I love this pattern! After making three tunics from Amy Butler's Liverpool Tunic last year, I decided to try the Lotus Tunic pattern. Now that I know that my bust is 36 inches instead of 34, I made the medium, instead of size small. I did use 5/8 inch seam allowances on the sides of the tunic, rather than the 1/2 inch the pattern called for because I knew it was going to be a bit loose on me, especially through the waist and hips. (It fits great in the bust.) VickiW took my photo wearing it with jeans:
If you click on the photo, you can see where I added mismatched buttons in the corners of the neckline. The reason is no secret: it's to hide my less than perfect sewing in those corners. I didn't have two buttons that matched, so I picked these two from my stash and pronounced the look "quirky" instead of "little house on the prairie". Here's the back: 
I ditched the belt loops and belt that the pattern called for and used the back ties that came with the Liverpool Tunic instead. I sewed them into the side seams just like the Liverpool Tunic as well. Be forewarned: the waist markings on the Lotus Tunic are low - I positioned the back ties just above the waist mark and they hit right were they should. Also, the original pattern calls for this tunic to be lined. I cut out muslin for a lining, but as I was making it I really didn't see the need with this substantial cotton. Also, no one needs that extra layer of fabric during one of our southern summers, so I left the lining out.I originally planned to make it with sleeves but as I was making it, the sleeve construction seemed a bit fiddly, and there seemed to be a mark missing on the pattern indicating where one was to stop gathering the sleeve cap. I didn't need that stress in my life, so I left it sleeveless. I figure I'll just wear a long sleeve knit top underneath when winter arrives anyway.
Also, you can see that this tunic seems a bit long. I believe a Tunic should hit about mid thigh; this garment is really dress length:
I wore it as a dress to a casual wedding I went to the day I finished it. The wedding was at our town's minor league baseball field before the game started!
Parting Shot: A photo of the baseball wedding. The bride is flanked by her two daughters, and the groom is in the lavender shirt - they got married on the pitcher's mound. It was surprisingly touching!
I love this pattern so much, I made it again! I saw the fabric in a LQS last Friday, bought it, and got in finished in time to wear to work today (Thursday) as it was a "jeans" day at work - you could wear jeans if you donated a dollar to the American Heart Association. Here's a better photo:
The fabric is from the Gipsy Glitter Collection from Art Gallery Fabrics, and it is more of a poplin cotton than the quilting cotton I used to make my first one. Thus, it wrinkles a bit more easily. This is what it looked like after a four hour meeting:
I really love this version; I think the fabric is in keeping with Amy Butler's design, even though it isn't one of her fabrics. The only alteration I made was to take a tiny sliver out of the front neckline pattern piece to eliminate any hit of gaposis:
This is one of those happy projects where the garment ends up looking exactly as I imagined it when I saw the fabric. So yay!
