Summer combat

This is a classic 'I made a thing and this is the thing' blogpost! This is the thing I made.

It is the jumpsuit (View A) from Simplicity 8610, a generous pattern that allows you to make a dress, a jumpsuit and two types of kimono jacket. Simplicity kindly offered to give me two patterns as they have a new collection, and I picked this and another jumpsuit pattern. 

I only took one photo during the making process as I wanted to get on with making this rather than faff about documenting it! It's turned blazing hot in London, which is great, but I'm having one of those 'what do I wear in this weather?' phases. I picked up this olive green fabric from an ancient man with hardly any teeth who has a little fabric stall in my local market (Queen's Market, near Upton Park station in London). It was £1 a metre and I bought two metres.

I am pretty sure this fabric was manufactured in heaven itself. It's a vibrant colour, nice and tough but also soft and it seems to barely wrinkle. The only trouble it gave me was around needle tension - I couldn't find the right tension despite experimenting throughout the project, so I have seams that are slightly pinched, which is a bit annoying. 

I decided I would remove the big front pockets from the pattern, as something about the style lines was saying 'apron' to me, so I glued the paper pocket pieces to the front trouser pieces at the top and cut out whole front pieces. I also started drafting a bodice that blended the Ogden Cami with the bodice from the pattern, but I decided I was going way off piste there and reigned back my hacking wildness.

I added in seam pockets at the sides, following Tasia from Sewaholic's great tutorial.

My measurements put me at a size 12 but I cut a size 10, as finished garment measurements are helpfully included on the pattern envelope and the 10 seemed to match my body better. However, the pattern came up way to big for me and I ended up taking a full 10cm out of the bodice at the back once it was at fitting stage, and blending that down into the crotch seam at the back. There was only so much I could do, so it has left me with a bit of a saggy bum area and the zip finishes in a bit of a peak. Still, it's the back, so who cares? I also should add that I have a very petite upper half that doesn't match the size of my bottom half, with a small but high bust, so this may well have affected the sizing. As I've not made many fitted bodices before I haven't quite figured it out yet. I'm thinking of this as a very wearable toile. I'd like to make it again (probably in black) and I think I'd go for a size 6, so I probably now need to buy this pattern!

Jumpsuit in action with handmade tote bag as that white car in the background rudely wanted to park in my photo shoot spot.

The bodice is actually very cleverly designed to add shape a the bust area. I think it blends darts into the seam between the top band and the main bodice. There are two darts coming up from the waist too, so it ends up a nice shape. I don't normally wear clothing this fitted but I'm loving it.

I am totally ripping off Ada Spragg's inspiring Me Made May poses on Instagram in this shot. I tried to channel some of her awesome posing skills into all these pictures as I am usually so stiff and awkward. It feels kind of ridiculous to do this on your street for all the neighbours to see... but also good!

The other detail I changed about the pattern is strap-related. Simplicity instruct you to make little loops at the back bodice and to add buttons at the end of the strap, so that you push it through the little loop and button it shut. This is ingenious, and means you can change the strap length if you like, but I am far too lazy for that kind of thing so I just attached the straps at the back as well as the front.

It might not be my neatest or best fitting make, but I am loving my jumpsuit. It's so comfortable and makes me feel somehow empowered and ready for action. I love that the design incorporates delicate, feminine features in a fairly tomboy garment, and I think the military-ish colour of my fabric adds to this juxtaposition. I have since been back to the market and bought three more metres of it, so I hope to incorporate a lot more rebel-army-olive into my wardrobe in future.