Imperial Officer – Tunic Pattern
DISCLAIMER: This is still a work in progress. While I am doing my best to adhere to L3 requirements, I cannot yet guarantee that these methods will result in approval by the IOC.
NOTE: Illustrations not to scale.
TIP: Unless you really know what you’re doing (in which case, you probably don’t need this guide) it will be easiest if you read through this entire page first and then follow the instructions in order.
TIP: I decided to buy a bolt of “tracing fabric” and create my own pattern pieces, so I can keep the original pattern untouched. It has worked out well for me, and I highly recommend you do the same.
The following steps should be independent of what size pattern you have, so choose your size, and make sure that you’re always tracing/measuring/cutting the right lines for that size.
The McCall’s pattern has two coat types:
The Imperial Officer uniform tunic is sort of a hybrid between the two.
Trace #3, but remove the center seam allowance by drawing the left edge ⅝” inward to the center line. Label the new left edge “Center Back Fold line”, and add a ↓Fold↓ indication.
Label this new piece: “3 Back (Fabric: cut 1, Lining: cut 1).”
No modifications are required for #4.
NOTE: If the costume you’re making is for one of the very few characters that have a center back seam, just mark the center line on your pattern piece for a future step, and you can use #3 & #4 unaltered.
Line up the center line on #2 with the fold on your tracing fabric, and trace out the rest of the piece. This will be the front template that all of the front pieces will be coming from.
Measure the width of the shoulder, and multiply it by 0.6. With the front template folded in-half, (down the center line) measure that distance from the edge of the collar, and add a mark on the shoulder edge.
Overlay the #3 pattern piece you traced in a previous step, lining up the center lines and bottom edges of the two pieces. Add another mark to the bottom edge of the front template at the bottom right corner of #3.
Set #3 aside.
Draw a dotted line between the two marks (being sure to mirror it on both sides of the front template). This marks the seam line for the center yoke.
NOTE: This dotted line is for reference only, DO NOT CUT ANYTHING ON THIS LINE!!!
Unfold the front template and lay it flat. Draw two solid lines ⅝” from each side of the dotted line on the right. Label the outside line “cut for center/left side”, and the inside line “cut for right side.” Draw another solid line ⅝” to the left of the dotted line on the left, and label it “cut for center.”
Draw a horizontal line (perpendicular to the center line) from the center point of the collar to the outer “cut for center/left side” line on the right, and label it “cut for left side.”
FOR “STRAIGHT YOKE” VARIANTS: Continue the horizontal line from the center line to the solid “cut for center” line on the left, and label it “cut for straight yoke.”
Fold the front template down the center line again. Find the vertical midpoint of the sleeve opening, and mark both sides. Unfold the front template and draw another dotted line connecting the two marks.
NOTE: This dotted line is the pocket top line, and again, is for reference only. DO NOT CUT ANYTHING HERE!!!
Draw two solid horizontal lines 1¼” (double the seam allowance) above and below the dotted pocket top line. Label the top line “cut for bottom” and the bottom line “cut for top.”
NOTE: We double the seam allowance here so we can hide the inner lining seam by offsetting it ⅝” below the top of the pocket opening.
Draw another horizontal dotted line 5” below the dotted pocket top line, and label it “cut for pocket lining.”
Draw a dotted line on the center line connecting the bottom of the collar to the dotted pocket top line. With the bottom of this vertical line as the lowest corner, draw an upside-down triangle with the top being ⅝” wide (half of the seam length on either side of the center line).
FOR NO-DART VERSION: Either skip this step, or just don’t transfer onto your center yoke pattern piece.
Now that you have the front template with all of the correct markings, you can follow the interactive diagram below to trace out the 9 individual pattern pieces that you need:
Click on an item below to highlight that piece above.
FOR “NO POCKET” VARIANTS: You will only need #2d, #2e, and #2i.
FOR “STRAIGHT YOKE” VARIANTS: You will need to use #2j instead of #2e
TIP: You could also just use the one template piece, and fold it on the lines to cut your fabric pieces. Though this is a bit more complicated, and harder to explain, it does have the benefit of using less tracing fabric.
The “skirt” is the part of the tunic that extends below the waist-line seam. This will need to be modified, since the McCall’s pattern has pleats, and the officer tunic does not.
NOTE: Use the “Cut here for A” line as the bottom edge for all of your new traced pieces.
Trace #11 with the “Center Back Fold line” as the left edge, and draw the right edge ⅝” (seam allowance) to the right of the line labeled “PLEAT”.
Add a ↓Fold↓ indicator to the left edge, and label the piece: “11 Lower Back/Front (Fabric: cut 4).”
Trace #12, using the vertical “FOLD LINE” as the left edge, and label it: “12 Lower Side Back (Fabric: cut 4).”
Align the bottom edge of #2d to the top edge of #13 on the left corner. Draw a vertical line from the bottom right corner of #2d to the “Cut here for A” line on #13. With that vertical line as your right edge, trace a new pattern piece. Label the right edge “Cut for front right”.
Set #2d aside.
NOTE: You may need to extend beyond the width of #13 when you trace the new piece. Just make sure your right edge is vertical.
Now, align #2i to #13 in the same way, and draw another vertical line from the bottom right corner of #2i in the same way. Label this line “Cut for front left”.
Label the new piece “13 Lower Side Front (Fabric: cut 2 for left and 2 for right)”
Use #7 and #8 unaltered and as directed for the sleeves.
Use #6 unaltered and as directed for the collar.