Jessica's Sleeveless Spencer with Peplum (how-to included!)
Jessica made this beautiful sleeveless Spencer and added the peplum with covered buttons. It's so perfect I asked if she'd share her how-to for this modification, and she did. If you have questions for her about how to make one for yourself, you can drop her a line (her email is at the end of this post).
I purchased the Elegant Lady's Closet, Underthings, and Spencer patterns. I just wanted say that I’m really enjoying the patterns and wanted to show some progress. I made the bodiced petticoat with ELC modifications. Then made a sheer long-sleeved chemisette combing the option 2 chemisette and the Spencer pattern. I haven’t hemmed the sleeves yet. The sleeveless Spencer has a peplum that I drafted. I found several extant pieces with that addition. (Note: I ran out of stripe fabric to make another peplum piece for how-to pictures, so it is white and doesn’t match. I made the size 10.)
How to add a peplum to your Spencer jacket
1. Cut two peplum pattern pieces on the fold of fashion material:10 1/2” long (21” unfolded), 5” high. Feel free to adjust the height or width according to taste. (If your fabric is flimsy, you may want some sort of interfacing. Mine was plenty stiff without.)
2. Round off a corner, while folded, 4” from the center fold sloping down to 2 1/4” on the outside edge. (It can easily be made rounder, I just liked mine a little sharper with the striped fabric.)
Cut peplum
3. Sew three sides together with a 1/2” seam allowance (short ends and curved edge, leaving the top free), right sides together.
4. Grade, then clip corners. Turn right side out and press. Set peplum aside.
5. Cut two 2” bands long enough to go around the bottom of your Spencer, adding an inch.
Waistband for the Spencer
6. Pin the bands to the lower edge of the Spencer jacket, sandwiching the bottom of the Spencer between the two bands, with right sides facing the Spencer (one inside and one outside). Remember to leave 1/2” extra at the short ends to fold under when finishing.
Adding waistband to Spencer
7. Stitch to the Spencer through all layers, taking up a 1/2" seam, then press the bands down.
Pressing the waistband down
8. Fold under and press a 1/2” hem toward the inside of each band.
9. Pleat or gather (I’ve seen extant examples of both) your peplum to the desired shape/size and pin to the inner band, inserting 1/2-5/8” according to preference.
10. Sew peplum to the inside band just 1/4” from the edge.
11. Hand sew the the bottom edge of the waistband pieces together with a slipstitch as indicated in the pattern instructions, changing to a whipstitch when you reach the peplum and securing the outer band to it before returning to a slipstitch for the rest of the waistband.
12. I added two fabric-covered buttons to finish.
Thank you so much for these instructions, Jessica! Readers, if you have any further questions about this quick and easy modification, please feel free to drop Jessica a line at jess_storey@yahoo.com. Happy sewing!
