Tunics - Slim or Swim

 I am still experimenting with different styles to wear to work, since the dress code went to anything goes casual 2 years ago.   I read style blogs for "mature" women , with topics like how to wear cropped pants, over the knee boot, best skirt length, etc.  I  participate in online “determine your style” challenges.  I carefully consider the “wear a scarf that echoes your personal coloring” or “wear simple garments with statement necklaces” advice. All quite interesting, but when I try many of these recommendations, I always feel I am physically fighting style and color preferences that are deeply etched in my brain tissue. Now I understand why my Aunt Sylvia stuck with her beehive hairdo and dressed strangely for many years.  

Recently I decided to try adding some tunic tops in my work wardrobe.

The first one was See and Sew  B6272,  which is the same pattern as Vogue 8962, minus the skirt. Both are now out of print. 

Vogue  8962

B6272

Yes, I am really late to the party. There are many versions/reviews online that I did not read until after I made mine, which was a good thing.  I selected the See and Sew pattern based on the line drawing ( the pattern front picture is ugly!) because it had a slim silhouette and some interesting seaming. There is a back yoke and the lower back pieces are cut on  the bias and wrap around to the front. Great seaming to use with a stripe or linear patterned fabric.  My fabric was a gray, black white abstract stripe knit purchased from  the Louise Cutting booth at the sewing Expo.  It was expensive, so I had only purchased 1.5 yards.  Not enough fabric to make this tunic with the cowl collar. And the neckline without the cowl collar was way too deep and wide. I added back 1 inch on each side of the neck and  2 inches at center front.  I finished the neck with  self-fabric binding.

  I did not have any of the fit issues,  or criticism of lack of fullness in the back or side seam pulling, that were prevalent in the negative reviews.  I think because  this is a slim fit tunic,  the location and contour of a individual’s hip/butt curve  has a big impact on the fit. There were no finished garment measurements on the pattern pieces so I did the measuring myself  before cutting, to ensure the size I was making had enough ease.  I made a size 14 which had 7 inches of ease over my hip body measurement. I wore the tunic to work  with jeggings ( Eddie Bauer travel pant) and a skirt (Pamela perfect pencil  skirt).  I got asked why I was so dressed up when I wore it with the skirt.

Slim tunic with jeggings

Slim tunic back

Slim tunic with skirt

My second tunic sew  was a Nancy Zieman pattern, McCall's 7474, a very loose-fitting tunic with a deep cowl neckline, front insert, back V-shaped insert and shaped hemline.

When a fellow sewer brought her version of this  tunic, made in an ombre fabric, to the sewing guild meeting Show and Tell, I was smitten. I had the perfect  fabric in my stash. Gray/cream marled  poly lycra knit with brown ombre overprint borders, from the G Street Fabrics $2.97 table.  I bought the pattern on the way home from the meeting and finished the tunic the  next day.  The seaming on this tunic was perfect for highlighting the ombre shading. But oh my, there a lot of fabric in  the flare of this tunic. 20 inches  of ease over  my hip measurement. All very drapey and swirly, but I  felt like I was swimming in fabric. And  I made a size M even though my measurements put me squarely in a size 16 or L. Below is the tunic worn with wide leg pants. It doesn't look bad, but it is definitely a " hide my body shape" look.

McCall's 7474 front

McCall's 7474 Side

McCall's 7474 Back

I wore it to work with stretch woven grey jeggings (Walmart).

McCall's 7474  with jeggings

I was comfortable, but very aware of all the fabric.  I had to make sure to gather up the fabric in the back when using the toilet, to avoid accidental dipping.  I actually got a compliment from a male coworker who said "You look nice in that outfit." It is both telling and sad that my first thought on hearing this was "Gee Mark, you must be overdue for  anti-harassment training refresher."  Our corporate  training on that subject is so severe it suggests not making any compliments on a person's appearance, lest it be interpreted negatively.

The pattern is easy to make and the instructions were good. Only puzzler was they have you cut fusible interfacing in 3/8" bias strips and apply them to  the hems , necklines and armholes, aligning the edge of  the interfacing to the edge of the fabric. That means the interfacing is 1/4 from the seam line.  I would think it would be important to interface/stabilize the seam line on the neck line and armhole, not the edge of the fabric.  And the interfacing on the hem edge, I was not sure what the purpose of that was. I had a mental discussion  with Nancy  Z. on those instructions, and decided to use the Burda method instead.  Which is to apply interfacing strip over the seam line, and  only on armholes and neck seam lines.

Conclusion, I will wear the 1st tunic more than the second. And both with jeggings.
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Vogue 1186 Issey Miyake Jacket

I purchased this Vogue Issey Miyake pattern shortly after it came out because the jacket had some interesting seaming.

You certainly can’t see the seams in the jacket on the pattern envelope. But the line drawings show them well.

I felt that if I was going to spend the time and effort to sew those curved seams, I wanted them to be visible is some way. I enlarged the line drawing and played around with my crayons. Besides the obvious color blocking options, another one I came up with was ombre coloration.

I pictured the fabric as wool where the color change was woven, not printed and there was texture or other interest in the fabric. I had no luck finding this fantasy fabric anywhere. I ordered some silk suiting and wool fabrics thinking I might ombre dye them myself, but I never got around to it. This fall I was browsing the Elliott Berman Textiles website and there was some fabric that had the ombre coloration I was looking for.
It was described as 2 Matelesse panels – made in Italy, with no info on fabric content.


It changed from a dark navy color at one end of the fabric to a bright green at the other end. I was hoping it was silk based on the price. It was on sale, but still above my $/yard comfort level. When it arrived the fabric proved to be quite interesting and unique. It was polyester, with a texture that resembled rough tree bark. The texture started out as ridges in the dark blue area and turned into cracks as they moved into the lighter bands of color. In the top green band the cracks were plentiful. The interiors of the cracks had shiny black fibers woven into them. The black fibers are actually thin flat polyester strips, very similar to the Sulky Sliver metallic thread you can buy for embroidery and embellishment. These strips float on the back of the fabric, except where they were woven into the cracks. The fabric was easy to cut and press, but no matter how thin and sharp the needles and pins I used, they often pushed the black strips through the layers to the outside of the fabric. Fortunately this did not cause a snag or pucker in the outer layer of the fabric so I finally just ignored it.


This jacket is a fair amount of work. The pattern includes the pieces for the interfacing at the sleeve hems, jacket hem, armhole and upper back, which was nice. Sewn in interfacing is recommended and that is what I used because I was unsure how well fusible interfacing would adhere to the polyester fibers. I laid out the pattern pieces so that color changed from mid tone to light on the sides of the jacket and dark to mid tone in the center of the jacket. I made the welt pockets out of a darker color than the surrounding fabric so they sort of resemble a belt as they go under the curved section. The pattern instructions are very good, describing the steps needed to complete the unique features and assembly order of this jacket. I had no trouble matching and sewing the curved seams. The only things I did not like about the instructions/pattern was the non functional sleeve vents. They were bulky when constructed as per the instructions. And instead of a button hole on the sleeve vent, the instruction have you make a line of chain stitching to look like a button hole.







I am really pleased with the finished jacket, and though the fabric is totally different than what I pictured, it did fulfill my vision. I am in the process of making a scoop neck top and wide leg pants (not from this pattern) of navy georgette to wear with the jacket. I plan to wear this outfit to a company sponsored reception and special viewing of the Pablo Picasso: Masterpieces from the Musée National Picasso, Paris exhibit at the VA Museum of Fine Arts.

Here is some picture of the jacket on me because I think it is important to show garments on real people, not just dress forms.