Partially Redesigned Tunic

Several years ago loose flowing swing tunic tops were a dime a dozen and with my expanding middle aged belly they quickly became my favorite style.  However, today they are getting more and more difficult to find.  I not only love this style because it is comfortable and covers unsightly bulges, but the knit fabrics don't shrink up like cotton tops.  Pretty much every cotton top or T-shirt I've owned shrunk up above the waistline of my jeans displaying my muffin top and underpants, so I had to either use those shirts as rags or donate them to charity, thinking maybe they'd fit a short-waisted child or doll.

I was inexperienced with sewing knits, but found this beautiful fabric in my favorite combination of colors online.  I ordered the fabric first, and then searched high and low for a pattern that resembled what I wanted to make.  I quickly discovered that what I wanted did not exist in pattern form, so I ordered the McCall's EASY stich 'n save M9240 medical smock pattern.  It was close to what I was looking for, and I figured I could make the adjustments necessary to get it closer to my goal.

I did my research on how to sew knit fabrics, bought special sewing machine needles and made sure my machine was on the appropriate settings.  However, I learned that you cannot sew knits without first pinning, then basting, then sewing in small increments.  If you think, "This section can just get sewn without all the prerequisites..." you're wrong.  Knits require careful attention and positioning.  Almost every time the fabric on the bottom layer got bunched up and I had to break out the seam ripper.

Perhaps my biggest struggle was with the pattern instructions.  Not only were there typos, but sections were mislabeled.  The diagrams didn't make sense, the instructions didn't make sense, the steps were out of order...  It wasn't until I just decided to toss the instructions aside that I started making progress.  Common sense served me better in piecing this top together.

In order to get the top more like I envisioned, I had to lengthen both the bodice and the skirt hem.  The black waistband didn't really sit at the waist, but just below the bust of the young, perky-boobed model in the picture.  With me having a middle aged bust, I needed that waistline more down at my actual waist.  I also like my tunics to be as long as mini dresses.

Unfortunately, my adjustments weren't as simple as just lengthening the main sections in equal parts.  As I pieced the top together I discovered that I didn't take several aspects into consideration.

For instance, the dickey between the black V needed to be longer too.  I fixed that by inserting a second dickey above the original dickey.  They both were loose, so they have a draping effect that I kind of like.  I might use this technique in the future.  It not only gives me more control over the draping, but also which colors I want to be front and center.  I purposefully chose a blue piece of fabric since the original dickey was purple.

I also forgot to lengthen the black V frame.  I needed to use that black knit material for future tops, so I didn't want to cut out completely new pieces.  Instead, I just added little squares onto the existing pieces so as not to waste material.  Interestingly, the seams are barely noticeable since the fabric is black and solid.

My other big mistake was the I didn't realize that in the pattern, the black waistband only covers the front, but not the back of the top, so the front ended up being a couple of inches longer.  I'm currently debating on fixing this by either bringing up the hem in the front to match the back, or by taking it apart, cutting the back at the waist, and adding in another black band.  Somehow I ended up with an extra black band, so I already have it.  That fix will take a lot more time, but I think I will be happier with it in the long run.

If I really want to improve on it, and if I have enough fabric left over, I might just make a whole new back skirt that is looser and doesn't hug my butt, expanding the slit.  I also screwed up the slits by not taking the time to measure them.  One is much longer than the other.  I doubt anyone will look at my clothes that closely, but it will bug me.

I figured that if I screwed up something, it would be the sleeves, but I actually did a pretty good job on them.  Since knits tend to stretch and bunch up, any slight variation in length between the sleeves is hardly noticeable.

Though the fabric is tighter than I care for in the rear, the overall top fits amazingly well.  I'm proud of myself, because this time I actually fitted it to my own body at different points during the process.  What a difference that simple task made in the end.  After attempting to sew my last top, I thought I'd never try again.  It was such a disaster.  After years of work, I had nothing to show for it and wear.  All that fabric had to go into the scraps bin.  This latest top, however, can definitely be worn.  Keeping my expectations low leads to much more happiness and satisfaction.

Sorry about the blurry pictures.  I didn't want to spend hours setting up a camera with a self-timer on a tripod.  I'm having one of those days when my dogs need to go outside to potty every few minutes, so I don't have much time to spare on getting this post perfect.  If I have time in the future to take better photos, I'll edit them in.