Stylearc Sadie Tunic

I have had Stylearc's Sadie Tunic pattern since just after it was released but for whatever reason it kept getting pushed down my queue.  After I bought the liquorice allsort fabric it quickly rose to the top.  I intended to make a muslin though before I made up my lovely silk.

I had a piece of red linen left over from another Stylearc pattern, the Adeline Dress that I figured would be perfect for this pattern.  I had read quite a few reviews on the pattern and was fairly confident of success so using a piece of linen I loved wasn't going to be too big of a risk.

I cut the top to a size 10 which is my usual size in both rtw and Stylearc patterns.  I shortened the top to make it finish at my hip line because tunics are not really my style.  I have to say that this top is quite the puzzle.  Those sleeves are without a doubt the star of the show but they do present quite the challenge when following the instructions.  It took quite a while of fiddling around with the fabric to get the twist in the sleeves working as intended and I feel the instructions do little to help the situation.

I tried the top on before attaching the neck facing and was quite disappointed in the neckline.  It was way too wide.  In fact it was wide in a bra strap showing kind of way.  The only way I could see to fix the neckline was to make a shaped neckband.  To do this I cut a new extended neckline piece based on the pattern..   I lowered the neckline slightly before doing this so I could get an evenly shaped band all of the way round.  After adding my front and back neckband piece I then cut a mirror image for a facing and attached this like I would a curved waistband.  The resulting neckline is now better but not perfect.  This is why we make muslins people!

Despite the issues I had making this top, I have worn it quite a bit and do actually like it.  Linen is perhaps not the best fabric for twisty ties because it is really hard to iron, but because this top is in a solid colour which I don't have a lot of, it slots into my wardrobe nicely.