10-26-2010, 04:53 AM
Picture two rectangles of cloth, selvages at the top and bottom, lying on top of each other. Same sized panels. Sew from the upper corner in toward the center, from both sides, leaving the desired area of selvage unsewn at the top center as the neckhole. Make sure there's a half inch from the neck hole that you sew back to the shoulders. Double sewn, because this corner is the weak spot of the whole garment. Weak=most likely to tear under stress.
On my tunic, I then rolled the cut edges at the shoulder (both sides of the neckhole) under and sewed over the fold, capturing the cut edges underneath. With finer weave cloth, that would not have been necessary.
Then, from the bottom, sew up both sides, leaving the armholes the size you think is right. These should be bigger than any sleeve on your shirts or garments. I often leave about 12-14" unsewn, making a 24-28" circumference hole for the arms. Loose. Even floppy. It works, you'll see. The open, cut ends of that are what is to be hemmed. A hem is a seam made from the same, single piece of cloth, folded back on itself. Look at the bottom of the leg of your jeans. That's a "folded under hem". You can see it pretty easily there. You may or may not need to fold it under. You'll know after the first time you wash, or by the fourth or fifth tunic you sew (experience will teach you which cloth you can trust not to unravel too much).
1. Sew the shoulders.
2. Sew the sides.
3. Hem the "cuffs", or whatever you call the armhole edges of a tunic.
4. Pat yourself on the back. You are now well within the 1% of the population who have experience with sewing by hand.
Naturally, if you wanted to, you could sew the whole thing on a machine in 20 minutes or less. A typical tunic, made like I've described takes me about two or three hours of steady sewing. You'll learn how much thread to put on the needle. BTW, button thread works just fine for tunic weight material. It's about three times as thick as regular thread and ten times less likely to tangle, twist and break, but only about twice as expensive. I almost always use it, if I don't use unravelled threads from the fabric. The eyes sort of like it when I treat them nicely, and the garment will look better when you can see each thread well as you sew. Age. Once you figure out how to do something, the eyes begin to go. Sigh. :|
On my tunic, I then rolled the cut edges at the shoulder (both sides of the neckhole) under and sewed over the fold, capturing the cut edges underneath. With finer weave cloth, that would not have been necessary.
Then, from the bottom, sew up both sides, leaving the armholes the size you think is right. These should be bigger than any sleeve on your shirts or garments. I often leave about 12-14" unsewn, making a 24-28" circumference hole for the arms. Loose. Even floppy. It works, you'll see. The open, cut ends of that are what is to be hemmed. A hem is a seam made from the same, single piece of cloth, folded back on itself. Look at the bottom of the leg of your jeans. That's a "folded under hem". You can see it pretty easily there. You may or may not need to fold it under. You'll know after the first time you wash, or by the fourth or fifth tunic you sew (experience will teach you which cloth you can trust not to unravel too much).
1. Sew the shoulders.
2. Sew the sides.
3. Hem the "cuffs", or whatever you call the armhole edges of a tunic.
4. Pat yourself on the back. You are now well within the 1% of the population who have experience with sewing by hand.
Naturally, if you wanted to, you could sew the whole thing on a machine in 20 minutes or less. A typical tunic, made like I've described takes me about two or three hours of steady sewing. You'll learn how much thread to put on the needle. BTW, button thread works just fine for tunic weight material. It's about three times as thick as regular thread and ten times less likely to tangle, twist and break, but only about twice as expensive. I almost always use it, if I don't use unravelled threads from the fabric. The eyes sort of like it when I treat them nicely, and the garment will look better when you can see each thread well as you sew. Age. Once you figure out how to do something, the eyes begin to go. Sigh. :|
M. Demetrius Abicio
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
(David Wills)
Saepe veritas est dura.
