Made By a Fabricista: A Jumpsuit In A Classic Blue Chambray

Jumpsuits! They are so hot at the moment. I love the look of many of them but wasn't sure if they were too trendy for my casual, weekend wardrobe. So to make the look more classic I went for a blue with white chambray from Fabric Mart. I used Simplicity 1158, View A for my pattern. After looking at the finished measurements listed on the pattern I went down a whole size-- and actually smaller yet after sewing it up. I found this pattern runs really large especially in the bodice... like HUGE! I wish I started off by going down two sizes on top. All the gathering and the excessive design ease made it a tent on top, ugh! According to the envelope, I should have made a 16 bodice and a 20 hip. I would say I ended up with between a 12/14 bodice & waist with an 18 hip... with plenty of ease leftover.

I think this jumpsuit is a great alternative to a comfy summer dress. The fabric is so light and airy against the skin, it will be great this week as the temps hit the low 80s here in the city of Baltimore.

To get a better fit for my figure, I made a few alterations to the pattern prior to cutting my fabric. I'm 2" taller than what Simplicity drafts for, I ~~always~~ often need to add about 1" to my bodice length and another inch or two to my pants somewhere. My particular figure likes it when I scoop out the back crotch curve to accommodate my full backside. After sewing the whole shebang up, the bodice was a hot mess! It was so poofy in front and freakishly so in back. I took some impromptu selfies in my mirror so you can see the ridculousness some. It looked even worse in person. Blech! Actually the 'before' shot is after running a quick basting stitch to take in the bodice length about an inch in to see what that did for me. Not much. I looked like I was stowing a ham back there and ready to stuff another one in front.

So I ripped out the back waistline, removed over 2" from the bodice length and sewed it all back in place. This helped pull up some of that front poof as well. Check it out in the comparison pics below for reference. Even the way the hem of the shorts hung looked better.

So moral of this pattern's story, it runs really humongous. But on a good note, this is a really simple garment to sew up. It's very easy to slide on and off for needs in the ladies room-- just untie that back neck tie and I'm good to go. TMI? Likely not if your as obsessed with reading pattern reviews as I am.

There is a 1/4" elastic in the waist (hence the ease of getting this thing on). I like that the shorts are quite full and have an a-line skirt look to them, it's more flattering on my figure that happens to be fuller at the thighs/lower hip area. I forgot to add any length to hem so I just sewed up a super narrow hem.

And pockets! Functional pockets! Okay, now that I've made a jumpsuit that I feel I will actually wear, I'm now eyeing some other versions for me of this trend. I live in swishy, comfy dresses all summer long, this is a perfect stand in for one.

Happy Sewing!!

~Kathy
Kathy Sews

Made By A Fabricista: Liberty Snow Day

Hi everyone! While we’ve been blanketed with snow out here in Southeastern PA, I decided to conquer my fear of button holes and make NewLook pattern N6749. I was able to snag a few yards of the Jess + Jean print Liberty of London Tana Lawn for it. It’s always exciting when Fabric Mart is able to get Liberty fabrics in! I always make sure to grab some. Cutting into a beautiful piece of tana lawn is scary every time. The fabric is such good quality, I’m afraid to mess it up! I had to be extra careful as this is also the first directional pattern I’ve worked with. But one of my assistants made sure all of my pieces were laid correctly. Something I wanted to try out with this dress was finishing the inside seams using the overlock stitch on my domestic machine. Normally I would french seam, but it was nice to not have to worry about cutting seam allowance in half, sewing, trimming, flipping, and sewing again. Next time I would cut the seam allowance back before overlocking, but I thin...

Made By A Fabricista: Ghostly School Uniform

When Fabric Mart asked me what fabric I wanted for my first project I knew EXACTLY what I wanted to make, Nene Yashiro from Toilet Bound Hanako kun (a weird but cute anime) but as cute as the design was, I knew I'd need to adjust the colors to a slightly warmer tones to better suit my complexion and undertones. For the main dress I was so happy to find an off white cotton/Lycra stretch twill that was opaque enough to not need a lining and stretched enough that I could continue avoiding my nemesis; zippers. I wanted to try out having a seamless center front panel, so I modified one of my existing go-to bodice patterns, and after figuring out what length I wanted for the skirt, was able to have the center front panel incorporated into the center front panel of the skirt. I then had the rest of the bodice as their normal waist length so that I could add an additional panel to the skirt to be able to have enough width to have volume and gather it down evenly around my waist. The hem h...

Made By A Fabricista: Embracing Winter in Wool Boucle

As winter drags on, the cold weather is such a bummer to me and feeling uncomfortable and cold so often is rough. Meanwhile, I listened to a podcast all about how people in very northern countries deal better with the onset of dark, freezing winter with a radically different mindset of embracing the inevitable season by reframing the chill as refreshing and the opportunity to spend most time indoors as cozy. I can do that! I found a gorgeous, quintessential wool boucle suiting in black and white to make myself a luxurious outer layer while I’m outside attempting to embrace the sting of dry winter air… It’s kind of working. So classic, so chic! Wearing boucle is always an uptown move and I certainly do feel sophisticated in it. This black and white houndstooth combination feels especially Old Hollywood, and what a treat to make something with this! I sewed the Daphne Jacket from Vivian Shao Chen. There are no closures, and the shape is boxy and very easy to wear over multipl...

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