Emerson tunic

I finished up Ellie's new tunic last week and I'm happy to say, she loves it!  I followed the Emerson tunic dress tutorial, but re-drafted the pattern for about a size 6, kept it short-ish (so it's more of a top than a dress), and divided the back into two sections like the front, so I could use this awesome Essex yarn dyed linen/cotton in denim for the yoke.  The patterned fabric is something I bought at Hobby Lobby years ago.

I  didn't add the decorative buttons, bird applique, or the strip in the back that the tutorial calls for.  I didn't think it needed those extras, plus Ellie and I thought the buttons down the back might make it uncomfortable for sitting.  The sleeve/shoulder/side seam construction is a bit unusual:  you turn under and hem the sleeves and side seams first, then stitch the side seams together.  I would never have thought of constructing a garment this way, but it ends up making a pretty nice silhouette.

I really like how it turned out overall, but I'm most proud of the inside.  Every single seam is finished!  I repeat:  there are no raw edges anywhere on this garment.  I used a flat-felled seam to join the yoke to the patterned fabric, and french seams at the top of the sleeves.  The side seam construction called for in the tutorial results in a finished side seam, and the extra fabric strip at the inside of the neck line hides the raw edges there.  Can you tell I'm feeling kinda accomplished here?

Here's a happy girl (with her silly you're-taking-a-photo-of-me smile) in her finished top.  It works well for fort playing, too!  Although Ellie and I both like the shape of the shoulders/sleeves, big brother wasn't so convinced.  His comment:  "Mom, you're like that guy on Project Runway who always made the shoulders too big."  I think he was referring to Elena Slivnyak from Season 10...