Breezing Into Spring with the Ballad Blouse

…A Mini Pattern Hack Blog Post

As soon as March rolls around, I have no interest in sewing for anything other than Spring! Want to get a jumpstart on your Spring sewing? (At least here in the Northeast, we are having what we call “Fake Spring” wear one day it’s 80* and the next it’s in the 40’s wearing so we aren’t wearing Spring clothes quite yet!) Grab the Ballad Blouse pattern, you won’t be disappointed.

Today, 4/3/2026 the Love Notions $6 Feature Friday pattern is the Ballad Blouse. Use code 10MARYMAC for an extra 10% off.(Remember this code only works on orders of $8 or more, read more about this below) It’s a great versatile blouse that can be worn all seasons, but I especially love it in Spring and Summer. My favorite Ballad is this pink version with a cute little sleeve hack for a fun blouse.

If you want ALL the details on the Ballad, such as sizing, options, fabric recommendations and sewing tips visit my Original Ballad Blouse blog post HERE. Also included in that blog post is an explanation on how to Block Fuse your interfacing pieces~ if you’re not doing that with your rayons ~ you should!

How to Create a Puffed Sleeve

• First off, it’s a very simple hack to complete
• Begin with the pattern pieces for the Puff sleeve. There are 2 pieces since this version has a split and tie.
• Attach the front puff sleeve pattern piece to the back puff sleeve pattern piece. Make sure to overlap the pieces 1/2″ to account for the seam you are omitting.
• Cut out 2 mirror imaged sleeve pieces.
• Sleeve ruffle must be attached before inserting the sleeve into the blouse.
• Follow directions below for the sleeve ruffle.
• Continue to follow the directions for the Puff sleeve on the tutorial (page 20) for inserting the sleeve.

How to Make a Sleeve Ruffle

1. Measure the width of the bottom of your sleeve. (Mine was 19.25″)
2. To determine how long to cut your ruffle piece, take the width of your sleeve x 1.5. (Mine was 19.25 x 1.5 = 28.75″)
3. Cut 2 strips(ruffles) 3″ x 28.75″. 
4. You may want to trim some length off the lower edge of the sleeve before attaching the ruffles. This would be a personal choice depending on how long you would like your sleeve to be. I did not trim any off my sleeve piece.
5. Fold each ruffle strip in half, wrong sides together. Press.
6. Run a gathering stitch across the unfolded edge.
7. Gather ruffle to fit the lower edge of your sleeve. Pin the ruffle to the lower edge of your sleeve, open end of ruffle along bottom edge of sleeve.
8. Stitch in place. I then served this seam so I would have no raw edges.
9. Press ruffle down away from sleeve and topstitch down. This helps to keep the ruffle from flipping up when wearing.

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Thanks for stopping by! I truly appreciate all of you that visit!  If you enjoyed this blog post, consider subscribing to my blog to stay up to date with all my posts!  

Mary Anne 

Remember to follow me over on Instagram to see all my latest makes!  @sewmarymac

You can also follow my Facebook Page~ Sew Mary Mac. On this page you will find information on my makes from all pattern companies. If I know of any good sales(pattern or fabric) I will also feature this information. I have had many of my loyal followers send me friend requests on Facebook. I do post in the Love Notions group under Mary Anne MacLean, however this Facebook account is private. There is no sewing content on that Facebook Account.

Remember to visit my other blog post on the Ballad Blouse . You will find a ton of useful information on that post.

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You can grab the Ballad Blouse pattern here.

NOTE: This is an affiliate link. It costs you nothing to purchase from this links but it do give me credit for your purchase and provides me with a small commission. This helps fund my fabric addiction which allows me to continue to test and review more patterns

To receive an additional 10% off LN pattern prices, use my code 10MARYMAC. This coupon code can be used on any purchase as along as the order total is $8 or more. This means that you can no longer get my 10% off one $6 Feature Friday pattern by itself.  Since this change has been made I would truly appreciate it if you used my affiliate links above to purchase the Feature Friday patterns so that I will get “credit” for the sale. (I do receive a small commission). To take more advantage of the $6 FF sale, I suggest adding another pattern or a children’s pattern to your order so you may use the 10% off code.

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