Tunic Tee

In the search for the perfect tunic materials last week, I came across this linen blend skirt from a clothes swap a year or two ago. I never really knew what I was going to do with it until now. I only snagged it at the end of the night because no one else wanted it, and come on, quality fabric and hot pink?

First, I cut off the waistband and picked out the darts. My plan was to place the pink pattern vertically on my tunic, using the front of the skirt as one side panel of the front of the tunic and the back of the skirt as the other side panel. So I used a well-fitting non-stretchy shirt to trace out the body, leaving a seam allowance along the skirt bottom hem that will be joined down the center front of my tunic.

Then I flipped my pink panels up to the solid black portion of the skirt and cut two halves for the back of my tunic. From the remnant of the skirt, I cut two sleeves. Then I serged all the edges of all my pieces, with the exception of the neck hole edges.

I stitched the front panels to each other and the backs to each other. I left the top 5 inches of the front seam open, but still pressed the seam allowances under all the way to the top. Then I joined the front and back at the shoulders, sloping downward slightly, and pressed those seams as well.

Next, the sleeves were added and their seam allowances pressed.

I draped the tunic-to-be over my shoulders and marked where my bust darts should be, then pinned, sewed, and pressed those.

Finally, it was time to sew up the sides and sleeves. Again, I left the bottom 2 inches un-stitched, but still pressed the seam allowances under. I also pressed the bottom edges upward and sewed my new hem, including some horizontal stitch to reinforce the side slits. And I hemmed the sleeves as well.

With my neck edge still raw, I knew I wanted to do a facing on the inside for a nice, clean finish. I cut two semi-circles from my remnants to mirror the front and back neck curves. I then stitched the facing pieces together, cut the front up the center, and serged the out edges. Next I pinned and serged my facing around the neck edge.

I flipped the facing to the inside of my shirt and pinned them in place. I did a little top-stitched to keep them there, again making sure to reinforcing the front slit. And I stuck my salvaged laundering tag in there too.

I absolutely love the end product, but I'm afraid it's not long enough to qualify as a tunic.

So back to the drawing board I went and devised my reversible coral and grey tunic instead, which I also absolutely love.

If you haven't a chance to visit The Renegade Seamstress and vote for your favorite tunic refashion, there's still time! Voting is open until Friday!