Dress Up the Peppermint Albion Blouse With This Brilliant Hack
- Words by Peppermint
How do we love the Albion Blouse? Let us count the ways… She’s classy, she’s comfy, she’s cute. She comes with her own special variations – a short-sleeved version for skipping your way through various sunny scenarios and the voluminous full-sleeve version for when you want to unleash the drama, mama.
And she offers even more possibilities as a pattern because where there is a sweet blouse pattern, there is, very often, a cool dress hack!
In fact, you could make multiple Albion Dresses using a veritable variety of skirt styles from circle skirts, curve front with ruffle, or multiple tiers. For the sake of simplicity, here we’ll show you how to make a simple gathered skirt wrap dress using the Albion Blouse pattern. We whipped our version up using an old doona cover from the op-shop – sustainable, affordable and cute – plus it came with its own matching buttons!
DOWNLOAD THE PATTERN NOW!
What you will need
The Peppermint Albion Blouse pattern, instructions and all the accoutrements listed within
Plus…
Measuring tape
A calculator
Fabric
Let’s get dressy!
STEP ONE // Download and print out your Peppermint Albion Blouse pattern. Follow the instructions as written until you get to step 4. When sewing your facing to the body of the blouse (4.1), DO NOT sew down the little bottom bit of facing at the hem. Skip steps 4.4–4.8 entirely leaving the waist hem unfinished, for now.
STEP TWO // Continue finishing the blouse up to the point of adding buttons and snaps– you’ll want to leave that until last to see if the weight of the skirt adjusts the fit.
STEP THREE // Draft your skirt pieces. Measure the width of the back bodice and front bodices (including seam allowance). Multiply these measurements by 1.5 to get the width of your skirt pieces – a standard rule of thumb for gathering ratios but if you want a more voluminous skirt, you could try multiplying your measurements by 2 instead.
Decide how long you want your skirt to be. Remember to factor in a seam allowance of 1cm at the top and a hemming allowance at the bottom.
STEP FOUR // Cut out two front skirt pieces (front bodice x 1.5 wide and chosen length long) and one back skirt piece (back bodice x 1.5 wide and chosen length long).
STEP FIVE// Overlock or otherwise finish both side seams of the back skirt piece and the side seams that will attach to the back seams on the front skirt pieces. On the side seams that will align with the front edges of the bodice so finish with a double fold hem instead.
(At this point, if you wish, you can add in pockets! We used the Peppermint Bowen Dress pattern’s pocket piece and attached them 10cm from the top of the skirt pieces).
STEP SIX // Sew side seams together and put in two rows of gathering stitches 0.5 and 1cm away from the top of your skirt. A gathering stitch is a straight stitch with the stitch length set between 3 and 4 on your machine.
STEP SEVEN // Gather down until the edges and side seams of the skirt match the bodice.
STEP EIGHT // Because the Peppermint Albion Blouse finishes below your natural waist you may want to try it on at this point and mark where your waist is (as that is the most flattering place for the skirt to sit). With right sides facing, pin the bodice and skirts together, matching side seams and edges, and sew together.
STEP NINE // Finish the waist seam with an overlocker or encase in bias binding and press towards the bodice. Fold the bottom of your front facings over to encase the waist seam and slip stitch in place.
STEP TEN // Attach buttons and snaps as described in the original instructions.
STEP ELEVEN // Hem the bottom of your skirt as you desire – we used a classic double-fold hem.
STEP TWELVE // You are finished! Venture out into the world and endeavour to accept the many, many compliments you receive with humility and grace.
FEELING CREATIVE? WHY NOT GET INSPIRED BY ALL OUR OTHER CRAFTY GOODNESS!
JOIN OUR MAILING LIST
Brighten up your inbox with our not-too-frequent emails featuring Peppermint-related news, events, competitions and more!
explore
More articles
Hang out with us on Instagram
On the 14th of April 2013 the Rana Plaza garment factory in Bangladesh collapsed, tragically killing 1134 workers and injuring over 2,500 more.
Every year we commemorate this devastating and avoidable loss of life and advocate for better working conditions for all during Fashion Revolution Week, which runs from 22nd-28th April in 2026.
This year there are different themes for each day of the week, with the annual Mend In Public day falling right in the middle, on Saturday 25th April.
This is your cue to gather your community, settle in and commit some time, attention and creativity to mending your clothes in the pursuit of extending their life in your wardrobe. Be it patching, embroidery, sewing or stitching, there are many ways to resolve structural and aesthetic issues in your garments that will see you donning them for years to come!
If it’s a bit tricky to get mending on the day itself (it will be ANZAC Day here in Australia) then fear not. Any time is the right time for mending so if you need to take needle in hand on another day that will do just fine!
Comment below if you know of any events you`d like to share happening in your community.
Learn more and get involved:
@FashionRevolutionAustralia
@Fash_Rev
FashionRevolution.org
#FashionRevolution #WhoMadeMyClothes #MendInPublicDay
“This is just a reminder to you to go for your big dreams! They might just work out.” ❤️
And we’re so glad you did, Emma!
From @CinnamonDaisyStudio:
No biggie, I’m just in a really cool magazine 🥹
When @Laura_The_Maker reached out to me last year to ask if I’d be interested in being featured in @PeppermintMagazine I didn’t hold back. I 100% fan girled 🤣 it was obviously a yes!
Getting to talk about the positive impact sewing your own clothes has on your body image is the BEST. I started sewing my own clothes because the standard doesn’t fit me. But I wasn’t expecting to heal my body image at the same time. What a wonderful byproduct ❤️🩹
So this is just a reminder to you to go for your big dreams! They might just work out ❤️
Mother`s Day Chocolate Treats Subscription Special! 🌟
This very sweet subscription offer comes with some glorious goodies, thanks to our friends at @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo!
Our lovely community manager Em, runs us through the offer.
SUBSCRIBE FOR $79 AND RECEIVE:
🌟 1 x 12-month Peppermint Subscription!
PLUS!
🌟 Vegan, gluten-free, 43% cocoa, Certified-Organic Taming The Jackalope Drinking Chocolate from @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo
🌟 Vegan, gluten-free, 70% cocoa, Certified-Organic Ship To Wreck Chocolate Flakes from @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo
🌟 Issue 64 (includes a free code for the #PeppermintDaisyDress digital sewing pattern!)
🌟 A5 art card of our exclusive ‘Together We Rise’ Issue 60 cover design by @LukeJohnMatthewArnold
🌟 All wrapped in fabric from @DoopsDesigns
Price includes postage! This special offer is available to Australian addresses only. Don`t miss out – there`s limited numbers!
🌟 Link in bio!
#PeppermintMagazine #MothersDay
Calling all brands who give a damn! 📣
Bookings for our wonderful Sew&Tell digital issue are now open – if you are an awesome creative brand that fits right in with Peppermint`s ethos of style, sustainability, sewing and substance, get in touch. Or if you know of one who might be keen – tag them below. We have packages for budgets both big and small, but spots are limited, so don`t wait too long to get in touch!
Drop us a line at Mandy@PeppermintMag.Com for a chat with Mandy, our lovely advertising manager – she`ll help you find the best way to share your good work with our awesome audience.
We`d sew love to work with you! ✨️🧵✨️
#PeppermintSewAndTell
💛 BFF GIVEAWAY 💛
Generous, messy, creative, spiky, warm, enigmatic… our best friends come in many flavours. But they all have one thing in common: they make the world a far better, more interesting place to be.
Inspired by Sam and Sadie’s complicated ‘forever’ bond in Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by @GabrielleZevin (a firm Peppermint fave ‘friendy’ read), we’ve rounded up some iconic fictional duos from books, movies and TV - the ride-or-dies, bosom buddies, chosen family, the ‘you’re-my-person’ people.
They all remind us that the non-romantic kind of love is always worth the effort (and it’s often the kind that lasts!). Think Anne Shirley and Diana Barry, Calvin and Hobbes, Snoopy and Woodstock, Eloise and Penelope… Head to the link in bio to read the full story and meet them all!
We’ve got two copies of Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow to gift to one lucky Peppermint reader and their bestie, thanks to @PenguinBooksAus.
To enter:
✨Follow us and @PenguinBooksAus
✨Tag your best friend in the comments
✨Tell them why they’re so darn great!
Because as Sadie tells Sam: true collaborators in life are rare. And very much worth celebrating.
Winner drawn Tuesday 21 April 2pm. Australian addresses only. Good luck! 📖
#BFF #BookGiveaway #TomorrowAndTomorrowAndTomorrow
Mother`s Day Chocolate Treats Subscription Special! 🌟
It`s almost time to celebrate that special person in your life who has motherly energy – mum, aunty, single parent, queer parent, grandparent, caregiver... or maybe just someone who happens to love getting chocolate treats (and hey, maybe that someone is YOU!).
This very sweet subscription offer comes with some glorious goodies, thanks to our friends at @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo!
SUBSCRIBE FOR $79 AND RECEIVE:
🌟 1 x 12-month Peppermint Subscription
PLUS!
🌟 Vegan, gluten-free, 43% cocoa, Certified-Organic Taming The Jackalope Drinking Chocolate from @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo
🌟 Vegan, gluten-free, 70% cocoa, Certified-Organic Ship To Wreck Chocolate Flakes from @TheOriginalCocoaTradersCo
🌟 Issue 64 (includes a free code for the #PeppermintDaisyDress digital sewing pattern!)
🌟 A5 art card of our exclusive ‘Together We Rise’ Issue 60 cover design by @LukeJohnMatthewArnold
🌟 All wrapped in fabric from @DoopsDesigns
Price includes postage! This special offer is available to Australian addresses only. Don`t miss out – there`s limited numbers!
🌟 Link in bio 🌟
#PeppermintMagazine #MothersDay
