My Matchy Matchy Play Date Blouse – Sewing Tips & Pattern Hacks

Oct 27, 2026

See how I customised the Matchy Matchy Play Date Blouse in a beautiful lurex stripe viscose, with a delicate ruffle neckline, fabric-covered buttons and practical sewing tips to inspire your own make.

As soon as I saw our Antique Paisley Lurex Stripe Viscose Fabric, I knew I wanted to make something with it! I absolutely love the combination of soft pinks, deep teal blues and warm earthy tones in the paisley print, but it's the delicate metallic lurex stripes that really make this fabric feel special.

I wanted to make something that felt a little whimsical and romantic, with pretty details that would complement the lightweight, floaty nature of the viscose. After looking through different sewing patterns, I settled on the Matchy Matchy Play Date Blouse.

I loved the shape and ruffle details of the pattern, but I felt the original collar would be a little too dominant in this fabric. Instead, I decided to leave off the collar and add a much smaller gathered ruffle around the neckline, keeping that whimsical feel but with a softer, more delicate finish.

I also lengthened the bodice slightly, made my own fabric-covered buttons and used French seams for a lovely neat finish inside.

In this post I'm sharing the details of my make, including a step-by-step guide to adding the neckline ruffle, so you can try something similar yourself!

Back to Blog

Oeko-Tex Certified

A close-up of a draped fabric with an intricate paisley and floral pattern in dusty pink, navy blue, ochre gold, and cream.

Antique Paisley Lurex Stripe Viscose Fabric

£14.50 /m

Two women wearing matching ruffled blouse and jeans sitting on a stool against a white background.

Matchy Matchy Playdate Blouse Sewing Pattern PDF

from £13.00

Choosing the pattern and making my alterations

The Matchy Matchy Play Date Blouse has some lovely design details, and I particularly liked the panelled construction and ruffles, which give it such an interesting shape, but I decided to make two main alterations to the original pattern.

The first was to lengthen the bodice by 1 inch (2.5cm). The blouse has multiple front and back panels, so this involved making the same adjustment across several pattern pieces rather than simply lengthening one front and one back piece. There is a difference between the back and front finished hem length and next time I might work out how to only lengthen the front rather than both!

The second alteration was to replace the original collar with a short gathered ruffle around the neckline. I wanted something that would frame the neckline without overwhelming the print or the lovely drape of the fabric.

How I added a gathered ruffle to the neckline

This is a relatively simple pattern hack, and it's a lovely way to customise a blouse without having to make major alterations to the original pattern pieces.

I used the original neckline binding pattern piece, so there was no need to draft a new binding. The additional ruffle is gathered and sandwiched between the neckline and the binding before the binding is turned to the inside.

Step 1: Stabilise the neckline

Before adding the ruffle, I stabilised the neckline using Prym Forming Tape Interfacing. I'd really recommend doing this, particularly when working with a lightweight, drapey fabric like this viscose.

The neckline can easily stretch out of shape while you're handling and sewing them. The forming tape provides support while still being flexible enough to follow the curve of the neckline.

Step 2: Measure the neckline and cut the ruffle

I measured the finished neckline with a flexible tape measure and cut my ruffle strip to twice this length, plus seam allowances, to match the fullness of the hem ruffle.

I cut the strip 5cm wide, which folds in half lengthways to 2.5cm. Allowing for a 0.5cm seam allowance where it's sandwiched between the neckline and binding, the finished ruffle is approximately 2cm high.

Step 3: Prepare the ruffle

To neaten the short edge of the ruffle, fold the fabric right sides facing and sew with 1cm seam allowance. Turn through and press the ruffle in half, wrong sides facing. Mark the centre point.

Sew two parallel rows of long length gathering stitches along the raw edge of the folded strip, leaving long thread tails. Sew one very close to the raw edge and one at 1cm so that your 0.5cm seam line will sit between the two.

Step 4: Gather and position the ruffle

I marked the centre point of my ruffle and matched this up with the centre-back notch on the blouse neckline.

Working outwards from the centre back, I gently pulled up the gathering threads until the ruffle fitted the neckline, distributing the gathers as evenly as possible. I then pinned the ruffle in place, with the raw edges aligned and the folded edge pointing down towards the blouse.

Step 5: Pin Button stand in place

Your button stand should already be pressed into position with the interfacing in place, but not stitched down.

Turn the button stand back on itself, the same width as the interfacing and align the raw edges at the top.

Step 6: Attach the neckline binding

I used the original binding pattern piece and pressed it in half lengthways, with the wrong sides together.

With the gathered ruffle positioned around the neckline, I placed the binding over the top, matching the raw edges of the binding, ruffle and blouse neckline. The short raw edge of the binding will be concealed in the button stand when turned through.

Sew with a 0.5cm seam allowance.

Step 7: Understitch the binding

I stitched the binding with a 0.5cm seam allowance. Next fold the binding away from the ruffle and understitch on the binding, catching the seam allowances underneath. You might have to trim away some loose threads that have frayed from the fabric here.

Step 7: Turn through the button stand

Turn the top of the button stand through to neatly conceal the raw edges. Working from the inside, stitch close to the edge of the binding to secure it in place. Take your time, adjusting the bodice fabric as you sew and stopping regularly to check that you're not catching any fabric or creating puckers on the outside.

The ruffle neckline is complete

Once you have the binding stitched down your lovely ruffle neckline is finished! Yay!

It's such a lovely way to change the look of the blouse without making major alterations to the original pattern.

Making my own fabric-covered buttons

Another little detail I wanted to add was fabric-covered buttons. I used our 11mm metal self-cover buttons and covered them in the same Antique Paisley fabric as the blouse.

The viscose is quite lightweight, so I first added some interfacing to the fabric to give it a little more stability. For cutting out the fabric circles, I discovered that a 10p coin was just the right size to use as a template! I simply drew around it and cut out the circles before covering the buttons. It's such a simple little trick, but it worked really well and saved me having to measure and mark out each individual circle.

I love how the buttons pick up different colours and parts of the paisley print, making each one slightly different.

The finished Play Date Blouse

I'm really pleased with how this version of the Play Date Blouse has come together. The lightweight viscose gives the blouse such lovely movement, and I think the smaller neckline ruffle works beautifully with the fabric. The subtle lurex stripes catch the light and give it just that little bit of sparkle I was hoping for.

It's a great reminder that you don't always need to make dramatic changes to a sewing pattern to create something that feels completely your own. Sometimes a few small adjustments to the proportions and finishing details can make all the difference.

Make your own Play Date Blouse

If you'd like to make your own version, I've put together a Lauren's Wardrobe project page where you can find the pattern, fabric and haberdashery I used.

Other fabrics I'd recommend

Although I chose the Antique Paisley Lurex Stripe Viscose for its lovely combination of print, drape and subtle sparkle, there are lots of other fabrics that would work beautifully for this blouse.

I'd particularly recommend lightweight viscose challis, viscose crepe and other soft, drapey dressmaking fabrics. These will allow the gathers and ruffles to fall softly without adding too much bulk.