Terra Tunic - with a cowl neck hack

Pattern - Love Notions Terra Tunic
Skill Level - Confident Beginner
Fabric - Discovery Fabrics' Bamboo Terry
Skills - Basic Pattern Hacking

The Terra Tunic was the first pattern I was privileged to help test for Love Notions and it will always have a place in my heart.  The Terra Tunic is a straight fitting top while not being too fitted.  One of the great things about this pattern is the variety of neck styles - scoop, v-neck, funnel, boat, asymmetrical and hooded.  I've sewn 4 of them and found them all an easy sew.  This time, however, I wanted to take the cowl neck from the La Bella Donna and put it on the Terra Tunic.

I had a length of beautiful bamboo terry from Discovery Fabrics that I wanted to use - a deep rich purple with a wonderful hand and lovely drape.  The soft inside will be just so cosy when cool weather comes.  Discovery Fabrics carries quality fabrics at reasonable prices and their service is always excellent.

We are often asked in the Love Notions Pattern Support group if it's possible to take a neckline or sleeve from one pattern and take it to another.  And of course, the answer is yes - and it's actually quite easy.

First I print out and tape together the pattern - but I don't trim the pattern yet.

I lay the La Bella Donna pattern on top of the Terra Tunic front and back, tracing the neckline on the pattern.  Now that I have the neckline I want, I simply use the cowl neck piece from the La Bella Donna and sew it in following the instructions for La Bella Donna.  It's a simple as that!

Serging the side seams

The Terra Tunic has a split hem with the back being a little longer than the front.  The instructions say to machine stitch the side seams - and of course that works perfectly.  I love my serger, however, and wanted to serge those side seams.  But how do you do that with a split hem?  It's not hard!

I machine stitch the area at the top of the split hem - starting a couple of inches above.

Then I serge the seam starting at the sleeve end and when I get to the machine stitched portion, I veer off sharply - I fold the seam off to the left to make this move easier.

Now to the ironing board.  Press side seams to the back and when you get to the split hem, fold back the vent pieces and give it a good steam press.  If you have a clapper, this is one of those perfect times to use it so you get the top of the vent as flat as possible.

I love my Terra Tunics.

 I've made matching mother/daughter ones for my daughter-in-law and granddaughter with the boat necks.   If you want to know how I made my granddaughter's tunic to match her mother's check this link out - Mummy & Me Terra Tunics.

I've used the asymmetrical neck for one I did a Love Notions blog post on embellishing with grommets.  If you want to know more about this one, here's a link - How to Add Grommets to a Split Hem.

And I used an amazing border print for the funnel neck Terra Tunic I made during testing.

The Terra Tunic gives you options that allow you to make comfortable, attractive tunics with neck styles that will make every shirt different and unique.  If you don't already have this pattern, you can get it through my affiliate link below.

Love Notions Terra Tunic

Panels and Borders and Patterns - oh my!

Patterns - multiple Love Notions patterns - links at the bottom of the page
Fabric - l'oiseau fabrics
Skills - working with panels and borders

It will come as a surprise to no one who knows me that I'm a little obsessed with panel and border fabrics!  This is probably an extension of my love of all kinds of puzzles, and hence my "handle" of puzzlnut!  I love a challenge and getting the most out of a beautiful panel or border is an exciting one.

Love Notions has lots of patterns that are tailor made for panels - and l'oiseau fabrics has the panels and border prints to perfectly complement them.  Let's looks at a few patterns first and then we'll talk about making the most of those panels.

Some panels are small enough to get a perfect little shirt and the L'il LDT in size 5 is wonderful for displaying all of the components that this zebra panel had and still leave large scraps for other projects.

Sometimes a panel must be pieced so you can get the whole project out of one panel.  This amazing bear and rabbit panel was picked by my grandson to make him a hoodie.  This particular panel was big - as in about 60" x a yard and a quarter!

The Vanguard Kit has options for colour blocking that allowed me to get a size 7 hoodie by taking advantage of the sleeve options.  I was even able to squeeze lining for the hood from the panel! I'm told it's my grandson's favourite shirt!

You can even make alterations to a pattern to get the most out of your panel.  I extended the Hazelwood Hoodie to a dress length to get the most out of the panel my granddaughter picked out.  Don't be fooled by her serious expression - she loves the hooded dress!

The picture at the top of the page is a beautiful border print which is no longer carried.  The Terra Tunic, with the mini alteration of making the front and back pieces the same length, worked perfectly to display the panel and give me a unique garment that always gets me compliments.

I used the Terra Tunic recently to make a shirt for my daughter who loves fantasy fiction.  I did cheat a bit as I had scraps left from making a shirt for an order which allowed me to get 3/4 sleeves.  I could have gotten short sleeves without it and still make the XXL shirt from the Terra Tunic pattern.

Here's the front.

And the back.

And then there's the La Bella Donna - with a few alterations it was perfect for this border print.  I evened the hem and put in a scoop neck - just because I like a scoop neck.  I also cut the sleeve cuffs from the border print.  This shirt is definitely one of my favourites to wear!

If there's not quite enough fabric to complete the garment, you have to find something that will echo colours in the panel  I used the Rockford Raglan to make this shirt for my daughter-in-law.

My original thought was red sleeves and neckband to echo the red in the umbrella, but my daughter-in-law preferred grey and I must say I agree with her choice as it doesn't detract from the panel.

Another pattern that is perfect for border prints and panels is the Prisma and it's what I used for this size 10 dress for a customer.  I'll use it to demonstrate how to get the most out of your panel.

The Prisma was perfect for this particular panel as it allowed me to get the front and back of the dress from the long tree/donkey pieces.

The first thing you need to do is to find the visual centre of the piece you're going to cut.

For me, the visual centre was right at the edge of the donkey's hat.

Now fold the fabric evenly along that line and see if your pattern piece will fit.

And the narrow a-line profile of the Prisma fit perfectly!

I've shown you a few patterns and how they worked with panels and I list them below, but there are more  You can click on any of my affiliate links below to get these patterns if you don't already have them.  And if you're looking for amazing panels, check out l'oiseau fabrics as they have a wonderful selection! A great pattern paired with a great panel, add a little imagination and you've got a unique one-of-a-kind garment.  Give it a try!

Love Notions Terra Tunic
Love Notions Rockford Raglan for Ladies
Love Notions La Bella Donna Top & Tunic
Love Notions Vanguard Kit
Love Notions L'il LDT for Girls
Love Notions Prisma Dress
Love Notions Hazelwood Hoodie