Hello Internet Friends!
I was very slow to join the jumpsuit train when they first started to become more popular a few years back but a quick search for ‘jumpsuit’ or ‘romper’ on here and you’ll find that I quickly converted to team jumpsuit once I had sewn one or two ‘becca sized’ ones. This is another ‘why I love sewing my own clothes moment’ I never would have tried out jumpsuits or maxi dresses if I didn’t sew because trying on RTW ones means looking like a toddler in adult sized clothes in the change room and then trying to envision how the pieces would look when appropriately shortened. With sewing I can make my short adjustment upfront (and save on fabric from the get go!) along with any other petite adjustments and have one less critical thought about myself when I try things on.
Case in point is this jumpsuit, the Mirri by Papercut Patterns. I never would have tried this on in a store because right off the bat the pants would probably be like a foot too long, and likely the waist would be in the wrong spot too. After printing off the pattern I decided to cut a size 4 for the bodice and graded out to a size 5 for the hips. Before I did anything else I compared the pant lengths to some of my other pants, along with holding the pieces up to myself, and immediately trimmed off 5”, instant fabric savings!
I’ve also learnt over the past year that most of my fitting issues with sleeveless tops has to do with either needing to shorten at the shoulder or raising the bottom of the armscye. To figure out what I needed here I took out some of my other sleeveless patterns that I’ve adjusted and compared them. From this comparison I decided to raise the bottom of the back armscye by 1/2”. I based the front and back together to check and while I thought it was ok at the time I think I could have taken in the shoulder just a smidge at the neckline which I’ll do next time.
The only other mods that I made were to shorten the ties by 2” due to being a bit short on fabric. There was one mod that I forgot to make which was to raise the bottom of the back arm facing the same amount as I did on the back armscye. It ended up being fine in the end as I simply folded in extra bit of extra front facing and sewed it to the side seam to neaten it up. So let this be a lesson to remember to adjust the bottom facings if you adjust your bodices!.
With the mods all done I got to sewing! I made this jumpsuit out of a dark navy linen viscose noil from Dressew and this fabric is perfect for this jumpsuit! It’s breathable and comfy from the linen blend (which also decreases the amount of wrinkles!) while having a fab, swishy drape which is perfect for the wide leg pants. I’ve already worn this jumpsuit a lot since making it, even taking it to the lab on a busy day fully of lab work and meetings and it held up great!
You may ask how easy is this to get in and out of for bathroom breaks and for me it’s been easy peasy! The front ties are just for show so no issues there other than needing to kinda wrap them up in the top when going to the bathroom so they don’t drag on the floor (also when you have them untied they kinda look like really long saggy boobs which I find endlessly hilarious!) For the back I opted for a hook and eye closure at the top instead of button but I think a button would be just as easy to work with. The invisible zip is also just at the right height for me to reach back and easily grab the tab so I haven’t had any issues getting in and out of this jumpsuit solo :)
Speaking of invisible zips I’m always so pleased with myself when I sew one and each time I feel like I get just that bit better at it! As per my last few invisible zips I took the time (not much time to be honest) to quickly baste in the zip before sewing in in with the invisible zipper foot and I honestly think this makes a huge difference in the final result! It also allows you to zip up zip prior to sewing it in to make sure that things line up, like the waist seam.
Hope you guys enjoyed this post as much as I enjoy this jumpsuit! I think I probably have one more jumpsuit/romper in the plans for the works for the summer so stay tuned if you enjoyed this one!