Mesh tunic top

This is a great Vogue 8582 tunic by Marcy Tilton that I've made four times now - and I'll probably make it again! Easy to make, and with quirky details. It has a twisted neckband (or not, as you prefer), and a super-flattering and modern asymmetrical hem.

My mom, wearing her new tunic

This top seems loose, and (being lazy) I've made it without a full bust adjustment, but I have to say that if you need the adjustment, the top fits much better with than without.

I made this version as a gift for my mom, using mesh fabric. There are instructions for sewing mesh on the Gorgeous Fabrics blog and on Marcy Tilton's website as well. It's worth having a look at both methods.

Ann of Gorgeous Fabrics has a mesh tutorial on her blog. She explains how you can cut a double layer and leave each layer unhemmed. Marcy shows how you can double the fabric with the hem placed on the fold. (There is a post called "double-layer knits" on page 4 of the tutorials.)

Don't be intimidated by these descriptions, though - it's really easy to work with mesh.

Thanks also to Shelley at Marcy Tilton for pointing out this fabric to me. It was on sale for $5 a yard and it made a fabulous top and it just seemed a perfect refined mauve and black look for a go-with-all-your-black-trousers top.

For this top, I doubled the mesh for the body of the tunic and I used a single layer of mesh for the sleeves. I left the sleeves unhemmed - no problem at all and it looks fine. I slipstitched the side seam hems in place by hand. It was very fast and it turned out great.

Hard to see the binding here, but it's flat, not twisted

This pattern comes with instructions for twisting the binding at the neckline. This looks great on some fabrics, but I didn't like it so much here, so I just sewed on the neckline binding in the usual way.

I'll try to post some pictures of other versions of this tunic top - it's a winner.