How to Transform an Embroidered Beach Cover-Up into a Trendy Tunic

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Jennifer Stern, contributor

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My latest thrift store find.

Jen Stern

Sketch your design.

Jen Stern

Use a ruler to mark off a 2-inch band around the neck.

Jen Stern

My latest thrift store find.

Photo: Jen Stern

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Mark the center front and back of the yoke and tunic sections. Matching the center point, pin the sections to the yoke.

If you're working on a dressform, overlap the tunic sections over the yoke and stick pins into the dressform to hold the fabric in place.

If the front or back section is too wide to fit on the yoke, pull the gathers in a little tighter to get a good fit.

Take a closer look at the gathers to make sure they are evenly distributed.

Because we are attaching the front/back sections to the yoke, the bottom of the front and back armholes might not match up exactly. Pin the side seams, making sure that the tunic fabric is hanging straight. Don't try to line up the armholes because it will throw off the grain of the front and back bodice. Use a wash-away marker to scoop out the armhole that is higher. If the armhole looks like it is too low, adjust the lower armhole by moving the neckline of the tunic a little higher on the yoke (closer to where the shoulder seam would be if there was one). Then scoop out the higher armhole if it's still necessary.

I scooped out the front armhole to match the back armhole.

After the armholes are matched up, check to see if there is too much fullness in the front. Because we transferred all the fullness from the bust dart to the hem, there will probably be too much fabric in the front. If the seam between the center- and side-front pieces is pointing toward the center instead of hanging straight, that's a sure sign that there is too much fabric in the side-front piece (where we transferred the fullness from the bust dart). Unpin the side seam and pull the excess out by offsetting the seam as shown below.

Notice that I did not take any extra fabric out of the back-side seam.

Join me next Saturday, and we will finish our tunics. Check out how easy it is to put the pieces together and learn how to use a knit strip to finish the armhole and yoke. If you need help to get your tunic to this point, shoot me a comment! Happy sewing!

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Comments (2)

JenniferStern writes: Thanks, I was soooo excited when I found all that embroidery! I typically do not wear that much embroidery...my sister has scooped up the finished top. I got some great scoop neck tees at Target, and I think I'm going to try this pattern using them...maybe I'll use different colors. I'll post it when it's done! Happy hunting in your closet!
Posted: 9:17 am on August 9th

SusieQP writes: What an awesome thrift shop find! Such a beautiful embroidered piece! I can't wait for next week to see the finished project.

Your detailed directions and photos are very inspiring! I'm going to have to go through my closet and take out some old clothing that is now too big for me and see if I have anything I can alter like this. What a great idea!


Posted: 12:24 am on August 9th

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