A Fabulous Dress! Draped Collar Tunic.

The collar is shaped beautifully and sets into the garment well. 

 It's summer  right now, where I live, and  it's hot and humid.  This pattern, Paco Peralta's Draped Collar Tunic, worked very well with my fine knit.  The knit is drapey and therefore not "widening" to the figure when it's being worn.  It is widening in still photos, especially with the stripes horizontal, but trust me,  with movement in wearing it, it's not that way in real life. 

This pattern is beautifully drafted.  I made the size "small" and it was plenty large enough for my RTW size 8 frame.  I lengthened it to make a dress instead of a tunic. 

I can't wait to make up more "Paco" patterns!  This one was absolutely impeccably drafted, and hand labeled and lined.  And the paper is sturdy but very foldable. I would imagine all of his patterns are like this one in that way. 

The only thing in any way tricky about making this style up is the way the shoulder seam interacts with the collar.  So here are some photos. 



Shoulder seam.  Note that the collar piece becomes part of the front shoulder. 


Paco has some great photos and explanation here on his blog.  To supplement these, I created some detailed sewing instructions in English, thinking they might be helpful to some of you.  Look for these at the end of this post. 


Another view of the collar and shoulder seam. 



Finished! 

Sewing Directions for Paco Peralta’s Draped Tunic Top
By Barbara Bell, Cat Fur Studio

June, 2012

Sew all seams with serger unless directed otherwise. Fit as you go, and of course, adjust the pattern beforehand as you need. As for me, length was my only issue. I added length in the body and in the sleeves.

This pattern is for a top or tunic, but I chose to make a dress, so I added 2 inches at the hem (even after executing my normal length adjustments) to end up with an above-the-knee dress design. Perfect with heels on a relaxed but professional day at work.


1. For the collar piece, reinforce all four corners. Straight-stitch 5/8 inch from edge, pivoting at corners. Stitching should continue along seamline approximately 1 inch away from each pivot point.


2. Serge-finish the curved edge of the collar piece on one side only. This piece will hang free in your finished garment. If you’re using a knit fabric, this is optional, as knit does not ravel.


3. Serge together the collar piece at the center back seam. Press to one side.


4. Now, it’s time to pick up the front body piece, which you’ll attach to the public side of the front collar. Serge one side of the front collar to the front body piece at the neckline. You will be matching convex (collar piece) to concave (body piece). Match the points at CF and at each side, and sew in one seam. Press seam allowance toward collar side.


5. Now for the back body piece. At the shoulders, on each side, starting from the outer edge, and using a straight stitch, stitch the back body to the front body. The match point on the back will line up with the seam on the front (where the collar meets the front body). The front body INCLUDES some of the collar, up to the marked pivot point. Keep stitching until you get to the pivot point (where you reinforced in step one above). Stitch right over your reinforcement stitching, and STOP and back stitch at each pivot point.


6. Now, on the collar, on the side you just stitched, clip into the corners on each side. Starting at the corner on one side, and straight-stitching directly over your reinforcement stitching, sew the collar to the back neck side of the back body piece. Backstitch directly over the corner, stitch, and then be sure to end your stitching at the opposite side, stopping directly at the reinforced corner, then backstitch to secure.


7. You have one side of the collar attached to the ‘public’ side of the garment. Now, it’s time to attach the inside of the collar to the garment. Turn your tunic inside out, so that the wrong sides of the body are outside.


8. Clip the corners to the reinforcement stitching on the as yet unstitched side of the collar. Match all seams. Straight-stitch the inside back of the collar, starting at the edge of one side, all the way to the other side. Line the unstitched side up, match the raw seams, and stitch exactly on the previous stitching line.


9. You now have a nicely finished back neckline, inside and out. Leave the front part of the collar unstitched. It will hang free inside the garment. It will drape down nicely and will not be visible when wearing. You could tack it down at CF or even stitch it down all around, but this is not necessary. Relax. The hard part is done.


10. Time to sew on the sleeves. You’ll do this on the “flat”. Simply serge the sleeves onto the body making sure to match points and edges. Press seam toward the shoulder (not down into the sleeve). I think it looks nicer this way.


11. Now for the home stretch. Sew the side seams. Use the serger. Very easy! Muy facil!


12. Hem all around.


13. Y, ahora, usted tiene uno vestido fabuloso! (And now, you have one fabulous dress!)

Enjoy!  Barbara