Sewing a Gap-Sleeved Tunica

Sewing a Gap Sleeved Tunica

Gap-sleeved tunics are made with the shoulders joined together by a series of buttons, fibulas, or fabric knots. This is the style most famously associated with ancient costuming. In ancient Rome, this style of tunic was usually woven in two pieces, with the pieces sewn together only at the sides. The neckline is created by draping the front and back to create an opening for the head. Gap-sleeved tunics can be sleeveless or have either short or long sleeves, depending on the width of the fabric used and the number of “joins” made at the shoulders. Some stolas are actually constructed like gap-sleeved tunics but with only one, or maybe two, joins at the shoulders instead of the more usual 5-6 joins.

  1. Gap-sleeved tunicas work best when made out of fabric that is 54-60” wide. If you are using a narrower fabric you will want to get extra length and add strips of it to the center (or either side) of your body panels to make the fabric wider. Fabric less than 54” wide is not really wide enough to create the distinctive “sleeves” of this tunica, but it will work for a sleeveless stola without adding additional width.
  2. Begin by choosing a top edge for both pieces of fabric (this may matter if your fabric has a pattern or a nap). For a tunica, measure around your forearm and divide by 2, then add about 1” – starting at the TOP edge of your panels, hem this distance down the sides from the top. (For example, someone with a 12” forearm measurement will hem down 7”). Do this for both the front and back panels. This is the opening your arms will poke through when you wear the tunica. If you are making a stola, hem down about 12-18” to allow room for the stola “sleeve” underneath.
  3. Hem the top edges of both panels. If you want to add some trim (stick to things that are very narrow or they will interfere with the way the tunica drapes when you wear it!), add the trim or decorative stitching along the top edge now.
  4. Sew the front panel to the back panel from the bottom of the arm opening hems to the bottom.
  5. Hem the bottom of the tunica.
  6. Measure the distance between your bra straps (or for men, where the straps of a tank top/wife beater lie) BEHIND your neck. Write this measurement down! This is the distance between the first two joins on the BACK edge of your tunica – getting this distance right will keep your tunica from falling off your shoulders!
  7. Match the front and back top edges together and fold them in half to find the center – mark the center points with a pin or something so you can find them later.
  8. Starting on the BACK panel, measure out from the center to ½ your back neck measurement (for example, if your bra strap-to-bra strap is 12”, measure out 6”) and mark that point. Repeat going the other way. You should now have two spots marked that are your back shoulder measurement apart.
  9. Take the outer edge and bring it to the shoulder point on the same side – mark the half-way point. Counting the very edge of the fabric, you now have 3 join points marked. Find the half-way points between these 3 joins and mark them. You should have 5 join points marked. Repeat for the other “arm.”
  10. On the FRONT edge, measure out from the center like you did for the back BUT – add 2” (for example, instead of marking a point 6” from the center, mark a point 8” from the center). The added distance will make the front of your neckline lower than the back, but not too low! Romans were modest!
  11. Repeat the process from the back edge “sleeves” to find your 5 join points for each “sleeve” on the front edge.
  12. Match each join point from the front to the corresponding point on the back and sew together with a bead, button, or jewelry finding to replicate the round fibulas used by the Romans. Your buttons/beads can be as small as 1/4” or as large as 1”, but avoid anything larger unless you are VERY high ranking.
  13. The difference in distance between the join points on the front edge and back edge are what creates the little “scoops” between the joins. If you prefer to not have the scoops, you can cut down the back panel by 4” BEFORE you begin step 2 above.