Two Sew Daily Tunics

A friend of mine who is a cameraman once told me how they make actresses look amazing on screen. Lighting. Lots of it. From all directions, including from below. There's also an extra light that adds a twinkle to the eye of a romantic interest or a lovely lady. And for villains, there's no twinkle light. So they look darker, empty. I hope I'm remembering this all right.

Anyway, the point is, good lighting makes you look so much better. Direct sunlight, however, makes you look bad. Squinty, shadowed. Ugh. That's why we shot these photos in a tunnel in Central Park yesterday. The filtered light was just perfect to bring out the peach and navy in this tunic I sewed from a free Sew Daily pattern.

The fabric I used here was left over from this skirt and blouse I made last month. I loved the print so much but didn't have enough left to make much. So it was perfect for the yoke, waist and sleeve bands you see pictured here.

This pattern (which again: you can download for free at Sew Daily) is supposed to be sewn with jersey and lace. Here's the other version I made, in which I stuck to the intent of the original. Still not too sure how I feel about it. A little too precious for me, but I think that has more to do with my colour choices, than with the pattern. I still stand by the peach, but paired with the lace....hmm, I don't know. Also, my sewing machine light melted a hole in the lace yoke, so I had to come up with some way of covering that up. That's what the weird ruffly thing on the left is:

 

meh?

So, not really thrilled with this jersey tunic (which I made with remnants from the Batwing top I made a few months back, plus a piece of lace I got from a neighbor who was thinning out her fabric stash), I decided to give the Sew Daily pattern another go. This time I made it with silk. Because I that's what I had on hand, and I thought it would be nice and cool and flowy for spring and summer in NYC. But then I realized I'd have to line it (with polyester lining, also a remnant from another project) so I'm not sure how cool it's going to be come warmer weather. I also eliminated the ruffle, having decided it was not all that flattering on my figure. And I added a band at the bottom hem, and sleeve bands to make the (almost nudeish) peach blouse more interesting (and so I wouldn't look so naked from far away).

I'm pretty happy with the results, and will definitely wear this top. But the silk was hard to sew, and I redid the yoke I think four times...so there's something strange going on with the drape of the front. Also, it gets static cling — the silk clings to the lining and then wrinkles up. Anybody have a solution to that problem?