endless summer tunic | girl with a sewing machine

So I made another Endless Summer Tunic. This time, I used an Art Gallery voile named Floret Stains Mulberry by Katarina Rocella. This voile was light and silky and soft and a little bit sheer and very pretty, I loved it for this tunic. I used the enclosed straight seam finish seams that I found in Oliver+S blog for my middle seams both in front and back, I really like it especially for light fabrics like this voile. For the side seams, I was hoping to french seam them but I couldn’t figure out how to do it with in-seam pockets so in the end I just overlocked them.

Like my first tunic, I still made it using size 37″ which was the smallest size, and I still struggled attaching the yoke to the back main tunic. I just couldn’t figure out how to ease the yoke to the back tunic properly. So for my next project, I’ve decided to try the Oliver+S Ice cream dress. I love Oliver+S instructions so I think it can teach me a thing or two about yokes. I’m also not very happy with my front shoulder gathers, they look very uneven to me but all in all I love this tunic and I’ve been wearing it at least once a week since I made it.

I first saw the Endless Summer Tunic from the Fancy Tiger Crafts blog, and I knew I had to make it. I used to wear a few tunics (got them in Chatuchak Market, Bangkok) like this but they got a bit tight after my giving birth so I gave them all to my mum. Now I don’t need to go to Bangkok because I can sew them myself! I downloaded the PDF pattern and made the smallest size which is a 37″ bust. I took my time cutting so the “stripes” would be continuous and I’m quite happy with it, I didn’t make an effort to line up the side seams though but I think it turned out ok. By the way, this is a beginner pattern but I’m not sure what happened because it wasn’t an easy project for me. I had a hard time sewing the yoke to the main part of the tunic because I couldn’t seem to align them properly. I think I used the seam ripper a few times, it’s still not perfect but I’m in love with it. I love the gathers at the shoulder seams, the V-neck, the pockets, and the curved hem. I’m not sure what happened to the centre back gathers because there’s not much of it! haha. Oh and that back yoke looks odd but I think it’s because I have really broad shoulders and back.

I didn’t follow the hand-sew instructions for the yoke lining because I was lazy so I just sewed really close to the gathers to attach the yoke lining to the yoke. I also wanted the length of the tunic before hemming so I can wear it as dress, so I finished the hem with a bias tape. It is quite a curved hem so the bias tape made that step easier for me. The seams were mostly overlocked except for the centre seams which I pinked because I thought it might be a bit bulky especially when I iron it. Now looking at it, it would probably be ok if the centre seams were overlocked too. The pattern also called for interfacing the yoke but I didn’t bother with it.

The fabric is a quilting cotton named Crystal Arrowhead from April Rhodes’ Arizona collection. I really like it for this project and it is not see-through at all. And look at all those triangles/mountains! I used less than 2 yards for this, I used a different fabric (just a white lawn) for the yoke lining and store-bought bias tape for the arm holes and hem. I got it from the local online shop Laughing House Fabric but most of the Arizona fabrics are sold out now.

I’m cutting my second Endless Summer Tunic now using a voile fabric. Two thumbs up for this pattern! 🙂