I call this the “every day tunic” because it quite literally is. Since I made this, I have worn it at least three times a week. This is the easiest top to go over leggings and doesn’t look too bad when jazzed up with accessories. It also doesn’t cling to my postpartum belly, which is a bonus.

I’ve been wanting to make a tunic forever for the express reason that a tunic is literally a rectangle with a couple gaps in the seams for arms and heads to poke through. I loved this project because it was easy enough to start and finish in an afternoon while my newborn slept.

I made two unintentional muslins before succeeding with the fuchsia striped jersey. The firat iteration was in a fun grey and tie-die stripe that worked out except that I goofed on the length and inadvertently made a crop top. 

As I hate using a stretch stitch on visible seams, I made cuffs to bind everything, which looked okay, but tended to flip inside out without a top stitch.

The second version was meant to be a little jazzier with contrast cuffs and a sort if rounded slit at the sides. This one didn’t work out for two reasons. The first: the jersey had too much body and didn’t drape like I wanted it to.

Secondly: I goofed and sewed armband on inside out, exposing the serging when it was flipped up. I didn’t toss the top as I think I can reuse the fabric. It is just a rectangle!

For this top, it seems the third time is the charm. By this time, I had a really good idea on dimensions – including the openings. I also decided yo give my double needle a go to avoid the added complication if all those bands and cuffs to bind the openings. I had some success and managed to avoid any tunneling, but did have a few skipped stitches. I’ll definitely continue to use the double needle. It’s a super pretty way to hem knits!