Sewn: New Look 6446

I have made a jumpsuit, and it is glorious! Well, after that opener, I think it might be obvious, but this is one of my favourite makes, possibly ever. New Look 6446, a jumpsuit or dress with a sort of apron style bodice.

So, after my previous culotte experience, I saw this post on Not Dressed As Lamb. I almost ordered her jumpsuit right then and there, but caution got the better of me. A few days later, I was window shopping with a friend and tried on a blue denim jumpsuit. It really didn't fit, but the style looked very promising. That night, while searching for a top for my culottes, this pattern practically threw itself at me, and the rest is history.

Although I really love the white version, I figured that blue would probably get more wear. I picked up 2 yards of this stretch denim look at Queen Textiles here in Toronto, overlooking that the fabric was 54" not 60" wide. I managed to cut all the pieces I needed, but decided to abandon the belt for now. I didn't have anything with the right stretch or weight to make a muslin, so I resigned myself to fitting as I sewed. Oddly, the front pant was far too wide, and I ended up going down 2 sizes in width to get the side seam to sit at my sides. I knew that the stretch would most likely mean taking things in, but that was not what I expected!

For the bodice front, I traced the size 16 on to the fabric and basted it in place, and did not like what I saw at all. I tried shortening the darts, but that still looked weird. After playing around with some pins, I ended up continuing the waist dart into a princess seam, which took a lot of width out of the upper portion. I am fairly narrow through the upper chest, which is not something that I correct for a lot, as in loose fitting garments it's not usually an issue. In this case, though, I cut the top band after sewing the new princess seams in place, measured, and cut the size 12 band. When I went to sew it on, I had to take another 1 1/2" off, which makes it considerably narrower than the pattern! Another thing to keep in mind about how my bodice fits, is that I usually shorten bodices by about 1" to accommodate my short waisted-ness. I didn't do that here, opting to wait and see how my draped front turned out. So I also have more coverage at the top and under the arms. I'm glad that I did things that way, though, as otherwise my bra would not be covered. So although I definitely started with the pattern, things changed considerably along the way.

Just look at all that coverage! No bra straps on display here.

There were no invisible zips to be found in my colour, so I went with a centre zip with hook and eye at the top. I can get the zip up by myself, but of course I can't do up the hook. Which means I couldn't undo the hook myself.... so I should just take it off, as it's pretty much useless. The pattern also calls to line the bodice, but in my sturdy fabric I opted to use facings instead. The top band is faced anyway, so I just needed to make pieces for the front underarm and the back.

To recap, here is my laundry list of pattern adjustments:

Started with the size 18 bottom (adding 1 1/4" in rise length to front and back) and 16 top.
Finished with the size 18 pant back, 16 bodice back, 14 pant front, and probably size 6 front band. The bodice front I essentially draped right on myself. Scooped the front and back crotch approximately 1/4" each.

Summer seems to be releasing it's grip at long last, but I have worn this beauty a few times in the weeks since it's been finished, including twice to work last week. It's official, this is true garment love. And it's opened up a whole world of style possibilities - I've picked up a second jumpsuit pattern, and I've been thinking... I don't wear a lot of dresses, but I could just add the bodice to pants instead of skirts! If I still feel this way next spring, be prepared for one-piece dressing at long last!

Has anyone else had any sewing epiphanies lately?