I’m so excited to be part of the Just for me January Blog tour hosted by Sisboom Pattern Company. This also happens to be my first post and first sewing project of the new year (yeah I’ve been slacking off) so hopefully that means I’ll be sewing a whole lot of clothes for myself this year.

I have never sewn with Sisboom patterns before, so I had several great patterns to choose from but with the insanely cold weather around here, sleeveless was not an option for me. Also I have a whole pinterest board on bell sleeves that I have been wanting to try so I picked the Shana Bell sleeved tunic. I love the simple A line shape of this tunic and the gathered bell sleeve.

We had some really good weather this weekend so I’m glad we were able to get outdoor pictures, I never get decent indoor shots.

I made a couple changes to the pattern that I will get to in just a minute but first the fabric. It’s a border print cotton gauze fabric that I purchased last year with the intention of turning it into a summer maxi for me but instead ended up making a pretty Sullivan maxi for my daughter. The remaining was not enough for my maxi anymore so the fabric was sorta sitting there waiting for the right project. As soon as I picked this pattern, I knew it had to be this fabric, it has a good drape and I love how the flowers are densely populated in the bottom and thin out towards the top.

The one change I made to the pattern is the neckline. It originally has a curved yoke and facing. I taped the yoke back to the bodice taking into account the seam allowance and then smoothed out the curve to form a soft V neckline. I traced out a facing  in the same way and constructed the garment as per the instructions. In doing so, the neckline ended up a little lower than intended but hopefully not inappropriately so.

This tunic has a fair amount of ease but along with the shape of the sleeves and drape of the fabric, it works perfectly. I made the 3/4th length sleeves but the pattern has cut lines for varying sleeve lengths so you can choose the length based on where you want the sleeve to hit you. The tunic length also has several cut lines, I chose the shortest cut line and shortened the bodice by about 1″ at the waist because i’m only 5′.

I found the pattern well drafted, it even includes all the notch markings for the curved yoke and facings. The instructions and pictures were clear and detailed and include clean seam finishing instructions.

While I was making this tunic, I have been dreaming of another Shana Bell Sleeved tunic with an embroidered V-neck yoke and a georgette bodice. I hope I can make it in time for spring. What about you? what have you been sewing for yourself this month? Would you like to win a copy of the Shana Bell Sleeved tunic pattern so you can whip up a cute tunic for yourself? All you have to do is leave me a comment, and I’ll pick a random winner by the end of this week. Good Luck!

Head on over to these fabulous bloggers’ posts for more chances to win free Sisboom Patterns all of this week and next!

Wednesday, January 18th: Sew Haute Blog Friday, January 20th: Troops to Tots

Monday, January 23rd: idlesunshine Tuesday, January 24th: Not Sew Selfish

Wednesday, January 25th: Glitter in My Coffee Friday, January 27th: Sparrow in Flight

Monday, January 30th: A Crazy Craft Lady

Happy Sewing!