Roscoe Blouse – Mandarin Collar + Elastic Sleeves

This is the outfit I was most excited to finish before our trip to Portugal, and I finished it just in time! We ended up getting covid a few days after we were there, so we didn’t get to explore as much as we had hoped, but we still really loved it there. Here are a few photos from our trip. 🙂

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I was really nervous/excited to do this Roscoe Blouse hack (pattern by True Bias) because I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out. I was going for a similar design as an Emerson Fry top. Luckily, all went well, and I love it! (Comparision to my inspiration below)

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I made my actual size according to my measurements because I don’t mind the oversized fit. I made quite a few changes for this version, so I’ll list them below.

Alterations to the pattern:
– Used the collar band pattern piece from the Cheyenne Tunic. Then transferred the notches from the Roscoe neck binding so that I knew how much to gather. The Cheyenne’s collar band was similar in length to the Roscoe neck binding, so I figured it would work.
– Hacked a button placket in front by adding ~2 inches to the front center (both sides). Cut a piece of interfacing 1 inch wide and the same length. Fused the interfacing and folded over twice to create the placket. Then edge stitched. This should be done first before gathering and adding the collar.
– Shortened the sleeves by 4 inches. Folded the sleeve hem by 1/4 inch and then 3/4 inch. Edge stitched and left a 2 inch opening for the elastic. I used 1/2 inch wide elastic for these sleeves.

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I was unsure about the length of the sleeves, so I basted one of them with the elastic to make sure the sleeve wasn’t too long. I didn’t lengthen the bodice at all since I like the length of this pattern.

This gorgeous block printed cotton is a remnant that I got from Fibers to Fabric on Etsy a few months ago. They have such a great selection of fabrics. They have lots of beautiful remnants, and also lots of fabrics you can purchase by the yard.

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I won’t give too many details on these Free Range shorts because I’ve made them before, and I have a whole blog post written right here. I made these ones with 8oz denim from Style Maker, and I think they turned out really nice! I took this outfit to Portugal, and these shorts went with every shirt that I brought on the trip. So if we hadn’t gotten sick, I would have been able to pair these with many more outfits.

I’ve been huge fan of these blousy shirts, and I’m kind of bummed that now it’s too cold, and all I want to wear is sweaters now. But I will be looking forward to wearing these all next summer!

Let me know if you have any questions or comments below, and happy Roscoe sewing!

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