Garments, Uncategorized

Jungle Ave. Willow Tunic

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I hope you are having a great weekend! I just wanted to share the first of four outfits that I made to wear to Quilt Market next week! All four outfits were made from brand-spanking new Serendipity Studio sewing patterns.

The first outfit that I made was the Willow Tunic. This is a dress/tunic with princess seams, a contrasting self-lined yoke, and a side zipper. There is an option to make either cap sleeves (which I did) or three-quarter sleeves, which would be great for spring or fall.

I was drawn to this pattern because of the princess seams and the top yoke. I had only made one dress with princess seams before, and I needed to make a lot of fit alterations to that one because that pattern company drafted towards people with a median bust of ‘C’, which I am clearly not. I needed to have my grandmother help me thread-baste the alterations on that one. Since I have made so many Serendipity Studio patterns before, I felt a little more confident that I would be able to get the alterations down quickly. In my opinion, the alterations I need to make with any Serendipity Studio pattern are the exact same for each pattern for my body, so by now they are a breeze to get just right. And assuming that you have never made a Serendipity Studio pattern before, there is tons of text and illustrations to get you well on your way, and there are also instructions for many embellishments (hemband, tiered skirt, etc.). I’ve made some other dress patterns before that seemed very brief and to the point, but these are very detailed.

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I used a yellow Art Gallery Pure Elements solid and the ‘NeighborHoods’ print from my Jungle Ave. line. I struggled with this dress when deciding whether to make the sleeves in the yellow solid or the white print. I think it probably could have gone either way. I took a vote on my social media and solid was the favorite, so I went with the solid sleeves. I’m pretty happy with how it looks. As the yoke is sewn right sides together (so in a way, just the yoke is lined), there is no need for facings and the neckline ends up really nice and neat. The sleeves can either be sewn with a simple hem (serged, turned up, then stitched), or you can use bias tape to finish the sleeves.

The front and the back of the dress went together quite quickly (3 panels for the front, 3 for the back). The side invisible zipper also was not hard to install, and it is sewn in 1-1/2″ below the armhole. I made my dress not-loose, which is what I usually do, so it’s kind of an amusing sideshow act when I have to get it on, lol.

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I highly recommend the Serendipity Studio Willow Tunic. I am looking forward to making more, as this one fits perfectly. I also like that the zipper is on the side as it’s more comfortable for me to wear than a back zip.

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If you like listening to podcasts, I just wanted to let you know that I will be on Pat Sloan’s American Patchwork and Quilting Radio tomorrow (Monday, May 5th)! The show starts at 4pm ET, and I’m going on about partway through. If you don’t get a chance to listen to it live, you can always get it for free on iTunes or by streaming it from their site.

Pat Sloan American Patchwork and Quilting radio Sara Lawson guest

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7 thoughts on “Jungle Ave. Willow Tunic

  1. Cindy says:

    I love how they all turned out Sara. I would make a tunic for mine with a solid top and patterned bottom then pair it with some cute denim capris 🙂 Great job!

  2. Pam Sherman says:

    This tunic is adorable!

  3. Emily says:

    So lovely on you!

  4. Julianna says:

    So simple and chic! You look great!

  5. Kate says:

    Great tunic, perfect fabric for it!

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