Chasing Coco

Hello sewing friends! I have been sewing up a storm but blogging about it has taken a back seat, I have a lot of new projects and some past ones, that I can update with more photos of new versions. Stay tuned for more! Today, I'm going to give you the low-down on Ellie and Mac's popular South Shore Romper . I was really slow to warm to this pattern, despite it looking cute on everyone! I made it last year for the first time with a lot of enthusiasm but I HATED the outcome of mine but people kept posting cute ones online over and over again so I finally decided to give it another try. It might not have happened if we hadn't been under a shelter-in-place order for the last month because of the COVID-19 outbreak; it's amazing how much sewing I can get done when basically all socializing is cut off. When I go back to work, I will probably have a month's worth of new outfits to wear. So this was my horrible version from last year...sorry for the bathroom mirror s...

This was the first jumpsuit pattern ( Simplicity 1355 view A)  I have ever made, and honestly, before this I'd only made one wearable pair of pants. I had made 2 pair of pants and 2 pair of shorts but 3 of the 4 were a disaster! Since I wasn't sure about the fitting, I did make a muslin. Which I don't like doing but seemed necessary in this case. The fabric I chose was a rayon challis. It's very soft and drapes lovely but man, it wrinkles like crazy. I had to iron it like crazy after I took it out of the dryer! The color is also fabulous, so it's worth it. Isn't it pretty? I read in some other reviews that the back was really low, too low to avoid showing your bra so I raised the back piece about an inch, starting below the seam allowance and slanting out to the end of the piece. I didn't raise it too much because you need space to fit into the jumpsuit since there is no zipper. I raised about an inch and if I made this view again, I'...

I am curious how many of you out there proof your patterns before you make something? Until I started taking classes with E, I would just look at the measurements on the back and pick the most appropriate, cut it and sew it. That's what we're supposed to do right? Well, sort of. E suggests doing what she calls "proofing the pattern." Having now done it a few times, I can see that it does improve the results, you get a good feel for how much ease you have and if like me (ie practically everyone), you're sort of all over the measurements table, which size you should cut and where you might have to adjust. This is how I found out that, though I'm 5'7", very Germanic and often buy the "long" or "tall" size in commercial clothing, apparently I'm "petite." What?!? To proof your pattern, you want to measure on your body your various circumferences and the vertical distance from one horizontal measurement to the next (...