Weekend Review: Tunic Bible

Tunic Bible / Sarah Gunn and Julie Starr
Concord, CA: C&T, c2016.
176 p.

This book is just what it promises: a book all about tunics! It's an exhaustive look at the basic tunic, then all the variations in sleeve, neckline, collar treatments, length, and trimming. It's an older book that I read when it was first published, as it was written by two PatternReview members I was familiar with, and I just had to check it out!  I've just found it in my library so revisited it. 

If you like tunics, you will most likely really enjoy this book! There are many variations shared, with some sewing tips for the various steps -- ie: sewing a facing or an exposed facing, changing sleeve finishes, adding side slits and much more. There are multiple photos, all modelled as worn by the authors or their family members, so the variety of models is limited. All the patterns for the base tunics are included in the book as traceable inserts, or if you are reading this in ebook format, the patterns are all downloadable from a link in the book (they are still available, I checked!) 

They talk about fabric options, even sharing a knit version with tips on sewing this in a knit with things to note about fitting etc. They share trimming ideas, and all of these are shared in the first bit of the book, with lots of photos and some notes about each one. This is followed by a photo gallery of tester makes. Most of these are PatternReview members, including PR founder Deepika herself. There are links to their blogs where they exist, and many are still in action. This gives a wider range of styles and ideas to the concept, following each sewist's personal tastes. 

Then comes a section on the actual sewing bits. It starts with the fabric and size guides. The sizing here runs from XS to XXL, or, a range from B33/H35.5 to B47.5/H49.5. There is a list of basic pattern pieces included, then an extensive section of sewing construction guides for the many elements, and how to put them together. Anything not covered in the basic tunic (ie: split sleeve, ruffle collars) is given separate instructions, and there are many things covered, including how to apply trim and mitre it as well. Again, lots of illustrative photos in this part. I think my favourite variation is the ruffle necked, dress length with sleeves, which turns out not to look too much like a 'tunic' by the time it's done ;) In fact, with all the sleeve, neckline, collar, fabric, length and trim options, the projects can look very different from one another, so that you wouldn't even know that someone had started with the same basic pattern plan.

This is followed by a list of resources - sewing shops, classes, and the like - and then the actual traceable pattern pieces. 

There is actually quite a bit of good sewing info in this book, particularly in the section showing how to sew all the different elements. It could encourage readers to mix and match elements in their other sewing as well as when following this book. The colours in the images are bright and cheerful, and the tone is encouraging but not for rank beginners -- those who've been sewing a while will also enjoy it. It's a good example of how to take a basic pattern and add and change it to create a wardrobe of options. Just for that alone I'd recommend taking a look at this older book that is still a lot of fun to explore. 
 

Warm & Cozy Sewing for the Season

I was inspired to sew up a Warm & Cozy project for the fall, thanks to the PatternReview September contest of the same name. (And you can now vote for my project here, if you are a PR member!)

I had picked out a pattern that I wanted to make (Simplicity 2289, by Patty Reed) but hadn't found the right fabric in the stash. Then I went to a craft swap at my library, and came home with 3 pieces of fabric -- one of them this teal poly knit that I had just enough of to make this snuggly tunic!

So I decided that this project could be made in a week, and got busy with it. There were previous reviews at PR, which was good as there are some sizing things to look out for with this pattern. It's clearly really oversize, intended for a fabric that can drape a bit. But the neckline and arms are quite closely fitted in comparison to the rest of the pattern. I usually cut a 14 or 16 at the shoulders and grade out to an 18 in many patterns, but in this one I just cut a Med (14/16) all through. There is a lot of ease in the body. 

I sewed up the under-sleeve seam with a 3/8" allowance rather than 5/8" -- this was suggested by a previous maker at PR, and I found that it worked perfectly. The sleeves fit closely but are not tight. And the rest of it falls from the shoulder, essentially. There are 2 large patch pockets, which are great, and proportionately right for this top. The only thing I may change is to shorten it by another inch or so -- I feel that I didn't get the short sewist measurements just right and it's a bit long. But I do kind of like that I can snug my knees up under it when I'm sitting and reading ;) 

I don't usually use polyester fabrics anymore, but this one was from a swap, and the colour and texture were just great. So I gave it a go. It's a bit staticky (poly...) but it is nice and cozy! Just those few sizing things to watch for if you make this one also. 

Laundry Day Tee in Houndstooth

This is my third project I've tried from the Indie company Love Notions. My first was the Margot Peplum Top, which I really liked, and the Harmony Blouse was my second, though that one wasn't as much of a success for me.

 This top, the Laundry Day Tee, is a free pattern if you join their Facebook page. I liked the swing silhouette and all the many variations in this pattern, so downloaded it and have finally given it a go.

I love it! The shape is really great, and the options are inspiring. It comes in sizes XS - 5X, and has a variety of sleeve & neckline finishes.

I used a houndstooth knit that I have in my "20 for 2020" plans -- it is a lower stretch fabric so my version does fit closely around the torso, but the swing line is sharper than it would be in a drapier fabric. I love the effect.

I finished the neckline using the cowl option -- and look at this cowl!

 It's huge and certainly keeps your neck warm. It falls in really nice folds due to its volume.

At first I wasn't sure that I could manage this option, as I had limited fabric. But with some creative cutting, and a seamline along the orginal foldline of the cowl, I was able to squeeze it onto my length of fabric (probably just over 1.5 m) and thus have very, very little scrap fabric left over.

It's a perfect match for this fabric, and as a free pattern I was pleased to find that it is well made and goes together smoothly. The process is very quick once you've got your size picked -- it is two pieces, a sleeve that's sewn on flat, and your neckline finish of choice. Love Notions uses layered, no trim pdfs as well, which makes the putting together part a lot easier.

I am thinking about perhaps shortening it by another inch and bringing in the flare a tiny bit. All coming from my fabric choice. But otherwise I really like this comfortable and fun make. I do think I'll likely make a few more, at least one probably in dress length too!
 

Another quite delightful part of this project is the fact that I took these photos of my new top at my library, in front of a community art exhibit sharing my own photos of Kyiv from a visit I took in 2008. It's like a hall of mirrors...

Rose Pink Butterick Tunic

After my last Fabricville project, I was just in love with stretch velour. I couldn't resist using more of it! So I also bought some deep rosy pink in the same fabric from my local store, and this time I used an old See & Sew pattern, Butterick 5907.

I'm not a big wearer of pink overall, but this colour was so luscious. It sewed up beautifully, although this time I decided to hand stitch the hem and sleeves rather than machine finish them. The hem is therefore a little softer and rounder, which I think suits this pattern.

This is truly an easy, quick pattern. Four pattern pieces; the sleeves are sewn in flat, which is such a lovely knit technique, so simple. The cowl in this pattern is cut on the bias, which means you do use up quite a bit more fabric but the drape is worth it. Having this deep cowl in this soft fabric all squishy around your neck is a little bit of heaven.

I like that the pattern has simple lines, to focus on the fabric. It drapes and shines and feels so luxurious. The colour is warm and brightens up gloomy winter days, and I just feel happy when I wear it. That's always the measure of a successful make, I think!

I used View A, and think I'd add just  an extra inch of length next time. I shortened the sleeves slightly, but otherwise didn't make any changes. This was a quick and satisfying project that will be a favourite for a long while.

A Fabricville Velour Vogue Tunic

I am once again sharing a project which I made up for Fabricville Canada, as part of their blogging program. This is a beautiful velour tunic which I just *love*! (check out their blog here -- you will recognize a few other sewing bloggers there too!)

I used Vogue 9275, a wardrobe pattern, focusing on View B, the tunic. Although the pattern calls for lightweight knits for this item, I saw it made up in velvet by Lori at Girls in the Garden last fall, and thought it was such a gorgeous idea that I had to jump on this stretch velour when I saw it.

Actually I spent quite a bit of time in my local store petting the bolts until I received this maroon piece from Fabricville. Then I bought some more in pink. More on that later this month... This is such a wonderfully soft fabric, it's like you are wearing a Gund. My coworkers couldn't hold themselves back from petting my shoulders today. Really, though I usually don't go for polyesters, I had to have it. There is still a medium gray and a navy that I have my eye on....

In any case, the tunic is a great pattern -- so easy to make -- three pieces, a front, back, and cowl. This is a cowl which is cut straight across the grain, so it's more of a slouchy tube neck than a drapey cowl. It's warm and cozy. The feel of this cushy fabric on your neck is marvellous. I left out the drawstring ties as they don't seem to match a more luxury fabric, plus I wanted to wear necklaces with this.

I cut a large as I did want this to have an oversize and long look as on the pattern illustration. The only alteration I made was to raise the arm openings by 2 inches -- quite a lot but I wanted to be able to wear this without another shirt underneath. I wore it with just a cami under it for warmth today, and it was perfect, but there is still room for a t-shirt underneath if you'd wish to wear it that way as well.

The sewing was really straightforward, with attention to the slippy fabric of course. I sewed with a long and narrow zigzag, and went slowly to be sure there was no shifting. It was only when I had to sew the neck on with the fabric face up that I had any difficulty, but I switched to my plastic foot made for vinyl, pleather etc. and it slid over the pile lightly and smoothly.

The part of this top which took the longest was deciding how to hem it. I couldn't decide on what to do that would give a simple clean hem that didn't stretch or get wavy. I considered hand stitching but then looked up some tips online. The best one came from a PatternReview forum, which I then tried out on some scraps and liked. So ended up pinning carefully and then stitching a narrow zigzag on a single layer of once turned up hem -- I used a .5 width and 3.0 length zigzag stitch and it seemed to be quite effective.

I finished it this morning and wore it to work this afternoon. It's a great pattern, and using a soft velour knit like this one ensures that you are both comfortable and feel glamorous. Win-win!