Hello, sewing world!  As my foray into sewing blogging, I decided to dive into the new Patterns for Pirates Timeless Tunic. 

Being a tester for this pattern, I made three different versions of the dress option.  My predominate apparel sewing experience is with knits as opposed to woven fabric, so I wasn’t sure if this would involve any crazy bias bindings or complicated techniques.

Overall I found it to actually be pretty easy and sewed it up quicker than I expected.  Typically I am not a quick sewer and take much longer to finish projects than most people, since I’m a little bit of a perfectionist. 🙂  But this one took 3 hours start to finish, which is very quick for me.

The facings are simple and definitely an easy way to finish the neckline.  Just be sure to remember to tack them down…speaking from experience. 🙂  Working with a thinner woven fabric can be a little challenging (this was most noticeable with my version with cotton lawn).  Going slowly helps.

When choosing a fabric for the Timeless Tunic, it is important to consider the drape.  Since this has gathering at the waist, a fabric with some flow to it ensures the dress isn’t too boxy or bulky.

For my first version, I used 100% cotton.  It’s very close to a flannel, much softer than quilter’s cotton and has some natural puckers (the kind that don’t really iron out, so I left them be).  I purposely picked this to try to push the pattern and see how it was fare with a little bit of a boxy silhouette.  All in all, I am pleasantly surprised by how it turned out, to be honest.  It puffs out a little at the waist but enough so that it looks intentional.  As soon as I was done I knew it needed an appliqué.

Second, I went with a lightweight 100% polyester.  It’s just heavy enough not to be sheer.  It clearly has a very nice drape, so I figured it would work great.  I’d say this is the ideal type of fabric, for which the pattern is intended.  It worked well, and I liked the long sleeves for a different look.  Funny story about this one…I was wearing it to work this week, waiting for the train.  A friendly man came up to me and told me he “just had to” tell me how much he liked my dress.  It actually wasn’t creepy at all and I think he was just being genuinely nice.  Really amusing though!

Lastly, I picked up some cotton lawn and sewed up a short sleeve version, partly because I was sick of elastic casings and partly because it seemed appropriate for its somewhat summery print.  This fabric is much more lightweight than the other two I chose, so it definitely puffs up a little bit more in the bodice, but the lack of bulk evens it out.  I enjoyed wearing this one because it was so light and airy, perfect for warmer weather.  I’ll also layer it is tights and a cardigan for fall.

As a wrap up, this pattern is an easier sew (it’s classified as advanced beginner, which I think is appropriate) with so many options.  I only made the dress version, but there’s also tunic and shirt lengths to mix with the sleeve lengths.  With fabric choice dictating the final product, it can easily span the casual to classy spectrum.  Happy sewing!