I recently sewed another of the fabrics I bought when Waechter’s went out of business. This one is an Italian linen, light blue and white tiny gingham check. My idea was to make a tunic to wear over a bathing suit and shorts in order to be “dressed” for lunch or cocktails.
I had several patterns from which to choose but ended up using this one for a man’s beach shirt. I think I was seduced by the stripes. Actually, there were a lot of things I liked about this one, from the straight collar to the side vents at the hem.
I also loved the pockets and how they sat right on the hem. In the directions the pockets were attached as they were top-stitched, but I geve them a second line of stitching at the edge.
The side vents were a bit tricky, though they turned out well. Actually they overlap incorrectly, but I really don’t think anyone will care that the front laps over the back.
I’m blaming the instructions. They show the vent in the process of being sewn, and it says to finish the same as View A. The problem is that View A did not have the vents! So I just worked through it, and they look fine.
Inside, all the seams are flat felled. The fabric was just too ravelly to leave unfinished.
Since I planned on only wearing this tunic over another garment, I was not too concerned with the length of the front opening. If I had it to do over, I’d have made the opening several inches shorter. On one recent chilly evening I grabbed this tunic to wear on a walk and realized that I loved the way it looked and felt. I’ve since closed the opening a bit so as not to be over-exposed!
The Vintage Traveler 