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: 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...

Made By A Fabricista: Sewing + Running

It’s not every day that I get to mix two of my favorite hobbies. Especially when one hobby is sewing and the other is running. You can’t sew and run at the same time, but, you can go running in something that you sewed! With this realization, I embarked on my first hobby-merging adventure. We’ve had some frigid temperatures in Pennsylvania this winter. Since I’m an outside, stroller-pushing runner, I bundle up my son and myself before I hit the road. The temperature feels 20 degrees warmer for outside runners than the outside air. For the children being pushed in the stroller though, it feels about 20 degrees colder. With these differences in temperature for each of us, layering is the only thing that ensures that we both stay perfectly warm. My running wardrobe has been lacking a warm top layer. My son’s wardrobe would also benefit from having another warm layer, so I knew pullovers were what I should make. Inspired by a name-brand ¼ button-down fleece pullover I saw,...

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