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Hello! I'm Suzannah, a serious DIYer and mom of two little ones. Follow along with my DIY fixer upper house renovations, sewing and crafty projects, real food recipes, and de-stressing goals.
I believe you can love your home just the way it is, AND have the power to design and make big changes to make it better.
I'm also the author of DIY Wardrobe Makeovers!

A new peplum top variation: pleated peplum and winter party look

I've made many peplum tops in my day, but most of them are summery and lightweight and in light colors. I have two main peplum top methods, both using regular dress patterns and then adding a skirt--circle or gathered. But this is a new variety: a pleated peplum!

First inspired by this cute purple peplum top:
And here's another recent inspiration: this J.Crew Factory collared peplum top:

And here's my version! From a very purple satin I bought literally years ago--I remember, it was February of 2010--for another project but never used. I even bought the zipper back then, which was nice for now (remember my 2014 sewing resolutions? Having zippers is still a bit of a luxury for me!).

I used my old fave Simplicity 2444 because I figured a basic dress bodice would be good, and the angle of the darts on 2444 is nice. But now, looking up at the original purple inspiration again, I see a princess seamed bodice like the one on Simplicity 1913 would have been almost identical! The fit on that one is pretty good, too. Oh, well. Next time.

I didn't use a pattern for the skirt part; it's just the width of the fabric, two layers, sewn together/understitched then pleated to the waist. I'd probably use one and a half panels or even two next time for a fuller skirt!

With jeans and heels, perfect easy party look!


But, I won't be buying that shiny satin at JoAnn again. I actually thought at one point of using it inside out, because the other side looks kind of like a matte taffeta, but I literally forgot until I had sewn all the darts and vertical seams this time. Oh, well. Shiny it is!

21 comments

  1. This is adorable! I think it turned out great, shiny purple fabric and all. Good for you for finding a use for some fabric from your stash.
    Claire
    http://hoopesparkstudios.wordpress.com

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  2. Hello. I'm going on your face book page. I'm a beginner (not novice) and got some silk duponi about 3 years ago. Could I use that to make a peplum top? I'd probably do a muslim (my first) cause the fabric was expensive and I don't want to jack it up!

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  3. That would be a lovely peplum top!!! I used dupioni for the bodice of this dress and it was fab. I recommend using something else for lining--much cheaper than silk! The high quality nylon one or a fine cotton would be great for lining.

    http://www.adventuresindressmaking.com/2012/05/all-about-my-peplum-party-dress.html#.UuAYC_TTnQc

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  4. I normally don't like peplum tops but this one is really pretty! Nice work!

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  5. This peplum top looks lovely, but I think it is proper for girls with narrow hips. There is an optic impression that pear hips are wider than in reality, but this may works for "pear" as a beautiful dress underlying fantastic waist. Thanks for inspirational post.

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  6. What a beautiful dress. Looks like a dirndl pattern. Thank you.

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  7. Hi ! Your dress is amazing ! I'm french, Can you telle me where I can buy this pattern, please ? Have a good day !

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  8. Try searching for it on Google Shopping, Etsy, or eBay!

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  9. Hi there!
    I don't have a digital (or paper) version of the modifications I made to the pattern, sorry! But you should be able to do something very similar if you use the same or similar pattern!

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  10. Thanks! Sure, the easiest would be to use the top part of the bodice from this pattern http://butterick.mccall.com/b5317-products-9434.php?page_id=155 and use the midriff panel from any pattern. Or, to do more like what I did, take one of these and modify:

    http://mccallpattern.mccall.com/m6557-products-22748.php?page_id=108
    http://voguepatterns.mccall.com/v8469-products-7898.php?page_id=856

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  11. Good question - as you can see in the photos of the cutting, I cut the bodice bust much wider than it would be straight across (i.e. center front is much farther from bust) - that gave me room to create the tucks (Google how to sew tucks if you need to) and add gathering stitches at the top and bottom of the bust to make it fit the lining, which was cut to the original size. Hope that helps!

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  12. I like your version better than Mod Cloth's.

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  13. Such a sweet dress! How do I modify for a (much) larger bosom. Thank you :)

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  14. You could cut the upper bodice piece wider at the bottom where it meets the midriff panel. Check out some tips in this post http://www.create-enjoy.com/2010/08/sewing-circle-how-to-cut-out-right.html#.VE-wavldUql or look for a pattern that comes in cup sizes!

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  15. How do you do the pleats? Sorry, I'm a beginner.

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  16. You can Google "how to make pleats" and there are many tutorials.

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  17. There is another pattern from butterick that is similar to this. I just bought it today to make this dress! I'm very excited it's going to need some adjusting for my curves but I'm going for it my first attempt in years for something for myself.
    The pattern number is B 5181

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  18. Yes, that one would also work for the modification! Thanks for the tip! Good luck!

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  19. This dress is so cute, is there any way you can give me a copy of this pattern?

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  20. It was self-drafted! If you find a similar pattern you should be able to modify it as I did above.

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