Vogue 8950 Pieced tunic...

First, thank you all for the get well messages - I'm still off my feet, but feeling better. Poco a poco! Meanwhile, I've managed a bit of sewing. Otherwise I would lose what little I have left of my mind!

Back story, if you visit my blog from time to time, you know I have a love affair with loose fitting clothes, maxi dresses, tunics, wide-leg pants. Over the last year or so I've sewn so many knits that I've collected a lot of nice pieces that are not enough for much more than a tank top - what to do? So I've been looking for a pattern to use to have some fun.

Enter Vogue 8950! What a cute pattern. Perfect piecing and lots of options.

Having said that, I made my first version from a fabric I found at JoAnns, a poly/rayon jersey that has a vertical stripe - how unusual. But it really works with this pattern. I was able to cut the large pieces - skirt, sleeves - on the grain. And the very wide stripes made it so much easier to match up the pattern :-)

The black stripes don't quite match in the front, but do match in the back. I had to make a choice. The front and back of an upper sleeve and armhole are simply not the same! And I have a sloping right shoulder. Add in the two-piece sleeve and bodice - I spent a lot of time working this out, and I'm happy with the result.

Here's a cute feature - a side vent! I'm not a big fan of side vents, but this one works really well.

Sewing notes:

• The pattern suggests turning under the neckline for a 5/8" hem. Not! I trimmed 1/4" from the neckline and attached a self-fabric binding using a 3/8" seam. I attached the binding on the wrong side and turned it over the seam allowance. Then folded the raw edge and topstitched it on the right side. Note: I cut the binding from the black stripe. Although it was on the vertical of the fabric, it had just enough stretch, about 15%, to work as a binding.

• The pattern has absolutely NO finished garment measurements! Not on the envelope and not on the pattern pieces. Which meant spending some time putting the pieces together and measuring them out. I really didn't mind, I do it anyway, but I was surprised that Vogue offered no help whatever. I sewed a size 14, my usual size, but drafted the skirt out to size 16, working from the top edge to 12"  below the waistline (the widest part of my hip). 

• As a precaution, I added 1" to the hemline. I'm 5'7", but like my tunics to go well past the crotch of my pants... Worked well, I only took up a 5/8" hem. I also cut the back hemline even with the front. The back of view C is about 1.5" longer than the front and IMHO just looks like a mistake instead of something intentional :-)

• The sleeves were almost perfect, with a 1" hem on my right arm (my 'long' side). Which might be a caution for someone else - I have short arms!

Some pics of the inside - you can see the slight curve in the front and back bodice seams.

This was really fun to sew. And I'm looking forward to pulling out my remnants and making a mess in the loft for my next version. Hope everyone enjoys a nice weekend...

Ciao! Coco