Style Arc Lu Lu Tunic in Hot Pink Linen

Style Arc Lu Lu Tunic

The Style Arc Lu Lu Tunic has been languishing in my pattern stash for quite a while. I don't know why it has taken so long to get around to sewing this up. Now that I have made it I can say that I am quite pleased with how it turned out. I used this light weight linen purchased from Tessuti at Surry Hills about a year ago, during my first and only visit to this lovely fabric shop.

Style Arc Lu Lu Tunic

I cut my usual size 12 in Style Arc which worked out fine. I did lengthen the bodice by 5cm, which I later removed as it turned out way too long (This turned out to be much harder than it should have been). The pattern was perfect as it was. I did make a couple of other changes to simplify the construction process: The back bodice was cut on the fold and the back slit and button and loop closure were eliminated. The neckline opening is quite big enough to get the top on and off without any trouble.

The other change I made was to construct the neckband and sleeve bands as instructed, however I attached them simply by overlocking both the raw edges to the openings which worked beautifully. As the bands are 2cm wide there is plenty of width to hide the overlocking. Much less fiddly than attaching each layer separately and stitching in the ditch, as instructed.

To be honest, I could not make head nor tail of the instructions for the band at the bottom of the bodice. I found the written instructions and the instructions on the pattern pieces to be contradictory and I really had to scratch my head for a while. I ended up deciding to cut a pair of both the front and back bands and then treated them the same way as the sleeve and neckline bands. I sandwiched them between the bodice and lower skirt sections and overlocked all the layers in one go. Sounds simple if you do it correctly. Unfortunately I attached the band inside out so the the side with the under stitching (flat stitching) showed. Out came the seam ripper. All turned out well the second time.

Pocket and band details

The mitred corners on the skirt pieces were very well drafted and came together very well. I wore my new tunic to work the day after I completed it with my purple ponte Colette Mabel skirt, but it kept getting caught up on my hips and just felt too long. So...out came the seam ripper again, and I removed the skirt and the waist band and trimmed off 4cm of length from the bottom of the bodice. I then reattached the waistband and the skirt pieces back to front. The skirt was longer at the front...not a good look. So out came the seam ripper again.

I think I made the construction of this tunic much harder than it needed to be...anyway I'm sure the next one will go together without any silly mistakes.

Happy Sewing