205 Gibson Girl Blouse

Sizes:  Small to 3XL

The Gibson Girl was the ideal of feminine beauty at the turn of the 20th century. She often wore a soft, loosely fitted blouse of light cotton or silk with a high collar to accentuate her slender neck. A blouse worn with a skirt became the American woman's favorite fashion. By 1905, the Sears Roebuck catalogue offered 150 versions of this blouse, from cotton to lace and taffeta.

The high-collar, back-buttoning yoke style is still just as flattering today. This blouse is lovely over a skirt or it can be cut longer to tuck in. Instructions for optional tucks and lace insertion are included.

Our sewing pattern features the full-shaped front gathered into a rounded yoke, embellished in View B with clusters of tucks and lace insertion. Three-quarter length sleeves are gathered at the shoulders and into narrow cuffs.

In View A, the high collar and yoke are finished with lace; in View B, rows of stitched lace replace the collar, as was the fashion. Tucks and lace insertion on the body of the blouse are optional. Instructions are given in View B for a traditional bias bound cuff. The back opening and cuffs fasten with tiny buttons or hooks and eyes; clusters of gathers at center back are held in place by narrow ties, which encircle the waist and tie in front.

Suggested fabrics: Soft lightweight fabrics such as batiste, lawn, muslin, silk, gingham, or calico.

Era: Edwardian, late 1800s to early 1900s

Yardage chart (.pdf)

This pattern is available as a Paper pattern and PDF pattern.  Choose the option you want at the top.  The PDF pattern has layered files for print at home (A4 or 8.5x11"), copy shop A0 and 36", and a projector file, as well as instructions.

LEARN MORE: 

• How to sew lace insertion
• Tips for sewing sheer fabrics and lace.
• The Gibson Girl Blouse: a short story
• We also have insertion and edge lace that works well for this pattern.
• Change the back opening to a shoulder opening (sewing hack)
• Resources for sewing the 205 Gibson Girl Blouse
• NOTE: Piece J is a rectangle that you must cut to the specifications in the pattern instructions.