The Tunical Roster

Heather asked which patterns I used to sew the tunics that I’ve been enjoying wearing. Unfortunately I can’t just give pattern numbers because a lot of these are self-drafted from my basic slopers. But I can show you what they look like.

This one is from November last year. Fabric is a polyester slinky knit.

This one is from April in a heavy cotton/lycra knit. It gets the most compliments.

This one in acetate slinky is a refashion but is based on the black and white slinky tunic.

This one is also based on the black and white one in a soft novelty knit (not sure of the fibre content). I added pockets.

This one from April last year in sweat shirt fleece was supposed to be a dress but it’s too short so I wear it as a tunic. This one has a pattern (Butterick 5244) but the pockets are my own design and I left off the collar.

I found another one from July 2011 with a pattern (Butterick 5362, OOP), though I did some serious reshaping of the shoulders and neck. I like it even better now that I added pockets. It’s a me-dyed cotton jersey.

And lastly my most recent one, #21 from I Am Cute Dresses in stretch cotton twill.

I’m trying to analyse what I like about these tunic/jumpers. They are somewhat close-fitting in the bodice but the skirts have lots of room for comfortable movement. All but the last blue one are knits though the blue one has some lycra content for stretch. All but the red one will fit over and/or under other top layers which is great for colder months. I can wear any of them with lots of different pants or skirts. I like to hope they actually look better on me in real life than they appear in the photos! But maybe not. Heh.

This week I finished another remake. This one began with a tunic from the 1980’s that I kept through a number of purges because I so loved the corduroy fabric. Unfortunately I didn’t take a before-photo (bad damselfly!) so you’ll have to image that it had loose kimono (cut-on) elbow-length sleeves, a square neck and was too tight in the bust. It also had some bleach spatters, one prominently on the front. I discovered it while looking for something else (as usual!) and had a flash inspiration that I wanted to make it into a skirt:

I chopped it off, repaired the hem where it was coming loose, added pannier pockets cut from the back bodice and sewed an elastic casing. The only hard part was threading the elastic. It wouldn’t slide on the fabric and I was afraid I was going to wear holes in the fabric before I could work it through and get the fullness evened out with my fingers. I obviously made the casing slightly too narrow! Persistence paid off though and I’m wearing it right now as I type. Very soft and comfy and comes just at the top of my knee. I’m crossing my fingers it doesn’t implode in the laundry because the fabric is so old. You can kinda tell I’ve liked rusty red for a very long time, can’t you?

In other crafty news, I finished my Leafy Nicolai Scarf and it’s all blocked but still drying. Takes awhile this time of year! I also started two new projects: a hat (Purl Beret from Purl Bee) in the same green variegated yarn as the Nicolai which should hopefully use it all up and a second pair of Fitted Mitts from the rest of the Panda Cotton skeins. I’m making the cuffs shorter so hopefully there will be enough yarn to finish these which will maybe become another gift. I think I’ve given up on the Red Hedgerow Mitts because they are not going well. I don’t like the way the increases look and the two mitts are too different because of uneven dye job. It’s not mine either! I’ll probably frog them when I figure out what else to make with this yarn. Another hat?

We had a Snow Day yesterday. T-Man had promised to take his mom out to visit her sister in Abbotsford but it didn’t happen. Just as well since the big dump of snow followed by freezing and not-so-freezing rain made the roads into total gong show. Nobody in this city knows how to drive in the snow. Of course it doesn’t help when big chunks of ice fall off the new Port Mann bridge onto the cars below and trucks get stuck trying to go up hills so nobody can get past them. We would have been driving across that bridge if we had been stupid enough to go. And then we would have been blocked from coming back that way after they closed the bridge. So we stayed home, did laundry, read and drank tea in comfort. Crisis averted. Auntie still needs a visit though.

Today I went to my guild’s Christmas Party. We were a few people short unfortunately because the roads were still pretty bad in some places. Those who managed to make it had a great time! We ate goodies, shared little gifts, had show-and-tell and even sang a carol. Very festive. My blue and rust heart decoration went to a new home with my buddy Bonnie and in return I got a cute little needle book with a handwoven cover (more hearts!) from Barbara. Sorry haven’t had time or light enough to take a photo.

Hope everyone has a Happy Solstice – Winter or Summer depending on which hemisphere you’re on! Here it’ll be at 3:12am PST tonight. Guess that’s actually tomorrow morning, isn’t it? I’m looking forward to a little more daylight even though it’s a rather imperceptible shift. Just knowing we’re heading out of the dark is good enough for me. If the weather is half-decent (aka not dumping rain, cold is acceptable) we may be going to the Lantern Parade tomorrow evening which is always fun. Fire dancers, Morris Men, mummers, music and merriment.

WELCOME BACK, SUN!