 1/2 to 1 inch in size.
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Lay out your front, back and sleeve patterns over your fabric on a flat surface. Draw over your fabric using a fabric pen to know where to cut. Have a separate cut fabric for the front and the back parts of the blouse as well as the sleeves.
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5
Cut the fabric for the sari blouse based on your pattern and body measurements, inclusive of cutting allowances.
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Fold and stitch the contours of the cut fabrics with the stitched side going to the inner part of the blouse. The sizes of your folds depend on the allowances you placed on the body measurements you used in your patterns.
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Stitch the cut front and back fabrics together through their shoulder parts, then connect their sides to create the basic shape of the blouse.
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Stitch the sleeve parts to the blouse.
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9
Attach the blouse hooks on the two sides of the blouse's back parts to connect them. This hook is similar, if not identical, to the one used in brassieres.
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Stitch or glue accessories you want for the final design of your sari blouse.
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Tips & Warnings
You can line and highlight the neck, shoulder and lower areas of the blouse with pearls, sequins or other materials. Use your creativity to make a visually appealing sari blouse.
Your inner stitching allowance makes it convenient for you to do necessary adjustments if your need to fix the size of the sari blouse.
There are websites that provide free patterns to guide amateurs in cutting the fabric for a sari blouse.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images
