Lucky Ring Collars and Charms

I just found the opportunity to make the ring collared tunic, which I shortened to a top. This top reminded me of a dress that I made from a 60's pattern last year!





Vanity pics:



Pattern Description
"Misses'/miss petite dress or tunic with yoke variations." You also have options for embellishments such as bows, jewel trim, and buttons.

Directions
Four pages worth of clear and concise directions and reliable illustrations. The directions for the the sleeveless dress or tunic come first followed by the sleeveless yoke, "yoke with flat sleeves" and its corresponding neck band, "yoke with flat sleeves and slit openings", "yoke with flat sleeves and band", "yoke with gathered sleeves and band" and its corresponding neck band.

I interfaced the sleeveless front and back yoke pieces and stitched them together at the seams. I sewed the corresponding facing pieces (sans the interfacing) the same way. Then I sewed the facing to the interfaced yoke pieces, right sides together at the necline, armhole edgesand reinforced the inner corners with a few repeat stitches and clipped the inner corners. I also edge finished the facing.

On the last page, common to all versions are the directions for stitching the rest of the dress which includes stitching the front and back to the sleeveless yoke and the other yokes. I was not really impressed by the directions to insert a zipper. I could have omitted the zipper because I had more than enough clearance to slip the dress over my head.







Fabric
Last sewable remnant of my stretch cotton fabric, orignally purchased at Gorgeous Things.


Likes
*Easy to cut and easy to sew.

*The ring collar and sleeveless retro style

*Self-faced

*Versatility of pattern in terms of the types of yoke, sleeve and length options, and embellishments.




Dislikes

*The tunic/dress had quite a bit of ease. I could have done away with the zipper and stitch the back center seams. With the zipper closed, I was able to easily pull the top over my head.

*I cut a "14" which was somewhat baggy, which I would rather have than skin tight. I probably would have been better off with a "12."

*I did not like the instructions for the zipper. I find that Burda WOFS have invisible zipper tutorials that are decent.

*I did not like slight bagginess in the back caused by the gathered backs attached to the front and back yokes. I would redraft the back to eliminate the gathering, and to lessen the ease.





Modifications
* I shortened the tunic into a top because I was running out of fabric.

* I attached the zipper before slipstitching the facings over the seams created by the front and back yokes stitched to the gathered front and back of the dress. The directions have you slip-stitch after attaching the zipper.


Would you recommend this pattern? Would you sew it again?
Yes, I recommend this pattern if you like something simple to sew and if the styles on the pattern envelope appeal to you. If I use this pattern again, I would sew the same version, doing away with the gathers below the front and back yokes.

Conclusion
I found the sleeveless style the highlight of this pattern.