It may be the winter of the Poppy Tunic

If I had the summer of the Miz Mozelle, I think I'm going to have the winter of the Poppy Tunic by Make it Perfect.

What is behind me? A better question would be "what isn't behind me?"
NB: I used a stretch fabric but the pattern is meant for wovens

I liked the look of this when it was released... but it's kind of deceptively simple. I wasn't fully convinced until
a) I saw the lovely variations that Toni, the pattern designer, had made for herself and
b) when Andy remarked that I could totally do the tunic-over-leggings-or-jeans. I put jeans under my velour dress one day for riding on the scooter and he told me it was a good look. I'd always thought it was for tall, thin girls but if my bloke thinks it's alright, then it's alright with me!

Also, I thought about what I really wear from my wardrobe, over and over. Simple, comfy basics? Yes indeed.

I've lent our DSLR camera to my brother so these photos are courtesy of Andy's iPhone. Let's get all square format Hipstamatic, shall we?

I'm wearing my new merino wool leggings from this Etsy shop. They're soft and warm and fabulous, and I think she really should charge more.

Wow, even the unidentified freezer contents in ziplock bags on the bench look kinda hipsta-cool.

The fabric is - wait for it - hand-dyed bamboo/hemp fleece. Pass the patchouli. The Poppy Tunic pattern is designed for woven fabrics but since I made the velour dress I've been on a mission to make another dress from something stretchy-yet-substantial. This fabric was from The Bamboo Fabric Store and the dye was a combination of Rit Denim Blue and Teal. I was going for something darker and probably should have used all of both packets but I like the colour anyway.

I made size M. Because of the stretch the armholes ended up vast, so I pinched out 2 inches front and back at the bottom of the armhole and tapered the side seam all the way down to the bottom. It would sit better if I took width out of the bottom too but I doubt I'll get around to it. I added pockets, which I do to pretty much everything, and changed around the contrast elements (the pattern shows contrast yoke and bottom hem band). Also, the bottom band is only half as deep as called for in the pattern.

The most fiddly thing about the Poppy Tunic really is making and attaching all the bias tape, however that's also much of its charm. I tried the continuous method to make the tape, plus my previously untested Clover gadget, both of which made the process a bit smoother. That stripey fabric is something I bought ages ago from eBay. It's old-ish, and linen-ish, and I'm happy to have cut into it.

I would love to make a denim version of the Poppy Tunic, but next in line might be some tweedy cotton blend from the stash.

Well, here's another weekend done and dusted. The big boys head off on school camp tomorrow for two nights. It will be strange without both of them!

I will finish up with a piece of unrelated sagely advice. Don't use purple carrots in pea and ham soup. Tastes fine, looks utterly disgusting. Not even "oh cool, boys, purple soup!". Nope, just disgusting.

Have a good week!

- Jane x