Blue Links Tunic

I love this top.

It is exactly what I wanted. Ever since I found this fabric I have known it was destined to be a tunic. The fabric is a vintage sheet, it's soft and light and perfect for a spring top!

I used a vintage Simplicity pattern (9443) cut down from a dress to a tunic.

After sewing up a muslin I decided to remove the center front pleat and grade out the sides from waist to hip to add the necessary width to adjust for the missing pleat. In the end it also required side vents to allow for greater movement. I also added a decorative front facing in white to match the collar.

I love this top and will absolutely use this pattern again. I love the fit, and although there are some 80's design elements I would tone down in the next version, I think this top will get lots of wear this spring and summer.
Changes I would make for next time:
1. Reduce the shoulder width - this is a little bit too 80's
2. Remove some of the ease in the shoulder cap, I couldn't get this to ease nicely and it ended up a little on the "puff sleeve" side.
3. add more of the required fullness at the hip to the back piece rather than evenly to front and back.

Can't wait to try this one again as a longer tunic or a dress.

Annual Spring Top Post: Spring House Blouse

So here we go with the Annual Spring Top post.  Apparently I really need contests to get by butt in gear to post on this blog.

Here's my top.

It's what I call a House Blouse, it is a vintage cobbler's apron but made in a cute fashion fabric.  Since i pretty much live in tank tops during the summer this is a cute way to cover up, and keep kid shmutz off me, while still looking presentable enough to answer the door, or run an errand.

I found the pattern and tutorial here: http://sewmamasew.com/blog2/2008/05/vintage-smock-sew-along-part-1-intro-and-video-1/

The main fabric is Coloured Dreams by Fabric Freedom (purchased on clearance at Fabricland, December 2011).  The contrast fabric was salvaged from a men's dress shirt. I cut the shirt apart and used the front panels for the ties, saving the placket and using it to create a contrast button band at the back of the blouse.  

I also made some bias binding from contrast fabric, but after pin basting the binding at neck and sleeves I decided it looked too "apron-y" and left it off in favor of a very narrow single fold hem.   I also took a small tuck at the shoulder to keep the look a little more modern.

Over all I love this blouse.  The colour is punchy, it's super comfortable and best of all it's easy to throw on and off, so I actually wear while I'm working around the house.