Snow Leopard Roscoe Blouse

My favorite go-to top for work is a lovely navy chiffon blouse from Gap – it has raglan sleeves, a gathered neckline with ties, and gathered ¾ length sleeves. You can see it in my Axel Skirt post from last December! I love the way it flows and drapes and looks great tucked in or out, and it looks put together enough for when I’m in my office, but also is something I like enough to wear more casually. But I only have the one, and I just can’t wear it with every single outfit. 

When I first saw the Roscoe Blouse, I didn’t think I needed it in my wardrobe. It was super cute, but quite honestly when I first started sewing all I wanted to do was make pretty party dresses! The Roscoe got forgotten until recently, when I realized that it holds quite a few similarities to that well loved Gap shirt and would be a great fit into my wardrobe. I finally purchased the pattern recently, and I am SO glad that I did. (PS – the pattern was just recently re-released in a more inclusive size range! If you don’t have it yet, read on and see why I think you should definitely grab it! I’ve linked the pattern at the bottom!)

I’ll be straightforward when I say that I didn’t decide to take the easy route with my first Roscoe blouse. I fell head over heels in love with this snow leopard-esque wool dobby chiffon fabric, and I knew that I wanted to make a Roscoe out of it. However, this was my first time making this pattern and I hadn’t really thought through some of the details involved, like the neck and sleeve bands and the narrow little ties. Pressing chiffon is almost pointless, so making my fabric hold the shape that I wanted to really make the bands and ties look good required a decent bit of spray starch. I mean seriously – don’t hold back.

Aside from my spray starch bonanza, this top came together fairly easily. I have found that working with chiffon is not my favorite process, but that I’m always so fond of the final garment that it does make it worth it. Not all chiffons are equal, and wool dobby has turned out to be my favorite thus far. It is still chiffon, but it wants to cooperate, which can’t be said of all versions. Both times that I have worked with wool dobby, I used a narrow flat hem foot from my Madam Sew presser foot kit (I’ve linked it below if you’re interested!) to hem the final product, and this has been such a time saver! I’d certainly recommend a few practice runs on scrap fabric, but once you get the hang of it, this option is much easier then trying to do a double turned under hem on this thin and shifty fabric! It also yields a really lovely tiny hem that I think looks nice around the edge. I still struggle with going over my serged side seams with the narrow hem foot, but I’m sure I’ll get there with more practice.

Isn’t this fabric just super pretty? I absolutely loved the colors. From afar, it reads as a standard black and white leopard print, but as you get closer there are some really lovely warm taupe and grey tones interspersed. Right now, I’m loving the way this pairs with my high-waisted black jeans and boots, but I think it would also look so pretty paired with a pretty skirt. I recently sewed up a fun crimson corduroy mini skirt, which I’m excited to pair this with, too! Thanks to the array of neutral colors, it can look great with so many different color palettes. And we all know that leopard is a neutral anyways, right??

I’m so excited to get to wearing this top regularly. I think the colors lend so beautifully to a soft winter palette, but the lightweight nature of the fabric will also allow the potential for it to be carried into the warmer months with the right outfits. In the meantime, I’ve got at least three more planned as soon as I can find the time to churn them out (though I’ll make at least a couple of them in less challenging fabrics!!).

Top: handmade by me
Fabric: Stylish Fabrics – Off White Angora Animal Skin Printed Wool Dobby Chiffon
Pattern: True Bias – Roscoe Blouse 

Key Ingredients:
Brother XR9500PRW Sewing Machine
Brother 1034D Overlocker / Serger
Madam Sew 32-piece Presser Foot Set
Schmetz Universal Machine Needles – Size 70/10
Dahle 36×48 Self-healing Cutting Mat
Faultless Regular Spray Starch

• XX Elizabeth