BKI Knockoff Tunic Top

One more like I promised....

Can you guess which one is the impostor?!

 The one in the middle! 

So the story goes is that I have these sheer tunic tops from Brooklyn Industries that I love. I love them so much that every time we would get one in the store, my coworkers knew I was going to buy one. (I have a few other sheer tunic tops from them!) Wandering around in the fabric store about a month or so ago, I found this floral sheer print fabric and knew it would be perfect for another tunic top. It was only $6 a yard, so I figured I would try sewing with sheer fabric.

If only I had a pattern! I looked around on Burda for something that could be a tunic top approximation and even in the store for a pattern from another brand but.... no dice. It seemed like there was a general lack of tunic tops as a whole everywhere I looked. 

So, as always, I got to work making my own sewing pattern. 

I paid VERY close attention to detail on this one as I wanted to see how close of a knock off I could make it. 

There are 6 pintucks on each side of the front bodice - something I thought would be more difficult than it actually was. Especially in sheer fabric! I've done pintucks before long, long ago in college but I never have sewn with a sheer fabric. This was surprisingly easy.

The pintucks on the shoulder eliminate the need for darts on the bust. I also made the overall patten very straight, just like the original. 

 I even added a rounded back yoke and made a classic princess seamline like the original as well as a shirt-tail hem. I kinda went all out on this. 

Because it's a sheer fabric, I went ahead and made enclosed seams on it which is basically like sewing the garment twice. You can see that I got lazy by the end with the armholes and hem and just serged the edges. The original one is sewn using a self-binding but I just wanted to make my life easy and not cut binding or fuss with folding it over. 

I do think I'll make this style again eventually. I even like that I eliminated the problem of the neckline popping open like the original BKI design has. I think they wanted the neckline to be unbuttoned at the top button to make a v-shape neckline but.... it mostly annoys me where it sits. Bonus: My design is not annoying! 

*****

I'm still basically on my self-imposed summer break (or longer?) from the blog. Updating has been a habit, but I am also not that great at updating all that often. So.... long story short: I might be around, I might not be. I'll always post if I make something but don't expect a miracle. 

I am making something very soon for a special blogger-friend but won't reveal who she is. I'll let her post all about the dress when it's done, but you may still get sneak peeks on the Instagram!