Also, I have made a lot of quick knit projects lately and while it's nice to whip up a top in a few hours and have something new to wear, it's also sometimes nice to have a more complex, long-term project to sink my teeth into!
Jumpsuits are
quite tricky to fit since they are pants and
attached to the top. If you mess up the waist or crotch length that jumpsuit is
going to be up a bunch of places you don’t want it to be. I have previously
made Simplicity 1355 (woven) and 8333 (knit) so I had at least some idea of the
alterations I would need to make to have a better fit result and of course I
knew I needed to make a muslin before cutting into my denim.
This project was
both laborious and a labor of love, I might have given up if I hadn’t been
totally in love with the pattern. I have detailed the whole process but it’s
long, you can skip down to “summary of all alterations” if you just want to see
what the final changes were as this is one of my longest pattern reviews ever.
Alterations
before muslin
This pattern has custom cup sizes, I used the A/B-cup
pattern pieces. Based on the size chart, I cut a size 14 at the bust graded to
a 22 waist and hip. Notably the size chart only has finished measurements and
not body measurements; I think this might be why the 14 top was a little snug
for me, as I have a 38” bust and it’s 39” finished, that’s not much ease!
I also added an inch to the waist length and extended the
rear crotch length, not quit as much as I did on Simplicity 1355, as with
wearing I felt that one was a little low. I thought I’d try 1” waist and .5”
crotch length.
Muslin results
While I dealt with my sleeves (see below…), I also decided
to add .5” in the bodice through the waist. To do this, I added .25” in the front
center pieces because while the bodice was a little too tight, I was also happy
with where the princess seams were hitting, right over the bust.
The real problem was the sleeve. It was way too small. The armhole was also a little too high. Ugh.
Altering sleeves makes me nervous that I will mess up the sleeve cap or
armscye. I briefly considered making the sleeveless version… I have fairly
large upper arms but I’ve only made one other pattern where the selves were too
small, so I was still a little surprised.
The saga of the sleeves
This was a whole thing, if you just want to see what my
total changes were, go to my summary of all alterations below.
So sleeve version 1 was so small it was hard to tell how
much too small, so I let out the side seam of the sleeve .75” (I reduced the
seam allowance to .25” to do this) for version 1B and I still couldn’t get the
sleeve on.
Since I was fairly happy with the fit of the bodice, I didn’t
really want to go up another size but I measured the sleeve piece for the next
size and compared it to my arm size, it would’ve still been too small. I
decided to try an underarm gusset. These are kind of a pain to sew in, in my
opinion but if you ever need to add to a sleeve after it’s been sewn they are a
good option. I used this
tutorial from BurdaStyle as it had been a few years since I put in an
underarm gusset.
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| My gusset, I hate sewing in gussets! |
This led to sleeve version 2, it’s better but still not
great. I was kind of at a loss at this point of what I should do – cut next
size up in the bodice? Larger gusset? I asked for help in an online sewing
community and several people suggested doing a full bicep adjustment and
suggested this tutorial, which I found really clear and helpful!
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| Original sleeve with gusset, still way too small! |
So for sleeve version 3, that’s what I did. The nice thing
about this adjustment was that my sleeve cap wouldn’t change, so I had to worry
about its shape a little less. At the same time, I lowered the armscye .5”
based on how it looked in my muslin. This means my armhole also got larger for
version 3 and I was a little worried that my same-size sleeve cap would be too
small so I measure them both (removing seam allowances) and my sleeve cap was
still larger so could presumably still be eased in just fine.
 |
| New armhole lines on my traced pattern piece. |
Using the tutorial, I increased my sleeve size 1.5” at the
top and .5” around the cuff; it was a also a little tight but not quite as bad.
 |
| Sleeve version 3B, I think, there were so many! |
Sleeve version 3A was still a little bit tight when I tried
the sleeve on my arm before I attached it to the bodice, so I reduced the seam
allowance to .25” again before I put in the armhole. Sleeve version 3B was
pretty close but still too small, just not enough ease. I think I had measured
too low on my arm when deciding how much to increase and my arm is actually a
little fuller further up in my armpit.
For version 4(!), I decided the armscye was also still a
little too high and I had taken more of the 1 first reduction from the back of
the armhole, making it a little more difficult to ease the sleeve in the front
in (it’s only slightly larger because of the seam allowance reduction; the full
bicep adjustment doesn’t change its size). Thus I decided I would lower it another
.25” and take it more of it out of the front this time. I also:
- Extended the sleeve cap at the bottom 3/8” at both side seams (total .75”) and made a gentle slope of these additions into the sleeve side seam. This incorporates my reduction of the seam allowance into my pattern piece but doesn’t give me any more space from version 3 to 4. This way if version 4 was still too tight, I would once again have some seam allowance to work with.
- Did a second full bicep adjustment, adding .5” at the top and .5” at the bottom.
Summary of alterations to muslin
Are you still with me? You skipped down? The good stuff is
coming, the final results but first all of the alterations I made:
- Size 14 top graded to size 22 waist & hip
- Added 1” waist length to the top of the pants
- Extended the rear crotch length .5”
- Lowered armcye .75”, gradually sloped to the size 14 mid-way up the armhole
- Extended the sleeve cap length 3/8” on both the front and back, sloped this into the original side seam.
- Full bicep adjustment of 2” at the top of the sleeve and 1” at the bottom to fix too tight sleeves
- Made the pants full length rather than ankle length
So yeah, if you are reading this because you want to make
this pattern…um…I’d do a muslin.
Fabric and construction
I used an 8oz stretch denim from Cali Fabrics for this project. It was a fairly thin denim which I saw as a plus since I wasn't sure how my little Janome Magnolia would handle several layers of denim.
The pattern envelope says that the most fabric you should need is 3 1/2 yard if you make view D (sleeves+collar) the largest size and your fabric is only 45" wide but I call bullshit. I had 4 yards, my fabric was 56" wide and I didn't make the largest size. Yes I would lose some to shrinkage and use a little more to lengthen the pants but I had to be very creative in cutting out my sleeves and had NOTHING left. Do yourself a favor and buy at least 4 1/2 yards, I'd probably suggest getting 5 to be safe.
Fabric and construction
I used an 8oz stretch denim from Cali Fabrics for this project. It was a fairly thin denim which I saw as a plus since I wasn't sure how my little Janome Magnolia would handle several layers of denim.
The pattern envelope says that the most fabric you should need is 3 1/2 yard if you make view D (sleeves+collar) the largest size and your fabric is only 45" wide but I call bullshit. I had 4 yards, my fabric was 56" wide and I didn't make the largest size. Yes I would lose some to shrinkage and use a little more to lengthen the pants but I had to be very creative in cutting out my sleeves and had NOTHING left. Do yourself a favor and buy at least 4 1/2 yards, I'd probably suggest getting 5 to be safe.
The construction was smooth! I found the directions to be really easy to follow except for the zipper insertion and didn't have any real construction issues. This was my first time sewing denim aside from hemming jeans and much to my pleasure and surprise my little Janome did very well, even with the topstitching. The only place I had issues was topstitching around the bottom of the zipper. The only change I made was using a denim needle.
Notes on the zipper and installation
The only area I found the instructions totally inadequate were on sewing in the zipper. They basically say "baste in zipper and topstitch" with a diagram that I didn't find altogether helpful.
When I made this, I hadn't installed an exposed zip in anything for several years. Just below where the zipper goes, there is a reinforced area with two triangles, which doesn't lay flat so I was wondering if I stitched it too high? My zipper also ended right at the point where the zipper stop at the bottom was, I couldn't see how I was to stitch around the bottom of the zip.
This video tutorial on exposed zippers was really helpful. It helped me to realize two important things about installing this zipper:
- I had bought a jacket zipper, which didn't have any zipper tape below the zipper stop. If you make this, look for a zipper that has zipper tape below. In the 18" length and because I wanted a metal one, a lot of them are jacket zippers.
- The directions have you reinforce the seam too high. You need those triangles to flap freely so you can attach them to the bottom of your zipper tape.
- Also, you make a diagonal slice into your fabric when you prep the pants, which creates these triangles that you sew to the bottom of the zipper. I would recommend putting fray check on them right away as mine frayed in between (lots of trying on the garment to fit the pants) and it was challenging to get the frays "tucked inside" when sewing on the zipper.
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| The triangles |
Alterations to the final garment
Yeah I made more alterations to the final garment. This is possibly the most fitted garment I have ever made! A lot of these changes are related to the fact that the muslin was a non-stretch fabric and my denim had a fair amount of stretch in it, I was worried it would be too tight but it ended up being a little bit too big.
- The back was gaping a the top, which the muslin did not do, so I put a long dart in it which was about an inch wide at the top. I had my husband pin it for me and he did a great job!
- I took raised the front crotch .5" as it had almost 2" of ease, with the stretch in the denim I was still able to sit and move around easily
- I took the pant legs in .25" at the hip and .5" through the leg on either side. This made the opening of my pockets a little smaller as I opted not to move the pockets over, which had already been top stitched on.
- I took 2-3 inches off of the sleeve length because they were down to the crook of my elbow and I thought they'd look better a little shorter.
- I took about 8 inches off the legs, much of which I had added as I decided a cropped length would look less "construction worker."
Final outcome
I am pretty happy with this project and might even make another one, now that I have fit pretty nailed down. My neckline is a little stretched out on one side, which happened at the very end (yes, I stay stitched it first thing!) but I think that is from trying it on so much as the bodice is pretty fitted and I am hopefull it will shrink back up with a washing. I can see it being very chic in a black stretch woven fabric. I do wish I had moved the pockets over and taken in the hip/thigh more, as it's a little big which gives it too much of a construction worker vibe but, I'll just lean in and be Rosie the Riveter for Halloween :)
Happy sewing!
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