Cotton Flannel Gallery Tunic.
Fabric from JoAnn
Pattern is the gallery Tunic by Liesl & Co, size 12
I never got around to making my mom’s Gallery Tunic I had planned on giving her for Christmas until today. Better late than never.
The Gallery Tunic was an enjoyable pattern to sew up after my last disaster, MCCall’s 7542 . It’s a good introduction to shirt making for beginners, since there are no buttonholes, sleeve plackets, or cuffs.
Once I cut it out, it was quick to sew. I’d say it took me about four hours to make. I’ve made the pattern before for myself, so it went very smoothly. After my last project, this was a nice break.
This is the first time I’ve made my mom a shirt, and there are a few changes I would make if I were to make this shirt again since I boldly made no muslin. Lucky for me, most of Liesl & Co patterns are soundly drafted and fit pretty accurately.
I could make a forward shoulder adjustment, make the neckline smaller, and make a narrow shoulder adjustment. I chose the pattern size that corresponded to my mom’s bust, size 12. Her hips are a bit bigger than that pattern is drawn for, but there seems to be enough ease. I also shortened the length by two inches for her. She’s 5’8″ so the top is drafted quite long. Keep that in mind.
I shortened mine, too. It’s almost as long as a mini dress if it isn’t shortened. Also, I would shorten it from the pattern lines instead of trimming from the bottom. That way you don’t remove width from the hip. Which was what I did because we didn’t notice it should be shorter until I had basted it together. One more reason for muslins!
My mom really loved this fabric. I had originally bought this fabric from Joann’s to make myself a flannel Archer shirt about two years ago. I never got around to sewing it…. surprise, surprise. This year I’m on a fabric fast, so it came in handy for this top. I’m exempting the occasional freebie from fabric sponsors though. I’m only human, after all.
Actually, I came very close to driving to downtown LA yesterday to buy fabric. I was on the way and then I turned around. I am very proud of my will power! Here it is, only January, and I’m almost falling off the wagon. Hopefully, it will get easier to not buy any clothes or fabric.
I do have lots of projects planned this year using only fabric from my stash. Yay!
Mom loves her Gallery Tunic.
Happy sewing!
Nice job, Justine! I’m imagining your mom is so proud of you and the amazing sewing talent that you’ve mastered. I’m so happy to hear this was a fun project for you!!
Thanks Justine! I’m glad I finally made her something she wanted.
Your mom is beautiful and the tunic looks great! Since I am a self taught beginner, maybe I should try this pattern? Thank you for all the inspiration! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures
I knew this was your mom the minute I saw the photo 🙂 What a lovely shirt; she looks very happy in it. I really like the plaid.
How sweet! Great job on that turn-around! You can do it!!! 🙂
Such a cute shirt and the fabric looks so soft. I’ll bet your mom loves it. By the way, yesterday my three year old granddaughter came over wearing a dress that had a big ruffle on the bottom of the sleeve, just like you silk blouse. It looked adorable on her. Now we know who looks good in those sleeves. 🙂
I would like to make this pattern – it really fits into my style preferences. Agree with you about the Liesl pattern drafting. I made a winter coat using the Simplicity pattern featuring the funnel neck collar, it seems to be very popular. Anyway, I did a muslin and the fit was so great, I only needed to reduce the collar height and a forward shoulder adjustment. It’s pretty rare for me to have so little change to a pattern. Thanks for showing the possibility with this tunic, and to your mother for modeling it!