Sorry, couldn’t resist the alliteration in that title!
This is a follow up jumpsuit made from Simplicity 6959, but this time I made it from the lightest, softest, drapiest, viscose knit, instead of a very stiff sheet. I want to be a little less conservative this year and figured that this fabric and design might be a good start.
Now, if you can remember the ’70s, you will remember that we wore our trousers long – right down to the ground, so I wanted to emulate that here. What I didn’t realise is that the jumpsuit would grow during the evening, so by the time I returned home, it was very long, in spite of my hitching it up around the belt.
The jumpsuit is made in panels – two per side, so eight altogether, with a zip front and kimono sleeves. It comes together quickly once it’s cut out and all those tailor’s tacks, so beloved of pattern makers in bygone eras, are put in.
This fabric was not a lot of fun to sew though. I washed it before making it up and it stretched out of shape all down the selvedges. I rewashed it, I steamed it, but to no avail. I was in despair as I really wanted to make this up. In the end I decided to give it a go and see what happened. I managed to cut round most of the distorted sections, but some of the panels went off grain. I am not sure that this has made much difference – nothing seems twisted, so I think I got away with it. My sewing machine decided that it didn’t like the fabric at all, so it is made almost exclusively on my overlocker.
I was originally going to pair this with my vintage Chanel bag, but as we were attending a stand up function, I went for one of my Japanese bags instead, which weirdly made me much happier, although this is not an evening bag and is therefore a bit big.
I was pleased that this jumpsuit hit four targets – it fitted into Jungle January, I stashbusted some fabric, it fitted my vintage pledge, AND, the party we were going to had a black and white theme. Score!
My only change this time was to alter the collar. I did this on the last iteration but went too small. This time I left the back of the collar longer and just took a bit of fabric from the front, resulting in something much more wearable.
The details: Pattern is Simplicity 6959 from the 1970s, fabric is viscose knit from Spotlight, shoes are Letizia from Letizia, Claremont, the belt is stretch sequin from Secret Closet, and Keshi pearls are from Heaven Wrapped. Final note, I also wore my Jungle January undies with the jumpsuit, giving me a very coordinated outfit. Unfortunately I couldn’t resist flashing the bra at anyone who showed any interest. Luckily, most of the unfortunate recipients of my bragging were friends, although I did make a couple of new friends in the process!