The Seen And Sewn Tracy Bee Tunic Pattern

I am always on the lookout for great new indie sewing patterns. Especially if they have features that will use up some of the remnants in my scrap bag. So when I came across Arielle from Seen and Sewn on Facebook, I was immediately drawn to her ethos, and in particular this pattern, the Seen and Sewn Tracy Bee Tunic.

#AD Disclaimer: I was kindly gifted the sewing pattern for free to review the product. But all my opinions are my own and honest.

The Seen And Sewn Tracy Bee Tunic Pattern

Arielle runs Seen and Sewn Patterns, an indie pattern company based in Denver, Colorado. She encourages fellow sewists to join the #HandmadeRevolution and embrace #SlowFashion by making their own handmade wardrobe.

I was first attracted to the style of the Tracy Bee Tunic because I live in jean jeggings for most of the year. But I do like a longline tunic or t-shirt to skim over my hip area.

I liked the triangular inserts on the front of the tunic. These give the top some interesting lines. And I wondered what it would look like if these pattern pieces were made in contrast fabric from my remnant stash. I also liked the rounded front neckline with a v neck at the back.

A lady in my sewing class was making a longline tunic top with inserts of a beautiful Liberty London fabric. And it put me in mind of a little dress that I had made for E last year. I still had half a metre of this Liberty London Betsy Tana Cotton Lawn fabric and scraps in my scrap bag. So I decided that this should be my contrast fabric.

For my main fabric I chose a soft spotty chambray that I have had in my stash for ages. I love chambray, so cool to wear and so easy to sew.

The Pattern

Arielle kindly gifted me the pattern in return for this blog post and becoming an affiliate. The pattern is a PDF download. So it comes immediately to your computer. But you do need to print it out and stick the pattern together. Luckily though, the Tracy Bee pattern is only 24 pages. (I’ve had other patterns that run to over 50 pages, so this is a blessing!)

I cut the XXL of version 1 of the pattern, with the elbow length sleeve. I wanted a really loose fit longline tunic. And even though I am losing weight, I thought that perhaps once this gets bigger on me I could pull it in with a belt.

Sewing Together

I will admit, there were areas that I did find tricky. The front yolk didn’t want to sit properly at first, but I pressed a lot and went over my stitching and finally got it to sit right. Maybe the difference in the cotton lawn and the chambray was a bit of an issue.

Everything else went together well, and soon I had a lovely tunic top. But as a mum, what I really wanted was pockets!

I cut two pocket bags from the liberty fabric, and sewed them onto the bottom of the tunic at hip level, ensuring that they were even and symmetrical.

My bag pockets were cut using the Simple Sew Zoe dress pattern pockets.

I also decided that I didn’t want to use the facings around the neckline, and decided to use some self made bias binding.

Almost all of the liberty fabric that I had left was used to make this. Leaving me with just a few tiny scraps.

For ideas on what I might do with these see this post!

And my tunic was finished!

My Verdict on the Seen and Sewn Tracy Bee Tunic Pattern?

I still really like the design, though I am not sure that it is for a total beginner in sewing. I would say and advanced beginner or improver.  Some of the construction was tricky for me, and certainly the inserts were not the easiest to fit. Though I did like to make things difficult for myself.

My finished tunic is lovely. I have already worn it loads, and I know that it is going to get a tonne more wear. I’m sure that as I lose weight, it will still be able to be pulled in with a belt, and who knows, maybe I will have a new dress when I get to goal weight?

Fancy making your own Seen and Sewn Tracy Bee Tunic? Head on over to the Seen And Sewn Website here and discover the whole range.

Or discover another Seen & Sewn Pattern – the Cozy Cardigan here!

Why not join Arielle’s Facebook Group:the Seen and Sewn Patterns Sewing Group? And share your finished garments with us there?

And please, do pin this post for later.