I am a little cross with myself for forgetting to take a ‘before’ photograph of this garment, so this post can really only serve as a record of progress for myself, though I hope it might be of interest to some. Basically, I have owned this grey tunic for about eight years. I bought it in H&M because I loved the faded grey chambray fabric. It was originally a pull-over-the-head tunic with only three buttons on the front placket. It was always a terrible fit: the back was very baggy due to my swayback and the poor cut of the garment; the skirt section was gathered and sat at an odd angle over my backside; and the front swung forward so much it made me look about 8-months pregnant. Yet I still wore it constantly, which is testament to our willingness to wear ill-fitting clothes in the modern era.

It was put to the back of the wardrobe for some future fixing that I honestly thought I’d never get round to. I was about to donate it to charity when I thought I would at least try to salvage it and I’m so glad I did.

I took the skirt section off completely, removed the gathers and took in the side seams.  I reshaped the darts on the back of the bodice and, using my skirt sloper, created plain darts on the back of the skirt. I cut the skirt up the middle of the front and took it in there too but I left enough fabric to create extend the button band turning the whole thing into a shirt dress/tunic. I really wish I had remembered to take ‘before’ photos because this really is quite a dramatic improvement. I’ll get a lot more wear out of this practical garment. The pockets are a good size for pens, pencils and erasers when I’m drawing.