FO: Behold the Textured Tunic March 2, 2008

A couple more views:

Done! It’s done. I was really uncertain about this project until the final button got sewn on, mostly because the shoulder slit thing just wasn’t working out for me. The tight fit on my shoulders made it unflattering, plus it let the bra strap show.

*Not* pretty. (and I didn’t feel like taking a picture of that, so you’ll have to take my word for it.)

Pattern: Textured Tunic from Fitted Knits by Stephanie Japel.

Yarn Used: elsebeth lavold chunky AL (50% Alpaca 50% Peruvian Wool); 7 balls in Maple Leaf for the smallest bust size

Needles: US 10″ circulars

Time to Knit: about 2 weeks

Mods:

-Body: I added some shaping to the body. Basically I started with the smallest size because I read that the tunic tends to be on the baggy side and I wanted it to be fitted in the upper torso. But then after the Box Stitch section (which I made shorter than what the pattern calls for — so that it would fit my bust) I made decreases (2 st every other row, 3 times = 6 st) to the waist level, and then increased the same way (2 st every other row 3 times = 6st) to accommodate my hips. Actually I probably could have added more ease around the hips.

-Sleeves: I went with the smallest size and that probably wasn’t a good idea, the sleeves are pretty stretched across my arms, it would have been better to go one size up I think. I shortened the Box Stitch section again, to match the body. I misread the instructions and started the upper arm decreases 6 rows too late (mid Box Stitch section), but that wasn’t a problem actually I think the upper sleeves would have been too small if that hadn’t happened. If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn’t decrease at all, to be honest. I also shortened the sleeves a bit.

- I didn’t do the whole hip flap thing that the pattern called for, I had just read to many horror stories about it online, and I didn’t feel proficient enough to tailor it to my shape if need be. So I just set up the side slits and then continued the front and the back separately keeping the seed stitch edge on each side until the length was about right.

- Finally, I ended up closing the shoulder peekaboo slit (there is a bit of a bulge there, which I was too lazy to fix), and just sewed on 3 decorative buttons — I also added one button on each sleeve.

Overall: a quick and easy knit, but I would recommend modifying the pattern to your body type. The beauty is that since it’s a top-down construction, it’s very easy to try it on as you go and make the mods that seem appropriate.
So there you go, that’s my Textured Tunic, and I’m pretty happy with it!