First off the tunic came about as a combination of using an old but unused knipmode magazine I have been mulling over for ages and my personal competition to use up smaller scrappy pieces . I had a bingo moment when I realised this dress pattern from October 2010 would be perfect for my remnant challenge as it is made up of several small pattern pieces. Win/win !
The dress has a front yoke , cuffed two piece sleeves and the lower front is divided into central and side front pieces with pockets . There is even a separate lower front . In other words the front of this dress has 8 pieces ! The back too has 6 pattern pieces so perfect for using small fabric scraps . There are no zips or other closures in this dress.
I used a total of 4 different white fabrics . The front yoke and front side pieces are made of dotted swiss cotton. The back and lower centre front is made of a pintucked , lacey cotton and the sleeves are constructed from a self patterned white paisley design. The facings uses a self checked cotton. All fabrics were remnants from long ago projects but just too good or sentimental to throw away.
I made a few alterations to the pattern , the main one being that I did not make the dress but left off the lower front/ back pieces and made a tunic length garment . The front slit was quite low so I stitched this up another inch but the tunic is still quite easy to put on . I also deleted the pockets concealed between the side and central fronts but this is a nice little detail in the original design. Finally I elongated the front yoke facing piece to be same length as the front yoke because the dotted swiss is quite see through and a shorter facing shadow would have annoyed me. Otherwise as per usual the knipmode pattern is well drafted and all the pieces went together well. I used a kwik sew pattern to help me with the sleeve vents and this was the hardest part of the whole project.
Overall I am very happy with my new tunic - a great way to start the sewing year. I extend my wishes for everyone to have another safe and healthy and happy 2017 .
Happy Sewing Janine.
