I was fortunate enough to win this lovely pattern, The Lazy Jumpsuit from Tropical Research during the SewApril2023 sewing challenge hosted by Ryliss at Sewing and Design School. I was immediately taken with the casual elegance of it. I chose it because I thought it would be useful in spring and early summer and felt that I could also hack it into a faux jumpsuit if I needed to.

The pattern is described as follows:

“A boxy, minimalist & unisex sewing pattern for woven fabrics of all kinds. The Tropical Research lazy jumpsuit is a fun weekend sewing project for beginners that like a challenge and seasoned sewists! The fit of a jumpsuit is always tricky since people come in all shapes in sizes. I’ve kept the construction extremely simple to make adjustments easier and to reduce the overall sewing load.”

The pattern comes with a really comprehensive tutorial, presented in a couple of different ways to suit the individual needs of the maker. I really appreciate this as I can skip over the more detailed instructions for elements I understand, but follow the diagrams and instructions for the trickier parts.

My first decision was fabric as the pattern pieces are huge and I needed a lot. I eventually found this really fine cotton lawn printed with flowers that I bought in 2013 at a very exciting place called the “Vintage and Value” in Meadowbank, Sydney. It was essentially an op shop just for makers and was housed in a garage. It was a bit of a trek to get there and I have a memory of taking a ferry. It’s no longer there but there are now two op shops in Sydney called “The Sewing Basket” that are the same sort of thing. I visited the one in Newington on a trip a few years ago. They are dangerous places!

Every bit of this make is done with French seams, I didn’t use my overlocker at all, so the inside of my jumpsuit is every bit as neat as the outside. I used a Clover Hera marker inherited from my Mother for the curved flat felled seam in the crotch and on french seams on the pockets, which worked really well.

The buttons had to be chosen as buttonholes were made whilst the jumpsuit was in the early stages of construction. I had a lot of choice but eventually went for the cloth ones on the right that I bought at a Morrison (Perth designer) sale a few years ago.

I couldn’t be more pleased with this. I really like it with the drawstring pulled up, although this makes it show my ankles, but I’ll learn to live with it.

Just to show the contrast with the drawstring loose and the longer legs. I feel a bit clownish so I doubt that I’ll wear it like this too often.

Here are a few for your viewing pleasure

And a couple of the back view

I find getting it on easy, but getting it off is slightly more of a struggle. I am definitely going to make another one but as a faux jumpsuit, and I’ll do it in plain linen so I can mix and match the two pieces. It is really comfortable to wear and is perfect in our spring weather.

The warm weather is coming and every time she visits Miss G checks the temperature of the pool. She cannot wait to get in!