I had the pleasure of sewing something new this week: The Relaxed Peplum from Mamma Can Do It . This exciting new pattern is loaded with different skirt options and available in girl’s and women’s sizes. My first time (actually second time) sewing up this new shirt I followed the instructions and fabric recommendations, but as I sat there looking at my collection of woven fabrics I knew I needed to try to use them for this pattern.
So I brought my daughter down into my sewing room and let her pick one knit and one woven fabric for a new top and got to work. She picked out a Star Wars knit and kona cotton I dyed. She was as happy with her new top as I was! Isn’t it cute?
Because woven fabrics don’t have the stretch necessary to get over shoulders I knew I would need to use one of the gathered skirt options. The curved hem is what I decided on, but you can use any of the gathered options. I did not have to make any pattern adjustments to make this work, but I did a couple of things during construction that will help.
Depending on how you choose to gather your fabric you may need to pull your basting stitches out. I used a single line of stitching, which won’t allow the stretch necessary for putting on the top and was able to pull that thread very easily.
Because I used a slightly heavier woven, I needed to add the topstitching recommended in the tutorial. Very light wovens may not require this so you can decide to skip it if you wish.
![](https://blog.mammacandoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/PhotoGrid_1534428288281-300x300.jpg)
![](https://blog.mammacandoit.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/PhotoGrid_1534428288281-300x300.jpg)
It is important to note when using a woven is to finish all the edges to prevent fraying. The side seams need to be serged, cut with pinking shears, or zig-zagged. For the bottom edge you can do a rolled hem on your machine, which I did by folding the hem up 1/4″ twice before top stitching: the weight of the hem will keep it from flipping like a knit hem. Other hemming options include using a hemming foot, doing a narrow rolled hem on your serger, or keeping the 1″ hem but zig-zagging or serging the raw edges first.
My daughter would not sit (or stand still) for a picture, so please excuse the in-action photo. It’s the best I could get. She is also in (cloth) diapers, so that’s causing the back to puff out a little.
Happy Sewing!
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2 thoughts on “Relaxed Peplum with Woven”
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I find it helps to add some clear elastic to the inside of the top of the gathered woven fabric (stretching the elastic slightly and using a zig zag stitch), so that it retains a degree of stretch like the knit top. And I attach the skirt to the knit top with a loose zig zag.