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MN2105 Dove / Sewalongs

How to make a Dove blouse with cap sleeves

dove sewalong cap sleeve version

Hey everyone, Holly here! The Dove blouse hack I’m going to share with you today has resulted in my new favourite top in my closet. It’s SO good! I’m going to show you how to create a sleeveless version with cute little rectangular cap sleeves. This hack was originally done by Katie of What Katie Sews, and when Meg showed it to me I was in loooooove and knew we had to share it with you all and show you how to do it yourself. So thank you Katie for the inspiration!

Ok, so let’s get started…

**** Just a note: you may notice throughout this tutorial that this Dove blouse does not have bust darts. Yes, they have been removed (I have a very small bust, and tend to remove bust darts on non-fitted blouses). Just an FYI in case you are wondering!

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen Patterns

To start, you should have every other aspect of your Dove blouse sewn by following the instructions, except the sleeves. That includes the centre front seam, darts, facing, shoulder and side seams, and even the hem facing if you would like.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen Patterns

To make the little cap sleeves, cut two rectangular pieces of fabric 9.75″ by 3.5″.

Depending on the weight of your fabric, you may want to apply lightweight fusible interfacing to the wrong side of each rectangle to stabilize the shape of the cap sleeves.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen Patterns

Fold each rectangular piece in half the long way, with right sides together.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsSew along the short ends, 1/4″ from the raw edges. Clip the corners.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsTurn the cap sleeves right side, making sure to get those corners nice and sharp, and press.

Mark the middle/halfway point on each cap sleeve.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsPlace your blouse in front of you right side out.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsPlace your cap sleeve long the armscye, lining up the raw edges and matching the centre of the cap sleeve with the shoulder seam.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsContinue pinning the entire cap sleeve to the edge of the armscye. Repeat with the other one.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsSo together 5/8″ from the raw edge.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsNow we are going to finish the raw edge of the armhole with bias facing. I’m going to show you the way I did it here, but you can also see another method done in this post here. You can also use store-bought bias tape if you would like. Whatever your preference is.

Ok, so for this method, cut two strips of fabric, on the bias, 21″ long and 2″ wide. If you can’t cut strips that long, you can piece together shorter strips, and you can also find how to do that here.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsFold the strip in half width ways along the long edge, with wrong sides together / right sides facing outwards. Press well.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsFold the bias strip in by 1/4” at one end and press.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsStarting with the folded end, line up the raw edges of the folded bias strip with the raw edge of the armhole. I like to begin doing this at the bottom, right at the side seam.

Begin pinning together, easing the strip as you go.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsContinue pinning all the way around…

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsWhen you reach the folded edge of the bias strip where you started, overlap it by an inch, and then cut off the remaining bias strip.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsRepeat for the other side.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsSew 1/2″ from the raw edge around the entire armhole.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsTrim back the seam allowance to under 1/4″.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsPress the facing and seam allowance away from the blouse.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsUnderstitch along the facing strip close to the seamline (securing the bias facing to the seam allowance only. you are not sewing on the bodice or the cap sleeve). This ensures that your facing will roll towards the inside of the garment.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsTurn the facing towards the inside of the top, with the cap sleeve outwards. Press, and pin in place.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsStitch close to the other edge of the facing to enclose the raw edges.

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen Patterns How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen PatternsTa-da! That’s it! Here is what it looks like from the right side!

How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen Patterns
How to add cap sleeves to the Dove blouse by Megan Nielsen Patterns

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About Author

Holly writes part time for the Megan Nielsen blog– sewing like crazy, creating tutorials and sewalongs. She has been sewing since she was a little girl, and has her degree in apparel design. Now she’s a stay at home mama, and spends all her free nap times at her sewing machine.

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Kate
Kate
3 years ago

I too have a small bust and have been trying to figure out how to remove bust darts but with no luck. Would you please post how to remove the bust darts from the Dove pattern? Also, does that hack work on all bust darts or do you need to do something different depending on the type of dart? Thanks so much for your help with this!

Wikky Ockhorst
3 years ago

Hi Holly, love you’re hack so I tried out a sleeveless version. But mine does have an armcycle problem. They are too deep if I leave the sleeves and finish them like you do. Also, the have a bit of a gap at front but I think that might be solved by an FBA on the next one.
Did you change the armcycle on yours? Hope you can help me, thanks in advance anyway.