Sewing: Grey Linen Tunic

Despite the fact that I resolved in January to try to do more pottery, what I've been in the mood for lately is sewing. I'm still under a fabric-buying embargo, so when the sewing mood is upon me, I try to think of projects that can be made from fabric I already own. My stash is predominantly a mixture of velvet/satin/taffeta and linen. The fancy fabrics were great when I was going to the Riverside Dickens Fest every year, but less great in the UK where I don't go to any Victorian events. So that leaves linen. I have three pieces of linen in my stash that are destined to become tunics or tunic-dresses. I enjoy making tunics because they're easy, comfortable, and can do double duty as SCA garb and (slightly eccentric) weekend lounge/casual wear.

Sewing Project: Viking-Victorian Shirt, part 1

I hate shopping for clothes.

I'm 5'11" and 205 pounds, not terribly curvy, and I have an abnormally long abdomen. This means I'm too big for "normal" sizes, but don't really fill out most plus-size clothes. Store-bought clothes are invariably too short in the legs, sleeves, and waist and too tight in the thighs.

Mmmm, stripes.

In the US, after years of trial and error, I found a few shops that carry basic items that don't look horrible on me, but in the UK, I'm at a loss. Up to now, my solution has mostly been to not buy new clothes, but after nearly five years, my work wardrobe is now looking a bit shabby.

In an attempt to remedy the situation, I looked through my fabric stash to see whether I had anything that could be turned into business casual attire. After a bit of rummaging, I turned up five yards of cotton shirting with a subtle woven stripe. I originally bought it thinking I would make a Regency gown, but I've carried it for something like 8 years across two continents, and I don't really have any 19th century costumed events to attend here, so I might as well use it for something a bit more practical.