Sunday, May 20, 2012

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

27 comments:

  1. Purple carrots taste so good.... But the colour does tend to bleed oddly :/

    I really like the colour of the tunic actually. I keep trying to find things in that sort of colour but everything is either too dark or too grey. And pockets YAY! Never have too many pockets when on mum duty!!!

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    1. Yeah I got so excited when I found the purple carrots at the farmer's market this morning, I didn't stop to consider what the colour might do to soup. Now I'm thinking they might make a good natural fabric dye!

      I get so used to having pockets right there in most of my clothes, my hands automatically reach for a pocket even when I'm not wearing something with them. Usual contents: tissues and sunscreen lip balm.

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  2. Groovy tunic. Looks like one of those comfy, easy-to-wear pieces. The joy of making it out of a knit rather than a woven is no ironing...and that can only be a good thing. I really like the tunic-over-pants look. You get to look groovy while being totally comfortable - it's good for the soul!

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    1. No ironing, comfy yet still a bit groovy - yes! This is why we sew for ourselves :)

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  3. Love it! Very funky
    I was going to wait till Spring to get on to this, but think you may have changed my mind.... :-)
    (& now off to check out link for the leggings!)

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    1. Do it! I am sure you will make an awesome choice of fabrics!

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    2. Btw - I ordered a pair of those leggings! :-)

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    3. Oh good :) I ordered a second pair so I don't just wear the first ones every single day!

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  4. I'm not really a clothes sewer, but lately I've been seeing some lovely things that I woulnd't mid giving a go. This Poppy Tunic is noe one of them. Yours looks good. I have a stash of tweed that might work well. Hope you survive OK without your boys. Them all off at once for a night or two is equel parts my dream and nightmare. Cx

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  5. Yep being comfy is what it is all about. ( I am currently comfy but not at all groovy - just imagine home made tracky daks ! ) . Home made bias binding is not that easy - I tried once - I couldn`t even cut a 10cm square perfectly .
    Your baby pants look so cute - new born babies are so sweet but don`t children grow so fast - my eldest is now 18 and I can not believe it at all. It sounds like you have worked out what is important though - I feel so sad sometimes when I see people putting their children in day care fulltime and missing out so much(but I realise some people have to do this to survive ).

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    1. Home made tracky daks... well I could probably use a pair and this fabric would work beautifully! Can't say I haven't considered it.
      The bias took a fair while but using my cutting mat which has the diagonal line marked helped a lot too.
      And yes about the kids growing so fast... sigh....

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  6. Well done, especially with the knit fabric substitution. I wonder how it might look with added sleeves?

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    1. I wondered about sleeves myself too. I think it would look good if the sleeves worked out quite fitted (not baggy). It would require a total re-draft of the armholes but I imagine you could franken-pattern by using the armhole line and sleeve from a top pattern that fitted in the right way.

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  7. Awesome dress. I bet you will get lots of wear out of it.

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  8. You just crack me up!
    I love the tunic ( I'm perpetually cold so I'm a big fan of pants under tunics too) - especially the color of the fabric and bias tape together. Such a cute combo!

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  9. The tunic looks great on. I think denim would be really useful and cute too

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  10. And THAT is why I prefer my carrots orange and my swiss chard boring old white and green rather than all sorts of pretty colors ... because I have learned that lesson, the hard way.

    The tunic is so cute! And I bet it's so soft and cozy! I really prefer to wear knit fabrics on top if I can, especially in the winter. They are softer, more comfortable, and warmer. All things I value. If they can be groovy too, then what else do you need?

    I have made bias tape the continuous way and the regular way, and they are both cool, but I think I prefer the regular way for ease of cutting out. A rotary mat and clear quilting rulers makes all the difference.

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  11. Replies
    1. Thanks! I ripped into the pattern pretty much as soon as it was delivered :)

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  12. Very nice tunic! I have been umming and arring about this pattern myself, but decided I had already bought too many pattterns to actually finish anytime soon so poppy tunic will have to wait. Yours looks fab though! Really like the added pockets. (Not wearing any pockets today and have to tuck my car keys into my tracky waistband when putting babies in the car and they keep falling through my leg and out onto the ground! Very annoying) Thanks for the tip regarding purple carrots! Will not put in pea and ham soup, however, they do go well in minestrone! (Just going to check out those merino leggins now.....)

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  13. The tunic looks really lovely Jane. Sorry your purple soup wasn't a hit with your boys though. Can't imagine why.....

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  14. So cute! You can definitely pull off the tunic over leggings look. I just want to kiss whoever decided to allow leggings to come back in style, I hope they never leave!

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  15. Me again Jane - just wondering as to the fit of this - I sit between M and L for my bust - how do you find the ease?

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    1. Hi Justine, I was very pleasantly surprised that the M had plenty of room for me :) My bust is 37 -38 and in the woven version I even took in a tiny bit from the armhole down when I did the side shaping. I'd say it errs on the side of generous. Hope that helps!

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    2. Thank you - shall trace it tomorrow :-)

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  16. Love your leggings ;)

    Funny I had been thinking about a Poppt tunic too, looks great!

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    1. Thanks - yes do make one, I have just bought fabric for my third!

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Hey, I would really love to know what you think. Go on!

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