The Tunic Bible and a Book Giveaway!

I am beyond excited to be one of the stops on The Tunic Bible's blog tour! The Tunic Bible is a new book written by the always inspiring Sarah Gunn from www.goodbyevalentino.com and Julie Starr from www.patternreview.com.  It's already in it's second print run which means it's selling like hotcakes. I was lucky enough to be chosen to sew up a version in advance for the gallery in the book and it was one of my favorite sewing experiences so far.  Having said that, the following is an honest review of the pattern. The giveaway is at the very bottom!



Did you ever read the Choose Your Own Adventure books in elementary school?  I'm referring to the kind of books where everybody starts at the same place but winds up at different places by the end because of the array of choices made throughout the book. This pattern reminds me of that. The front and back bodice pieces are always the same, but the placket, trim and sleeve choices that are available will take you on a different adventure every time!

My mind ran a mile a minute trying to decide what to do for my version, but eventually I settled on the bib placket, tapered sleeves with a cuff and a shortened tunic that hits at the hips.

To achieve my sleeves, I placed the Sewaholic Granville sleeve over the Tunic sleeve and traced the narrower bottom of the Granville sleeve onto the Tunic sleeve.  Then I followed the Granville pattern and directions to add the cuff.  I like the way the piping looks, but it did make for a lumpier cuff. 

I made what felt like a million pleats on the bib placket, and also on the bottom band.  That tag I added to the shirt is #truth, because those pleats took forever.  The line in Finding Nemo where Dory says, "Just keep swimming" kept popping into my head except I was saying, "Just keep pleating.  Just keep pleating." 

Each pleat measures a half inch long when complete, which means each pleat takes 1.5 inches of fabric. I cut one long rectangular piece of bib fabric 45 inches long, and the same width as the pattern piece.  I made one initial pleat to start by folding the fabric under and stitching a line 1/2 inch from the fold.  I pressed that down.  I continued to fold the fabric an inch from the previous stitch line.  I then ironed it to make a crease, and stitched a line 1/2 inch from the previous sewing line.  The new stitch line was then folded down to make the pleat, and I repeated that process over and over until the material was as long as the bib pattern piece.  At that point, I placed the bib pattern piece on the long rectangular pleated fabric and cut it out.  From that point on, you follow the directions in the book.   

 I cut off several inches from the bottom of the tunic pattern to make it shorter.  I have a hard time with shapes that fall way below my hips.  I accidentally cut the bottom band a little too narrow, which resulted in the tunic looking more tapered as opposed to flared as it's supposed to.  I shouldn't say "supposed to" because this pattern is definitely open to interpretation! 

I had never made a tunic prior to this pattern.  I had never even considered making a tunic prior to this pattern.  Now it will be something I return to again and again, not just because of the numerous options available but because the fit is so great.  That seemed to be a common statement among the ladies sewing for the book. This is a very well fitting garment.  I made zero fit changes to the muslin.

The orange fabric is a Carolina Herrera silk-wool from Mood.  The gray fabric is the most fabulous buttery rayon ever from Sarah's Fabrics in Lawrence, KS.

Take a moment and check out the other amazing tunics on parade during the blog tour:
October 3
 C&T  www.ctpub.com/blog
 Pattern Review www.patternreview.com/blog
October 4        
Cloning Couture        www.cloningcouture.com
Generation Q Magazine    www.generationqmagazine.com        
October 5
Oonaballoona            www.oonaballoona.com
Featherstitch Avenue    www.featherstitchavenue.com
October 6Allie J                    www.alliemjackson.com
Thanks I Made Them    www.thanksimadethem.blogspot.com
October 7
Sew Busy Lizzy            www.sewbusylizzy.com
Jennuine Design        www.jennuinedesign.com
October 8
Inside The Hem              http://youtube.com/c/insidethehem
Girls in the Garden        www.girlsinthegarden.net
October 9
Sew Manju                www.sewmanju.wordpress.com
My Love Affair with Sewing    www.myloveaffairwithsewing.com
October 10
Creating in the Gap        www.creatinginthegap.ca
October 11
House of Pinheiro        www.houseofpinheiro.com
The Tunic Bible             www.thetunicbible.com

Are you ready for a giveaway!? Leave a comment below and a winner will be chose at random on October 12.   C&T Publishing is providing a print copy of the book if you're in the United States or digital copy of the book if you're overseas.  I look forward to seeing your tunics!