Tulip Tunic and Dress

Heidi and Finn Patterns came out with a new pattern - it's for knits, and comes with the option for a tunic or a dress.  Really cute.  It's their Tulip Tunic and Dress pattern, and you can get it in either sizes 12 months - 12 years, or if you prefer, for sizes 12 months to 5T.

I got the opportunity to test it out for them.  I previously tested another of their patterns, their Ballet Sweater, which Julia wears to dance class all the time.  So, I knew their patterns fit well, were really well thought out, and were a great result.

This was my first version, before she revised the sleeves.  Some of the testers cut a bunch of inches off their sleeves, but maybe my kid has long arms because they were really just about an inch too long.  Once people started submitting their test photos, a bunch of people mentioned that the pattern would easily be made into a dress, so Christine adapted the pattern into a dress length as well.

Here's my next versions - you can see the great bodice detail better with these fabric combos:

so,

Really cute, eh?  No sleeves to set in - by the dress version, I think I cut and sewed it up in less than an hour.  The fabric for both tops were interlock jersey from my stash, and the dress version is velour on the top, and sweatshirt fleece on the bottom.  So, really, you can definitely use different weight fabric in this pattern.  I was also thinking of trying using a non-knit for the bottom part, and maybe making a tunic without the bottom band....so, another versatile pattern that I'm sure I'm going to be getting a lot of use out of!