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Tips and Tricks for Sewing the Long-Sleeved 234 Cameo

July 10, 2024 1 Comment on Tips and Tricks for Sewing the Long-Sleeved 234 Cameo

by Esi Hutchinson

Hello! First of all, I just wanted to say I love, love, love this pattern, 234 Cameos. I've made myself all the sewn camisoles from this pattern. I think they are a must-have in my wardrobe. These tops go with everything, truly versatile. I can wear them with a pair of jeans, skirts, dress pants; even wear them under overalls and the outfit would look super cute!

In this blog post I am going to show you some tips and tricks for making this blouse, using the long-sleeved version I made for myself. For this version, I used a cotton/linen blend and dyed the lace to match (fabric is Cotton Linen blend - Green Maze). I also took out the elbow dart and made a gathered sleeve, which I will also cover in this post.

Refer to my fabric suggestions post here for 234 Cameos to get an idea of what you could use to make this pattern -- for either the long or sleeveless versions. Light-weight options are best -- lawn, batiste, handkerchief linen, voile, rayon, silk.

Lace

I wanted to use the optional lace for this pattern, but I wanted the lace to match the green, which was a challenge. I did make one sample of this long sleeved top in a yellow linen with lavender lace trim that we had on hand in the studio. I really liked the contrast of the two colors in this blouse -- see the photo below of this sample.

Yellow linen long-sleeved camisole with a light lavender lace and ribbon.

However, for the one I wanted to make for myself, I wanted the lace to closely match the color of the fabric. To do this I had to do lots of dyeing, and re-dyeing, to get the color as close as I could to the main green of the fabric. I used blue, green, and yellow Cushing "Perfection" Direct Dyes from my local store called Earth Guild and bought lace in the sizes suggested from Etsy. Depending on what fibers make up the majority of your lace, you will need to use dye for that specific content.

I used 100% cotton lace for the edging lace and 90% cotton to 10% nylon for my beading trim and insertion lace. Also think about the content of your lace and how it will react to heat. If you are using a 100% cotton lace and don't give it a wash first, it could shrink when you wash your garment and distort your final product. Also hot irons can melt some synthetic laces. So be thoughtful with your lace choice and care. By dying my lace, I made sure it was pre-shrunk. I also had to press it before using it and used a warm, but not hot iron.

Folkwear has recently stocked up on some lace, check out our lace and trim options here (and if dyeing it, do it at your own risk ;-)).

I got the color pretty close, with some variation, and it still blended in quite well with the fabric.

Dyed lace from left to right, 100% cotton to 90% cotton/10% nylon.

After my lace was ready, I began making the tucks, with patience, on the front and back bodice pieces of the long-sleeved version.

The back and both fronts with all tucks sewn (but not pressed).

If using insertion lace follow the sewing guide, and use it where you want. You don't have to add insertion lace and you don't have to do the "insertion". You can also just sew the lace panels to the designated area and leave them on top of the fabric. This look is very nice (and less work, and slightly more modest, if you are worried about having see-through panels in your shirt). I just sewed the lace right on top of the fabric without cutting the fabric away in the back, not the true use of insertion lace but makes it easier! If you want to learn how to do true lace insertion, read this blog post that will walk you through the steps for lace insertion.

Lace pinned to the front by the tucks. You can use nearly any size lace you want (not exactly what the pattern calls for). Adjust your tucks or add two rows of lace -- whatever you think looks best to you!

Assembling the neckline lace together requires some precision, so go slow and don't tug at your lace so that it does not become distorted and therefore create warps in your neckline. For sewing lace in this pattern (or any pattern, really), you should use a narrow zigzag stitch. If you have a very straight edged lace, a straight stitch might work, but the narrow zigzag is great.

Neckline lace: insertion lace at bottom, beading in middle, lace edging at top. All sewn together.

The dart on the neckline lace is shown below. I've not seen that in other patterns with neckline lace before, but it makes so much sense to get the lace to fit to the neckline well.

Dart sewn into neckline lace (as instructed).

Neckline lace pinned to the bodice with right side of the fabric up.

Neckline lace on the inside of the blouse. You can see the dart on the left side.

I also added the beaded lace trim to the bottom of the bodice so ribbon can be run through it later. And added lace edging to the peplum before attaching it.

Beading on the lower part of the bodice (inside).

Lace edging pinned to the peplum.

Cuff Dart to Gathered Sleeve

I did not use the dart on the sleeve that is in the pattern. That dart goes from the elbow to the cuff (Cuff dart), and is original to the original camisole and is a traditional way of shaping the lower sleeve. I didn't love how it looked on me and I wanted something a little less rigid. So, on the sleeve pattern piece, instead of cutting out the triangular opening at the bottom of the sleeve, I cut the sleeve keeping fabric where the dart would be and connecting the bottom of the two dart legs.

The original pattern piece laid on top of the fabric. I did not cut away the fabric that would make the dart, but left it and connected the dart legs at the bottom.

I cut the sleeves as shown above and the cuff as instructed in the pattern. I love the lace on the cuffs and had enough lace to add to both my cuffs.

The cuff with tucking and insertion lace on the top and edging lace on the bottom of the cuff.

When it came time to put the sleeve and cuff together, I sewed in two rows of gathering stitches at the bottom of the sleeve. I evenly distributed the gathers on the sleeve to fit the cuff and pinned the cuff insertion lace on the 1/2" (13mm) seam allowance at the bottom of the sleeve. I stitched the cuff and sleeve together, and then stitched the underarm of the sleeve. This is an easy modification that you can make to this pattern.

The new sleeve gathered into the cuff.

Other Tips and Tricks

I added a bit of interfacing for structure on the wrong side of the right front bodice before sewing my buttonholes. If you are using a light-weight fabric this is very helpful to stabilize the buttonhole area for making the buttonholes. You can always rip away the extra after you've sewn the buttonholes.

You can also space the buttons and buttonholes to your preference.
Also, for the tucks, you can use a slightly longer stitch length and that will help to keep them from puckering.

I was very satisfied with the outcome of this blouse. I think this pattern is straightforward, and even though the tucking and lace embellishment take time, it's so worth it when finished! I love this top and fabric. The sleeves turned out well. Getting the lace color to match was very challenging, though I was determined for it to work. Working with delicate lace calls for patience and gentleness (definitely test a zig-zag and straight stitch on the lace to decide which one is best to use for your specific lace). Overall, I think I did a good job. I hope you enjoy making 234 Cameos. And please show us your Folkwear projects -- as always!