Another tunic (Knipmode 01-2017-13)

Finishing up with this season's Almost Pyjamas garments, I had thought to make another two tunics. In the end I've only made one. I've had a change of heart about the second pattern I'd chosen and as I hadn't cut it out yet like I thought I had, I've pushed it further along my sewing queue for now.

The tunic I did make is from Knipmode 01-2017, pattern 13 (also available on their website to buy).

Tunic modelled shot and tech drawing from Knipmode 01-2017

My attention was caught more by the technical drawing than by the modelled shot, which is rather bland. I really liked those interesting shoulder seam/darts, and the overall shape of the tunic with the curved empire waist seam.

My version, modelled by Flossie and me in my hall mirror again.

I used a lightweight purple ponte with a sort of leafy pattern on it in black and lighter purple. I am not usually very keen on florals, but this one is marginally more subtle than most. I originally bought it online thinking I would make a cardigan, but when it arrived I discovered that the wrong side is bright white. I needed to sew it using a pattern than keeps the wrong side completely hidden.

Knipmode sizing is a little bit different to Burda/Ottobre but this is also quite a voluminous pattern. The back, in particular, has a LOT of ease built in. If I were making a more fitted style I would in theory want a Knipmode size 44 through the bust at least, but I went with a size 42 with this garment and I really like how it fits. The slightly unusual shoulder/sleeve arrangement makes it hard to generalize about the shoulder fit (a topic in last week's post) from this pattern.

Sleeve/shoulder/front dart detail; the dreadful zipper insertion

I made zero fitting or design changes, except to leave the zips off the pockets. I never intended to do the zips, seeing no point to them, but if I HAD, the zip installation on the front would have put me right off anyway! The tunic on the whole went together well except for that zip, which went in very very badly.

I translated the instructions using a mixture of Google translate and the (very) few words of Dutch sewing lingo I've picked up, and they mostly made sense with only a little thought here and there. However, the zipper insertion instructions did not translate at all well. I puzzled over the results I got from Google translate for a while, but I still don't really understand what the original instructions were. Luckily, I had been looking at a tunic with a very similar zipped neckline in Burda just a few days before, so I decided to follow those instructions instead... except then I screwed up a critical part of it and made my life 100% more difficult than it needed to be. The final result is exceedingly substandard and home-made looking, which pains me. I mean, it's fine in the sense that the zipper goes up and down and from a safe distance it's not entirely horrible, but still: ugh. Luckily this tunic is part of my Almost Pyjamas wardrobe and won't be too in the public eye much at all.

Zip aside, I'm pretty happy with this tunic, and also to have used another Knipmode pattern! I am encouraged by this experience even with the troublesome zip (which would have been fine if I had just not independently made a major error), and I feel more than ever that I mustn't talk myself out of using my magazines just because there's a couple of extra steps involved in making things.

Next up on my sewing queue is a jacket. Yes, I know I always say that and then shock, horror, no actual outerwear is forthcoming. However, things are getting really awkward now. I have so much outerwear fabric! I still have no actual outerwear to wear as I've refused to buy myself a new coat when I have so many outerwear sewing plans! I have actually successfully made a coat (my red raincoat, which I have worn frequently even though it's totally the wrong colour for most of my wardrobe), so I know I can do it! I have no excuse, in other words.