Lekala 8001 Tunic - A successful top

Following on from my last post, I have managed to make a successful tunic top using the free Lekala 8001 pattern from here

I was very optimistic about the pattern, as I had to provide my measurements for bust, underbust, waist, full hip, with options to add in hip, neck and upper arm.  I chose to add in upper arm as I thought that might be important, and then made further adjustments regarding bust and back, where I could pick a description which fitted me best.

In the end, I chose lower than normal protruding bust points (what a description), narrow back and wide bust.  It would be helpful if Lekala provided some sort of guidance as to what they think normal is, and also a guide to their terminology, as I was unsure about a couple of the optional measurements.

You can choose to have seam allowances included for $0.50 (about 32p in the UK), which I did, but they didn't charge me, something that also happened today when I ordered more patterns.

In less than a couple of hours, my pattern was emailed to me and I printed it out.  I have only pieced together a couple of other PDF patterns, and this one was the worst I have tried.  There are no helpful marks on the corners to make sure you have everything lined up, and it took me a few attempts to get it all sorted.

Making the tunic is easy.  You sew two back darts, then the two back panels together before attaching the front panel, then the facings.  The instructions are minimalistic, but give you enough to go on, and google is always there to help with any unfamiliar terms.

In total, I probably spent about 8 hours making the top, including cutting out, and this could have been reduced had I chosen not to top stitch the facings.

This is the front view of my tunic, I do still have to put buttons on the planket, but it is wearable without.  I have a couple of puckers at the shoulders where I think the armholes stretched, next time I will staystitch.

The casing for the tie is too high, I hate to think where it would have been if I'd said I had a normal bust height!!

The back is slightly less flattering, but I plan to take in the darts a bit as they are very narrow, and see what happens.  I'm also not sure how I feel about the back seam, it might not bother me in a darker colour, but it seems quite obvious here.

The fabric is this cotton shirting from Croft Mill, and was lovely to sew, although a little prone to fraying.  It's a good thickness and washes brilliantly.

What was the first successful top you made?

The increadible kindness of others

It feels a bit like Christmas today, I have, sitting beside me, a huge bag of fabrics and I'm itching to get started working with them.

Before I do anything I thought I would blog about how this all came about.  A lovely lady used to do a lot of sewing and has since given up, but still had a ridiculous stash of fabric and habby.  She decided to clear out, and to donate all the fabrics to people she knew, people who would love them and use them.

What followed was an incredibly exciting day of facebook activity, a photo and description of the fabric would be posted, and the first person to say yes would be given it.  When it came to buttons, it was so fast paced it was a real race to see who was given what.

I can honestly say that this lady has really made my day/month/year.  Due to having to support two houses on 1.5 salaries, we have not had much spare money, so I have been buying cheaper fabrics, often polycottons and synthetics, unless there is a brilliant deal going.  I firmly believed that any luxurious fabrics would have to wait.

I am honoured that I was allowed so many of the fabrics (I may have got a bit over excited, but who can blame me!).

So, what do I have in my bag?

The top left is a navy houndstooth wool suiting, which I hope to turn in to a suit for work, I've not measured it, but there seems to be plenty.

Beside it I have a couple of yards of a fairly thick linen which will be fabulous as a summer top

Then come the silks, that's right, 100% silk charmeuse or chiffon.  The rose patterned one is the chiffon, I'm already imagining a skirt with the chiffon floating over the top, and as I have about 5 yards of it, I may even consider a top and a dress! As it is silk, I would have to find some good deal for a similar quality lining for it, but it is so pretty.  The cherry and banana prints are so much fun, I'm hoping that the Cherries will turn into a tea dress type thing, and the bananas I am considering for a top or skirt.  The bright abstract is hopefully going to be a Sorbetto top, if I can work out how to adjust the darts.

Under the abstract is a Calvin Klein wool, its a burgundy red with dark green through it.  Again, I'm hoping to make this into a suit, though pattern matching could be fun.

The final row has a really fun Buru Buru dog print, which I plan to make into a little dress and nappy covers for a friend who is expecting a little girl.  The baby is due in November, so I'm aiming for about a 6 month size, but I have no idea which pattern to use.  Finally I have yards and yards of silk crepe (I think it's silk) which will be at least a skirt if not also tops and dresses.

In a final act of kindness, another lady dropped off my fabric to me as my hip is playing up again and I couldn't make it to where the fabric handovers were happening.

Which is your favourite from my new stash, and any suggestions for patterns?