Vogue 9348 ~ Another Tunic

I suppose this classifies as a tunic, but it’s the fabric that I really love this time around.

The pattern I used is Vogue 9348, a tunic with overlay options. I chose the plain version without overlay.

The top has “kimono” style sleeves, a slash front opening and a stand up collar, and the fabric is one of the January picks from Julie’s Swatch Club on FabricMartFabrics. The pattern was actually suggested in the picks mailer. Good choice! It’s a woven blouse weight crepe and I fell in love with the colour and print. Although crepe was not mentioned in the suggested fabrics, it was just perfect for this top. My thinking is that a non-drapey fabric would make this look awfully big …

I cut a size Large which is plenty big! Had I selected based on my bust size (an XL) I would have been swimming in this! Stitching it up was simple except for two things: the fabric shrunk when I applied the fusible interfacing, and there is a pattern error – an omission in the pattern instructions. Nowhere do they tell you how to actually join the two cuff pieces (cuff and cuff facing) so I just proceeded as I usually do:

• Stitched the side seams of cuff and cuff facing
• Turned under 5/8″ on the notched edge of cuff facing & pressed
• Stitched together the cuff and cuff facing on the long unnotched edge
• Stitched the cuff to the sleeve, matching notches, then trimmed, turned, etc. as per the instructions.

The conclusion? I like this top, especially because of the fabric used. The crepe drapes beautifully so the top hangs really nicely from the shoulders. There is a bit of creasing at the armscye but I suspect this is what happens with this style of sleeve. If I make this again I will shorten the sleeves about 3/4″, and I will also slim the sleeves because they’re quite voluminous.!

The hem was finished by hand. This fabric bounces back so it wouldn’t hold a press which would have made the hem a mess had I stitched it on a machine.

There are photos below and I’ve posted a review on my Youtube channel. It’s not long, about 5 minutes, and it expands on a few things. Plus you can see the fabric and how the top actually hangs on me. Since this was so drapey, I thought it would be nice to show the movement of the fabric.

Bottom line – I like the pattern. It fit me well, it went together easily, and it doesn’t slide back at the neck. I’ll make it again!

I would love to hear your comments and impressions on using YouTube videos in blog posts! Most of my YouTube videos cover more than one project, but a single pattern review was fun and fast to make up.