The Pink T (February's IP)

February's Inspiration Point was a video.  (What am I talking about?  click HERE)  And though there were many interesting images in the video and the music was a lot of fun.  What stuck in my (Major Moma) brain?  The pink lit up T in on the wall.  What I decided to do was make a basic tunic and mimic a bit of the look of the letter T.  But not too literal.  I am often very literal and I wanted to change things up a little bit.

 

Girl's T-shirt #149



Girl's Sequined Dress #151

 Remembering my Burda Style Magazine from November 2012 had a couple of girl's tunics, I got it out. What I discovered was that it had three tunics and they all came from the same pattern pieces, but featuring different lengths and fabric choices.  So, I took the length of #151 of the tunic but the sleeve length of #149 to make what I had in mind.

 The neckline is kind of a cross between a scoop and a boat neck and if you follow the instructions of #149, it has a bias strip facing and snap closures at the shoulders.  If you follow the instructions of #151, it is lined and thus no need for facing and also has snaps on the shoulders.  I chose a white bias tape for a facing and white snaps.  This will be a part of Abi's Spring wardrobe so I wanted to keep it light.

Speaking of instructions, they aren't great.  I don't know if I was just tired, but I had to read them a couple of time to figure out what Burda wanted me to do.  And really, this shirt is not that complicated.  If I was just given the pieces and told "GO", I would have had an easier time.  And, I found that the markings for the arm holes were not accurate.  The sleeves are the set in variety, so I constructed them on their own.  Then, the instructions said sew from the marking #2 on the sides of the front and back panels down to the hem.  Then insert the sleeves into the open area of the tunic.   (there is no distinctive change in shape of the front and back panels at the arm openings)  Well, my sleeve was much smaller than the hole, so I had to make a new mark and then sew up to that one. 

That was annoying. 

So please, if you use this pattern, measure your sleeve and the tunic to make sure you have the right sizes.  And remember when sewing Burda patterns, you must add your seam allowances.

 I picked out some pink linen I had bought last fall (fabric.com) fully intending something to be made for the girls, but had not yet settled on a suitable pattern.  And then I cut short sleeves and a long strip out of some faux suede I had left over from pants I made for Eli for Christmas 2011.  I placed the strip straight down the middle of the tunic.  To me, this creates a hint of the letter T as the sleeves are the part parallel to the floor and the stripe is the perpendicular portion.  But unlike the inspiration, the T is the white part and the background is pink.

I think it has a bit of a Mod look to it.  In the photos in the magazine, it looks really boxy, but hanging in my sewing room it has some shape.  But, since Abi has not had a chance to wear it yet (and February is nearly over so I must blog about it), I don't know yet how it fits her.  And though she was skeptical when I told her about the center stripe, she really likes it.



P.S.

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