Some of you had a "sneak peek" of my Fashion Challenge first entry yesterday if you are a regular reader of my Boden Weekly Review Roundups. But since I know some of you are not, and come here for other reasons, I am making sure I do a proper "made by me" post for this creation of mine.
In the above photo you will see the printed sheet of the line drawing of the Grainline Scout Tee that my husband brought home with him (along with the pattern pieces, of course!). I'll be honest here, when I saw the challenge come through in the email, a little part of me was like, "yikes, I don't know that I can think outside of the box enough." Although I love prints and crazy colors, I am a very "clean lines" kind of person, and the Grainline Scout Tee, as is, seems to be a cute enough pattern. So, because I am me, I started overthinking all of it. I probably mulled over what I was going to do for four or so hours. I went all over the internet looking at images of current clothing that could be made from a basic tee shape. Eventually I settled on a favorite of mine, the tunic, for the silhouette, and for the details I again went with a favorite of mine, two fabrics melded together into one cohesive piece. (Thanks to Boden for consistently doing this over the years--they definitely provided me with inspiration!) To finish off the extra details, because let's be honest here...changing a tee to a tunic with two fabrics isn't enough "change," I added pockets ('cause yeah, pockets!), a working henley button placket at the back in the front fabric, and the neckline binding made from the back fabric. Although all of these changes on paper seemed workable, I wasn't sure what the end product would look like, and at a few points in the construction, I was thinking I was foolhardy for taking this path.
So thank goodness at the end I was pleased with the results, since 50% of the time in the process (over four days total), I wasn't sure I would be. :-)
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| Altered Pattern Pieces--Note square shoulder adjustment, 10 inches added in length, plus grading out from a size 4 at the bust to an 8 at the waist to a 14 at the hips. |
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| This is my muslin. Note crazy fabric. LOL. Actually after cutting it and seeing that it looked okay on me, I realized that with some proper finishing, this would be a really cute pool coverup. So there are plans to finish off the neckline, armholes, and hem. |
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| The final product being cut. PLEASE NOTE that there is a mistake on one of the pieces. The front piece says to cut on fold at center BACK not center FRONT. Really not a big deal, but for a beginner, a mistake could be made there. Also note my "unsure" face. The tunic fit, but I didn't care for the shape, completely. Eventually I took in the sides a bit at the waist, which helped (read my thoughts below). |
While it fit, I didn't love the fit in the final fabric. In reality, I needed all the pieces to be on the garment for my vision to come true. I do think this garment needs darts if you are not a straight-up and -down kind of lady. I have curves (especially my lower half), and while shaping the waist in the process of the fitting (not on my original pattern pieces) helped, I know that if I make this again I will need to the diamond shaped darts on the back, and possibly french darts on the front. But maybe not, since this is meant to be a "tee" derivative and not a fitted tunic. Just thinking out loud here, lol.
And the final product! I was pleased, FINALLY. I mean, it isn't a home run, but the shape works on my frame (for the most part), my square shoulder adjustment worked (though I did alter a tiny bit during the process), and the henley button placket worked and looks really cute on the back.
BTW, I searched and searched for the best button placket tutorial on the web. There were at least a few that did a great job, but my favorite was this one by Crafty Cupboard. Being a visual learner, this one had the best photos and most photos so I could really see what I was doing and execute it well. Having said that, this tutorial does not mention interfacing the fabric, and I knew the best placket would be one with a bit of body, so I interfaced my entire piece of fabric in a woven fusible interfacing before starting.
Some of you asked where I got the fabrics. Well all of them are from Fabric Mart! I didn't intentionally do that, but since 80% of my fabrics come from them, no surprise, right? The front fabric is a printed cotton lawn that was part of Julie's Picks a while back. The back fabric is a stretchy cotton pinstripe (which looks like a solid light grey from far away) which I received in a bundle a LONG time ago. The buttons were also part of a button bundle, and the color and size where exactly right for this project.
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| Detail Shots for those of you who love seeing them. |
I didn't mention this above, but I did make the tunic from lighter fabrics so I could be sure that I could wear the tunic as a "tee", too. So while I changed the "tee" to a "tunic," I couldn't resist the styling possibilities of a tee in the end. ;-)
I wore the tunic/leggings/belt/loafers outfit yesterday to bowling. It was comfortable, presentable, and not one person realized that I had made this myself. Which I guess is success? LOL.
I look forward to wearing the tee/skirt/loafers outfit to church or subbing one day.
I also have plans to wear the tunic/leggings outfit in the winter, but layered with a long cardigan, scarf, and boots.
Okay, that's all for now. The blog post by Fabric Mart with the place to vote is up and ready, so check it out if you feel so inclined. :-)
I LOVE what the other sewers came up with, btw. I love how very different all of our looks are!!! Great job, ladies! It has been fun to virtually sew with all of you!
