In addition to a nice new dress to wear on Christmas Day, I also like to have a special top to wear on New Year’s Eve. 2016 was no exception. When buying the Monochrome jersey for the Christmas Day dress, I tucked a length of Star Sequinned Black Jersey fabric into my bag.

This is a very stretchy jersey base, covered in sparkling stars and “glitter”. Due to the “in your face” fabric, there was no need for a complicated tunic top and in any event I had purchased only 1.5m of the wide-width fabric. I turned to my TNT Bettina bodice and hacked it!

First I extended the length by 8inches beyond the waistline and then included the long sleeves in the pattern layout. I would not use any facings as the neckline, sleeves and hem would all be turned to the inside and top stitched.

The construction process was REALLY quick! I used a small lightning stitch on the shoulders whilst including some narrow georgette ribbon to stabilise the seam. The bust darts were also sewn on the sewing machine. I did not stitch the body darts as I wanted the top to be loose and “flowing”. The remainder of the construction was done on the 4-thread overlocker. I overlocked the raw edges at the neckline, sleeves and hem. The sleeve hems were turned to the inside before twin-needle stitching in place. As I wanted more control over this extremely stretchy fabric, the neckline and tunic hem were hand tacked to the inside to prevent stretching out of shape.

The tunic top is lovely to wear, so comfortable as it just skims the body and I almost forget that I am wearing it. Once completed I modelled the tunic for my husband who commented how nice it was. Unfortunately, I was unwell on New Year’s Eve so the modelling session was the only time I have worn the tunic – oh well, at least I have a great top ready to go at a moment’s notice should the need arise!