How to Sew a Tunic Without a Pattern

Upcycle pillowcases into cozy tunics.

By Wren Everett
Published on October 9, 2024
article image
by Wren Everett
The author wearing her tunic and patchwork skirt.

Wondering what to do with old sheets and pillowcases? Learn how to sew a tunic without a pattern using an upcycled pillowcase for a custom long shirt.

I’m fed up with the era of “fast fashion” and the ceaseless waste generated by a culture where today’s must-haves become tomorrow’s trash. Globally, fashion companies produce 92 million tons of textile waste every year. Sometimes, to control the massive output, they’ll actually just burn unsold garments. My quiet, one-woman protest against the hamster wheel of consumption and waste is to either wear thrifted clothes or to make my own clothing whenever I can with recycled or reused fabric. Then, at least on my little Ozark hill, no contributions are made to the wasted-fabric mountain. The best part about this whole business, aside from the sustainable thriftiness of it all, is that I’ve ended up with clothes that are bespoke and suit my own tastes – and I have a lot of fun doing it in the meantime! That’s the approach to making your own clothing that I’d like to share with you.

Modern trends fluctuate wildly, and with them fluctuate the state of our hemlines. They jump higher and higher without warning me, and it was with frustration that I faced the current style of shirts that, in my humble opinion, are far too short to be functional for an active life on a homestead. Let’s just say I don’t like feeling a breeze when I reach up to check my pigeons’ nests or down to harvest bush beans. So, I decided to continue spurning modern trends and make some nice, overly long shirts that would keep me covered no matter what position I found myself in. Here, we’ll trim a pillowcase into a soft and comfy tunic-style shirt.

Rather than start from scratch, however, I found a perfect, nearly ready-made form in a jersey-knit pillowcase. Using a shirt I liked as a template, I traced its dimensions onto the pillowcase, made a few cuts, sewed up the sides, and had a wearable, usable, and comfortable shirt within an hour. That’s the sort of “fast fashion” I can get behind!

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