Pattern Review :: Liesl + Co. Gallery Tunic

We have moved past the halfway point with my pattern review and comparison of four different women’s popover tunics.  Today is all about the Liesl + Co. Gallery Tunic.  I’ve already completed the individual reviews of the Hey June Cheyenne and Itch to Stitch Mila.  Once I’ve sewn and reviewed all four I’ll have a comparison post similar to the one I did for free women’s leggings.

Gallery Listing Collage

Pattern Details: The Gallery Tunic is for women’s sizes 0 through 20, or 32.5″ to 46″ bust.  There are two views.  View A is a tunic length with cuffed 3/4 length sleeves and a one-piece collar.  View B is dress length with button-cuff full length sleeves, a band collar and optional inseam pockets.  I made a mix of the two views – tunic length with the band collar and button-cuff full length sleeves in a size 16 based on my measurements: 40″ upper bust, 42″ full bust, 36″ waist, 39″ high hip, 42″ full hip.

gallery-muslin-collage

My muslin for the Gallery gave me information to make a 1″ FBA and a pretty significant forward shoulder adjustment.  The front and back armscyes of the Gallery are symmetrical which I find unusual for a shirt this style, even if the fit is relaxed.

*Edited to add: A comment made me recognize that I may not have needed an FBA.  For fitting it’s recommended to adjust from the top down, so my forward shoulder adjustment may have addressed the lines I saw from the bust to shoulder.  The reason I didn’t catch this is that I didn’t identify the need for the forward shoulder adjustment until I took my photos – it’s difficult to see the side alignment in the mirror.  I had already made my FBA on my pattern by this time and I forgot that I should try it with only the shoulder adjustment first to see if it was truly necessary.

Gallery Tunic 6

Drafting:  Grade A.  All the notches, drill holes, labels, grainlines, etc. are very clear and where needed, right down to alignment marks and a notch on the pocket – and lengthen/shorten lines.  There are text size labels throughout.  The grading is even for most pieces, which means the steps between sizes is the same, but there does appear to be a separate grouping for the smaller and larger body widths with greater steps between the larger sizes.  There are separate guides for the placket and button/buttonhole placement on the cuff.

Gallery Tunic 2

I like how simple the placket/facing was to sew and my result is good.  It’s not the prettiest thing on the inside as it’s a Y-shaped piece that is serged, pressed and edgestitched vs. a fully enclosed tower (as on the Mila) or shaped placket (as on the Cheyenne).  I’m not sure I’m in love the the asymmetrical pleat it makes – too much Accountant in me, maybe?  That pleat also wanted to blouse out which you’ll see in a few photos.

Gallery Tunic 3

The finishing of the cuff is another odd spot.  Instead of a tower placket or a continuous bound placket, the instructions for the Gallery are to stay stitch a vertical line parallel to the sleeve hem, snip up to the staystitching, fold and edgetitch this bit in place.  Then the cuff encloses the parts not folded.  It works but I had tiny corners that weren’t enclosed or finished and I don’t see how that could be avoided.

Gallery Tunic 5

In contrast, the collar is a thing of construction beauty.  the collar facing is handstitched, a process that I appreciate and enjoy both for the experience and the result.  By hand sewing, you can mold the collar and place each stitch with intention.  And it really doesn’t take that long – perfect for a little television time.  You can certainly sew by machine if that’s your preference and I think there were links to tips for machine stitching the collar in the tutorial.

The instructions in the pattern are clear technical drawings.  This is my preference and I didn’t need to reference anything outside of the tutorial.  There is a sew-along on the Oliver + S Forum with full-color photos if that’s more your style.

Gallery Tunic 7

The rest of the seams are serged or hemmed.  I like the deep shaping of the shirttail hem, and the back is slightly longer than the front.

Gallery Tunic 4

I think I prefer a yoke on the back of this type of shirt.  This is an inverted box pleat and is sewn down for a couple of inches – then opening up high on my back.  I believe this is just a slight mismatch between my body type and the pattern so take that observation as you will.  The slight hangup and pooling of fabric on my rear is due to my swayback but I didn’t address this on any of the patterns I’m comparing.

Gallery Tunic 8

Because there seemed to be a lot of volume in my Gallery Tunic, I tried belting it to see if I liked it styled that way.  It gave a different look, but then was blousing out above and below.  I think it will look cute with a slouchy v-neck sweater as well.  I have to take responsibility for a little bit of the volume as I did add some width to the front with my full bust adjustment.

On the topic of the FBA, I made it according to the instructions included in the pattern, and drew my dart to end about an inch away from my apex as drawn on the pattern.  But when I tried on my in-progress tunic the darts were precisely over my nipples.  I don’t know what went amiss – did I draft the adjustment incorrectly or the instructions didn’t take the front pleat into account?   I did learn that you can partially unpick darts and successfully give them a new ending point.  I know there are proponents of curved darts and that’s pretty much what I arrived at for my Gallery.

Gallery Tunic 1

While I don’t think the Gallery is my favorite of the popover tunics I’ve sewn I’ll most certainly wear it and I would recommend it with the comments I’ve made in mind.  I’m curious about what I would call a mismatch in the finishing techniques on the Gallery Tunic – the inset placket and unusual finish on the cuff seem like they’re meant to appeal to newer sewists, while the collar is more in line with what I expect from Liesl (Both Oliver + S and Liesl + Co.).  The difficulty rating is two out of four.

I think in a fabric with more drape or on a less busty frame this would be more flattering.  I did my best to arrange it to lay nicely for photos, but it is fairly voluminous.  This is voile and is one of the recommended fabrics on the pattern.  Also worth noting is that I cut my fabric on the cross-grain so the darker bands of the design ran vertically.

Outfit Details:
Pattern: Liesl + Co. Gallery Tunic
Fabric: Art Gallery Observer Voile Indigo Window Crystal

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18 Responses to Pattern Review :: Liesl + Co. Gallery Tunic

  1. Mary Kate February 23, 2017 at 10:01 AM #

    Thank you! I just finished the same tunic and ran into the same issues, darts too long after a FBA, and feeling swallowed up by too much fabric. Mine was flannel so I figured that was the problem. I may give it another go in a drapier fabric.

    • Jennifer February 23, 2017 at 12:05 PM #

      I also saw it mentioned in the forum, so perhaps an issue with the pattern/tutorial?

  2. Diane February 23, 2017 at 10:42 AM #

    your reviews and comparisons are some of the best I’ve seen, I look forward to reading them

    • Jennifer February 23, 2017 at 12:05 PM #

      Thanks so much Diane – that’s high praise from you!

  3. Linda (ACraftyScrivener) February 23, 2017 at 11:29 AM #

    I didn’t even realize it had a yoke, your print matching is sublime! I adore your very thorough comparisons 🙂

    • Jennifer February 23, 2017 at 12:04 PM #

      It doesn’t have a yoke, but I wish it did. I think a yoked back works better with my body shape.

  4. Michelle February 23, 2017 at 11:58 AM #

    I’m really enjoying these thorough reviews, thanks!

  5. Nique February 23, 2017 at 12:00 PM #

    These reviews are great. I’ve never checked back daily on a blog, but I’ve really been enjoying your reviews.

    Also, lovely fabric choice.

    • Jennifer February 23, 2017 at 12:04 PM #

      Aw, thanks so much for your vote of confidence!

  6. Emily February 23, 2017 at 3:39 PM #

    Lovely blouse and very helpful review! I had some bust darts drams on a different blouse. After three tries I think I got it. Loving this series!

  7. Addie February 23, 2017 at 4:05 PM #

    It came out beautifully! After reading your review, I am curious to hear a little more about some of the changes you made. (I have made this pattern four times so I am pretty familiar with it. My measurements are quite close to yours and I always make a size 12 with no FBA.) I am a little confused as to what made you think you needed a FBA when you made the muslin. I saw a slight line on the muslin side view picture but that could also be related to your forward shoulder. I am not a fit expert but I wonder if doing the FBA is what caused or emphasized the fit issues in front. There is plenty of design ease built into the style so I wonder whether you would like it better in a smaller size and/or without the FBA. I don’t know if that makes sense to you or might be helpful but I hope it is. I am always learning more about fitting!

    • Jennifer February 23, 2017 at 4:24 PM #

      You know you’re 100% right. I know for fitting you’re supposed to work from the top down so I should have seen if the shoulder adjustment addressed the bust. What caused me to forget that is I didn’t identify my forward shoulder issue until I took photos of my muslin. Were I not doing these one after the other like I am I think I would have caught this. I don’t know if I can get past the details I don’t care for to attempt it again with the FBA backed out, though.

  8. Jenya February 23, 2017 at 10:08 PM #

    Jenn, I am loving this series of posts! Thank you for sharing your observations and comments along the way. This pattern has been on my to sew list since I was pregnant with Miss L… Well, she is now 18 months old hahaha

  9. justine March 22, 2017 at 4:11 PM #

    Great review Jenn! I just made a muslin and will have to do a big forward adjustment too. An inch! Did you adjust your sleeve pattern for the forward adjustments as well? I need an FBA too, but may just skip it! Or maybe I’ll make another muslin and see if the shoulder adjustment helps?

    • Jennifer March 25, 2017 at 3:01 PM #

      I just shifted the marking forward on the sleeve. Maybe I should have adjusted the sleeve itself, but it fit in well enough. I’d definitely do a muslin with just the forward shoulder to see if a FBA is necessary.

  10. Shelley September 23, 2018 at 3:59 PM #

    Thanks for all your time nd effort to review. I have learned a lot

  11. Cheryl Littauer January 12, 2019 at 9:36 PM #

    Hi – I think the tunic looks great and I really like the fabric. I’m also making the tunic with the the same narrower collar, but the collar seems about an inch bigger when I pin it to the tunic at the neck. Even tried easing it in, but still too big. It’s almost like the collar didn’t account for the reduction of material from the back pleat. Did you run into any issues? (I think I cut out the right size too.) Thanks!

    • Jennifer January 28, 2019 at 9:18 AM #

      It’s been a while, but I don’t recall any difficulty easing the collar in. I think I would have mentioned it. Sometimes the collar overhangs the edge by the seam allowance – check that?

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