Summer is finally here! If you don’t live in the southern hemisphere. what I love most about this time of the year, is the amount of sewing inspiration everywhere; on the highstreet, Pinterest and of course other people’s makes on Instagram. I have decided to come up with a series of posts I have called ‘sewing for summer’. I will be focusing on an individual piece of clothing and sharing with you my tried and tested patterns. So today’s focus will be jumpsuits and rompers.
I will be sharing with you four of the jumpsuits patterns I have sewed up and love. I will also show you their lines drawings, the special features and of course the pictures of my makes.
Sunday Romper by Love Notions
The Sunday romper pattern by Love Notions is a newly released pattern which I had the pleasure to test. I can not tell you how much I love it and it comes with 5 variations. I have sewed up the romper and the knee-length version already.
The Sirocco jumpsuit is mock-wrap knit jumpsuit with short set-in sleeves and pleated pants. It is greatly loved in the sewing community. I have made the jumpsuit version already and I have another one planned out.
Size range: 34 to 46 (printed) and 34 to 52 (PDF)
Versions: Two – Version A has tapered legs, version B is a romper.
The New Look 6446 is one from the big 4 which is a favourite of many. We both know that getting the right fitting with the big 4 patterns it is not the easiest thing. But once you get it right, you are sure to sew it up more than once. And I have made this pattern twice already.
New Look 6446
Size range: 6-18 (UK), 2-14(US) & 34-46(EU)
Variations: 4 which include a jumpsuit, a playsuit, a knee-length dress and a maxi.
Features: Sleeveless and squared neckline.
Fabric: Woven fabrics such as cotton, chambray, lawn, linen, corduroy, denim
The Zadie jumpsuit is relaxed and easy to wear jumpsuit. It wraps around the body with just strings with no need for zips or buttons. Which is a win for any sewist who would rather skip those steps. I made the sleeveless version in a tie and dye Ankara / African wax print fabric.
Zadie Jumpsuit
Size range: 6 -28
Versions: 2 included; sleeveless with dropped shoulders and 3/4 sleeves.
Features: Wrap which fastens with ties and wide legs.
I love all the jumpsuits I have made and they all offer unlimited possibilities. They can all be dressed up or down which is greatly determined by the fabric you choose. Have you made any of the patterns show before? If not, which one would you like to have a go at making?
I have been pattern testing once again and I could get used to this. Love Notions has released another awesome pattern which I had the honour to test. This is the Sunday romper for ladies and a similar one has also been released for girls which is the Sunday romper for girls. I intend to get the girls one too to make mum-and-me matching outfits soon.
The Pattern
The Sunday Romper is a versatile pattern which can be worn by both jumpsuit lovers and those who would not be caught in one. It is possible to dress it both up and down and all go down to the fabric of choice.
It features V-neck openings on both the front and back bodices which are wide enough if you opt for the pants option. It also features front angled pockets which is an added detail, however, you also have an option of omitting them.
This pattern is recommended for light to medium weight knits such as jersey, modal, cupro and rayon/viscose blends. I made two versions of the Sunday Romper pattern in two different fabrics.
The Romper which was my pattern test make was made out of a tomato red paisley print viscose jersey. I purchased this off eBay and it was perfect for the romper considering it is lightweight and floaty.
The knee-length skirt bottom version was sewn out of an olive green cotton rib jersey knit fabric I bought from Minerva crafts. This was a medium weight fabric which is perfect if you do not want clothes clinging onto your body.
The Making
I sewed up both the dress and the romper in size 2 for the bodice and size 4 for both the shorts and the skirt pieces. I made the romper version with the dolman sleeves and the tank option for the dress. Both bodices sit perfectly well at the shoulders and it did not need to make any adjustments. I opted for the elasticated waist as opposed to the drawstring. This is because I was not ready to turn a long tube of jersey fabric. However, it would have been a cute touch to my plain coloured dress.
Alterations
I made a swayback adjustment to the back bodice pieces which is a common alteration I make. This gave me the same amount of drape at the waist for both the front and the back pieces.
The Finished Garments
What’s not to love about this pattern? It is a perfect pattern for both jumpsuit and dress lovers. I might make the jumpsuit pattern soon maybe after I have sewed up the girls’ version.
I popped into Fabrics for All once again with the need to find fabric for my monthly make. Fabrics for all is a family-owned fabric shop located in Armley, Leeds which also has an online presence too. I joined the Fabric for All maker’s team where I am given fabric in exchange for a blog post to review that fabric.
If you know a thing about me, you would know that I love jumpsuits. So I popped into Fabric for All to pick up fabric to sew up the New Look 6446 Jumpsuit which was also meant to be my entry into the ‘sew together for summer 2019’ challenge. And the challenge this year was to sew up a jumpsuit, however, this particular the jumpsuit was not ready by deadline day. So I decided to enter the toile instead which made me a winner of one of the prizes.
The Fabric
For the pattern I had in mind, I needed a stable woven fabric which was still light enough for a summer outfit. I picked up a 100% cotton fabric which is a beautiful print with green and white birds on a black background. I know a black background may not sound like a summer fabric choice but that’s before you see the fabric in person. It was such a pleasure to work with this fabric which washed pretty well and ironed well too.
New Look 6446 Pattern
The pattern I choose was the New look 6446 which I picked up last year but I was not sure I would sew it up any time soon. As we can all agree that ‘the big four’ patterns are not the easiest to sew up and you come out with a well-fitting garment.
This pattern comes in four variations: a maxi dress, a knee-length dress, a playsuit and a jumpsuit. All four variations have the same bodice which features princess seams, a squared neckline, thick straps and an invisible zipper. It also comes with a belt strap which helps to define the waist.
The making
This pattern comes in sizes 8 to 18 and per my measurements, I was supposed to cut out size 8 at the bust and size 10 for both the waist and hip. As we know the big four patterns come with a lot of ease added, so I decided to use the finished garment measurements instead and cut it out in a size 8.
I first sewed up a toile in a rather cheaper fabric before cutting into the beautiful fabric. And I found that the bodice was a bit roomy so I decided to take out some amount at the side seams. However, the trouser piece fitted pretty well at both the waist and the hip area.
The sewing process was pretty much straight-forward and I did not need to make any major alterations to this pattern. Of course, the invisible zipper is never for the faint-hearted but I am getting better at it.
The finished project
I love the finished jumpsuit which is exactly as it appears on the pattern. I am certain I will be sewing up a few more jumpsuits or playsuits from this pattern as I have defined the fit and I have less to worry about.
Thank you for stopping by and thank you Fabrics for all for the fabric gift.
If you know a bit about me, you would not be surprised that I love pinafores. They are a versatile piece of clothing which can easily be worn all year round. I tend to wear them on their own during the warmer months and layered up in colder ones.
I recently joined the team of Minerva Crafts Makers, which is an exciting experience. Just in case you do not have an idea what I am talking about… (i have got you :D). Minerva Crafts is a big online fabric store here in the UK. And it collaborates with a number of sewists by giving them fabric in exchange for a blog post reviewing that fabric.
When I received my very first fabric from them, I got pretty excited and got my thinking hat on. I was inspired by the midi dresses with flounces or ruffles that are everywhere on the high street.
French Connection Urban Outfitters Valentino
I decided to hack the True Bias Ogden Cami pattern to recreate a similar style using the Stretch Crepe Fabric that I received from Minerva Crafts. I never thought I would love a midi dress as I tend to opt for either a knee-length or a maxi-dress. However, I was pleasantly surprised to love the dress.
Josephine is an entrepreneur, blogger, public health professional who loves sewing, baking and is passionate about a healthy and natural lifestyle.
