Sadie Tunic by Laela Jeyne Patterns

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I've really enjoyed reading reviews from our newest members here at Pattern Revolution. It's really awesome to see where they shine best and to incorporate them into our team wherever they fit best. Today we have Rachel back to share her review of the Sadie Tunic by new designer, Laela Jeyne Patterns. Keep reading to see what she thought and see her cute version of the tunic, and then pop over to Laela Jeyne Patterns for 25% off her entire shop! Sale runs through 11:59pm EST Sunday, April 19th!

I mentioned in my last review that I’ve been trying to sew more with wovens for my girl this spring, and tunics in particular. The Sadie Tunic from Laela Jeyne Designs fit the bill, so I was excited to try it out. This tunic is a peasant style top, with a few twists. The square neckline gives it a unique look, and the functional back placket is a really nice change from the typical elasticated opening on a peasant top. The short sleeves are very full, and sandwiched with bias tape for a cute trim. I used the same fabric that I used for my neck piece, but a decorative bias tape would be really sweet here, too.

The instructions are fairly detailed, but I would recommend this pattern for people who have a bit of sewing experience already. The placket has several steps for assembly that are outlined in the pattern and illustrated with photographs. There are three different placket lengths based on the size of the tunic you’re sewing, though I still found it to be a little long - it nearly reached the gathered waistline of my tunic. The square neck piece is assembled by joining a number of pieces and then sandwiching the pre-gathered neckline of the top. I used my serger to gather the bodice, which worked well here, but it was a little fiddly for me to squeeze all of the gathered fabric neatly into the neck piece.

The finished tunic was a nice length but too full width wise for my slim 5 ½ year old, especially through the chest - I sewed the size 4 based on her measurements, but as the bodice used nearly the full width of fabric there was just a lot that had to be gathered to fit. The top and bottom of the tunic form a casing for the elastic waist when they’re sewn together; you may want to adjust where the casing sits based on where your child’s high waist is, as the fullness of the gathered waist was a little uncomfortable for P. The end result wasn’t exactly the lightweight spring tunic I’d envisioned, but with a long sleeve tee underneath it might make a nice transitional piece for cooler weather. Here in the Northeastern US, we’ve still got a bit of that to contend with!

Until next time,
Rachel