I like to embroider stuff, but there's nothing like a little semi-instant gratification to get new projects off to a good start.
   Found this block-print, Indian cotton voile for a couple of bucks a yard - 4 yards of it came in a regular-sized manila mailer.  Wasn't sure when I purchased it just how i was going to use it, but thought I'd come up with something.
  In particular wasn't a fan of the huge boteh(s), but the other borders had possibilities.

Closeup of the borders.  The yellow isn't a color that's kind to me either, but I liked the pinky-tan of the ground and the cheerful reds.  I cut the small selvedge-edge borders for my yoke pieces, the removed the wide boteh-border and set it aside for some other project.  Front, back, and sleeve panels were cut so that the remaining floral and geometric border would serve as the hems.

  Anyway, to keep it short and simple - the finished article!  Rectangular construction (you can o this with virtually no waste if you aren't fancy-cutting for a print), french seams throughout, hand-set yoke with simple red embroidery around the edges.
  First one down, ???? many to go!



Below, the blouse laid flat so the various bits are easier to see - 

       Calling this one a success, though I'm not sure it's a "Mexican" blouse any more - My Evil Twin says "leave it at hippie".  I think she's right.  

   I decided to start with the simple style familiar to us old hippies - completely rectangular construction, embroidered yoke and short sleeves.  Since it's summer, some nice light cotton gauze or linen is fabric of choice.

  Pattern sketch.    Even for a Woman of Gravitas, this can be made
with a couple yards of fabric - the rectangular construction wastes
practically nothing.  The embroidered bits are marked out and worked before construction.

 Pattern layout.  For your own, you need these measurements to start drafting- across your shoulders (the width of your yoke) your hip measurement + about 4 inches for ease, divided by 2 (the width of your front and back panels).  Then decide how wide/deep you want the neck opening - I chose my yoke pieces to be 3 inches wide all around.
   Many Mexican blouses have the yoke the same size/depth front and back - I raised the back of mine (this helps keep the blouse from suddenly becoming an "off the shoulder" model) and lengthened the back panel accordingly.
   Finally, decide how "deep" an armhole you need - remember there will be a 5-6 inch square gusset inset, so about the depth of the sleeve on your favorite-fitting T is a good place to start for drafting purposes.  
 (  Just for informational purposes, I like a "loose" women's size 26 blouse; my pattern pieces came out as follows - front panel 20"L x 36"w, back panel 27"L x 36"W, horizontal yoke pieces 3" x 15", yoke straps 3" x 7", sleeves 20" x 8", gussets 6" square (add your desired seam allowance to this).  Your mileage will vary with your own measurements... ) 

  Here is a very very blurry picture of the fit of my first mockup, made in some recycled gauze from another project (it's way short because that's all the fabric there was).  Fit, however, is spot-on, and extremely comfy.  The underarm gussets give you freedom of movement you just don't have in modern-cut clothes.

  A somewhat better picture on a hanger.  The width of the front and back panels is pleated or gathered to the yoke, the sleeves sewn on "flat", the gussets set in as the side seams are sewn.  
   I have seen vintage blouses where the fabric of the front/back panels is prettily finished at the top, then cartridge-pleated to the yoke so that the top edge forms a pretty little ruffle - I'm thinking I'm not going to be that fancy, but if you do it please send me inspiring pictures!

So the pattern is worked out, mockup fits, fashion fabric is on hand, next we go to the real thing.

  Now that I've caught up to myself, time to do something a little different.  For instance, i am deadly bored of my own wardrobe -  T-shirts and denim.   Whether Walmart or top-dollar, it's hundreds of the same item as far as the eye can see, even with the current fashion for peasant/ethnic/boho styles, and especially for us Ladies of Lovely Proportions for whom there is a significantly smaller marketplace from which to choose. 

    It's great to be able to go to a store (or online, I heart The Internet) and find something that fits and is (reasonably) fashionable.  Instant gratification is good.  On the other hand, though, isn't it great to have something nobody else has, and not meet your exact outfit coming down the aisle at your local grocery?     

 Look at this selection at a Mexican market stall.  Like a field of wildflowers blooming!  The basic shapes are simple and easy to sew, materials simple to get, decoration limited only by imagination.  Possibilities are almost endless, and if you make it yourself you can be sure nobody else will have the same thing
    

  Same thing goes for traditional blouses from eastern Europe - these beauties are from Romania.  Simple, rectangular construction, everyday materials, embellishment as simple or complex as the creator desires.  So this is where I'll be playing (with random tangents because oo squirrel!) for the next little while...