Wednesday, August 28, 2013

I think I need an intervention

It's not that this is the third version of the Crafty Mama's Lovely Layers tunic that I've made in the past few months, but that I've still got plans for many more!

 
Quite simply, I'm loving the ease of it all - the sewing AND the wearing.

This time I made the elbow length sleeves. Seeing as though I have fairly full arms, I added an inch to each side of the sleeve. It turns out that I didn't really need to add quite that much. While the loose sleeves ARE very comfortable, I will remove some of that ease for my next version. Oh yes, there will be a next version!

In fact, after looking at the photos, I'm tempted to even go down a size over all for future tops/tunics. It's a very forgiving garment. I have a bust measurement of 121cm, which puts me right in the middle of the largest size. I loathe clingy garments, but I do think I could go down a size and still be comfortable in this tunic.

I used a beautifully soft jersey knit which I purchased from East Coast Fabrics at Springwood - fairly recently, too, so I can't even feel justified about using up old stash. But this fabric is to die for - I'm glad I bought several metres because I'm just about to cut out a t-shirt from the remains. Black isn't supposed to be 'my' colour, but I've decided lately that I don't really care. I like it, and that's what really matters, isn't it?

I made the leggings I'm wearing, too. They are made from an Ottobre pattern, 02-2008-16, graded up to my size (52). I know there's a pattern for leggings in a later edition, which comes in size 52, but I'd already established this pattern as a TNT and it didn't seem to be worth the effort to change. The fabric is a cute, soft royal blue and black animal print from The Fabric Store in Brisbane, also purchased fairly recently.

After finishing the tunic, my only problem was finding appropriate accessories to wear with the outfit. As luck would have it, TS14+ were having a 50% off sale on their necklaces, so I snapped up a few, as well as a gorgeous blue scarf (which I'm wearing in the picture below). I quite liked more, but thought I should show some signs of restraint. There'll always be another sale, right?