Cropped Long-Sleeve Bolero

A short open-front bolero with long fitted sleeves, a one-piece band running round the neckline and both front edges, and a gathered waistband that fastens under the bust. Five pattern pieces cut from a single fabric, with two fasteners at the centre front.

Pattern specification

Size range

XS–XXL

Skill level

Confident beginner

Recommended fabric

Medium-weight jersey, ponte, interlock or a soft French terry. A woven will not work.

Colours shown

Charcoal marl with a grey neckline band and waistband. Those are two colourways of the same piece, photographed as styling. The pattern is single-fabric and calls for no contrast.

Yardage

1.1 m of 150 cm wide fabric for XS to M, 1.3 m for L to XXL.

Notions required

Two fasteners. Two 10 mm sew-on snaps, or two small buttons of about the same size. The workflow gives both methods.

Stretch required

At least 30% across the width, with good recovery.

Seam allowance

1 cm everywhere. The one exception is the cuff, which has 2 cm for its hem.

Format

PDF — print at home or copy shop

Size chart

Finished garment. The waistband is measured fastened, all the way round the body. Across the back is measured flat at the underarm. Length is centre back, top of the neck band to the bottom of the waistband. Inches / centimetres.

Key details

• This is a single-fabric pattern. The grey band in the photograph is a styling choice; nothing in the pattern calls for a contrast, and one yardage figure covers the whole garment.
• Both bands are laid crossways, with their length running across the fabric. Knits stretch most across the width and both bands are drafted shorter than the edges they cover, so cut lengthwise they will not reach.
• Sizing goes by the waistband against your under-bust measurement, because that is where the bolero fastens. Pick the size whose waistband figure is the same as, or slightly smaller than, your under-bust, and let the knit take up the difference.
• The sleeves are deliberately long. 62.8 cm finished on XS up to 65.3 cm on XXL, about 3 to 4 cm longer than a standard long sleeve, so the cuff sits over the wrist bone. To end at the wrist instead, shorten at the cuff before cutting, never at the cap.
• The waistband carries nine notches along each edge, plus two gathering brackets. Each front carries two more gathering notches on its lower edge, and there are four fastener circles and centre-back notches top and bottom. Transfer them all before you unpin the paper.
• The finished XS cuff is 17 cm round with no opening, which is the proof the pattern needs a knit.
• The front, back and sleeve carry grainline arrows on the A0 sheet.

Pattern pieces

• Front (cut 2, a mirror pair)
• Back (cut 1, on the fold)
• Sleeve (cut 2, on the fold)
• Neckline panel (cut 1)
• Waistband (cut 1)

In the download

• A0 copy-shop file — 1p
• US Letter / A4 print file — 20p
• Construction workflow — 12p

This is a digital pattern. Nothing ships — your download link is emailed the moment you check out, and stays in your order confirmation.

Licensed for personal use only. Files may not be resold, redistributed, shared or used for commercial production without written permission from Kissing Parasites.