Vogue Jumpsuit—This Time With Pockets

I suspected a lighter fabric would really help the fit of this pattern, and I’m so glad I was right! Along with some modifications, it has transformed the Vogue #1807 Jumpsuit into just what I was wanting it to be.

About the Fabric

4 yards of Black, Ivory, and Olive Floral Rayon Challis from Cali Fabrics

• FABRIC CONTENT: Rayon
• WEIGHT: Light Midweight
• STRETCH: none

Challis (pronounced “shallee”) is a square-weave woven fabric with a soft, slightly fuzzy surface. The yarns used are always spun, not multifilament. Today, most challis fabrics are rayon, which increases the soft hand.

Baugh, Gail. The Fashion Designer’s Textile Directory (Page 148). Barron’s Educational Series. Kindle Edition.

Rayon is a manufactured fiber made from raw plant materials. It’s incredibly comfortable to wear: soft, lightweight, fluid, and breathable, which makes it an awesome choice for summer clothing. It works best in loose-fitting designs. It’s also naturally wrinkle-resistant.

It’s a relatively easy fabric to work with, though it can be a bit shifty. It presses well—even without steam—and sews nicely. You can read more about rayon challis here.

This Make: What I Did

• Sized down to Small.
• Anchored the elastic at the side seams.
• Sewed a narrow hem at the legs (vs. the 5/8″ called for on the pattern.)
• Topstitched the strap.
• **Important** Anchored the center of the strap to the center front, right sides together and aligned along the casing edge. This really helps control the neckline. On my muslin, I was hating the constant adjustments I had to make to the front and strap as they would slide through the knot. The way the fabric bunched in the knot was also causing the top edge of the bodice to either turn inward or outward (depending on how it was bunching) and looked awful. Anchoring the strap to the front prevents all these issues by keeping things in place.
• Redrafted the knot from my tapered version on my muslin to a rectangle. With the anchored strap mentioned above, there’s no need to attach the knot to anything.
  

  

  

• I included the pockets this time using a lightweight black knit lining. Ideally, woven would’ve been better so it would behave the same as the rayon, but it turned out fine.
• I did step 7 before I did step 6. Sewing a rolled hem around a narrow circle was a dumb thing to do when I could just do it on the flat before sewing the top seam along the front.
• I didn’t mark where the elastic was to be anchored and I did not baste the elastic before fitting. I used sewing clips to hold the ends in place, which made adjusting and gauging the fit WAY easier than sewing/removing basting stitches over and over again.
• I moved the seam stopping point on the front up by about 3.5″.
• I added a button to the inside along the casing near each side seam and sewed a button hole in each tie to achieve the cross-strap look like I did on my muslin.
• I modified the instructions:
  • Step 1: added trim and finish seams.
  • Step 2: Revised to stitch crotch seam to large circle in front.
  • Step 5: Trim seam allowance. Clip back seam allowances above and below pockets. Finish seam allowance.
  • Step 7 becomes step 6: Create narrow folded hem using chiffon technique.
  • Step 6 becomes step 7: With right sides together, stitch single notched ends of front as shown. Trim and finish seam allowance.
  • Added Step 7A: Finish crotch seam.
  • Step 10: Insert elastic through casing. Clip, try on and adjust, then sew ends securely. Close casing opening.
  • Added Step 14A: Anchor center of strap to center front, right sides together, aligned to top of casing.

Notes for Next Time

• Loving the pockets. Keep the pockets.
• I’m wondering about anchoring the straps a bit more forward. Maybe it will help keep the bustline in place.

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