Fuck Off Bunting.

I started it on a whim…a harebrained scheme.
I knew it’d either be a raving success or a sack of disaster .
This fabric, what is it? Is it tarpaulin? Is it water resistant? Is it crunchy?

This is my Peppermint Jumpsuit.

As mentioned in my last post I feel much better dressing in the summer, when I just need to reach for one dress or jumpsuit. After making my Reeta Dress I knew a jumpsuit had to be next, I have three RTW ones that I picked up in the summer sales that are in frequent rotation.
I reached for the free Jumpsuit pattern from Peppermint magazine.
I knew the pattern was going to be ‘flames’ (my final Love Island hangover there) as these patterns are designed by the truly mega Emily from In The Folds.

However, I did have some concerns, so as all great sewers have in the past, I did do some internal monologuing.
Patterns with plenty of ease, from the Cos school of ‘fancy scandi tent’, always look great on taller gals, but at 5,4′ and curvy I was worried I could end up resembling a very large but stylish battleship.
I really wanted another jumpsuit, so I thought about a few ways that I could combat this whilst still using the amazing free pattern:
i) widen the legs for balance, rather than accentuating the hips with the peg leg
ii) fit on the fly, looser designs are easier to adjust during the making process
iii) make use of the waist tie.

When I was first thinking of this pattern, I had intended to use some light blue chambray from Merchant and Mills, but then got into the rabbit hole of my mind… I picked up a very unusual fabric whilst at Mood in NY several years ago (stash busting ahoy) that might just work. On the tag it was called paper denim and was from designer Rag & Bone.
In drape and texture it lies somewhere between a waxed cotton or those new sewable papers. It is a deep navy, but the fabric coating bruises like waxed jackets and leaves distressed wear marks. Although the coating gives structure, the base cotton is very light so it isn’t too bulky.
This fabric cut like a dream, but I’ll be sure to change my needle and rotary blade after this project, as I’m sure the treatment on the cotton will have knackered my tools.

I’ve never worked with anything like this before, so I had reservations that it could end up unwearable due to stiff crunchiness.
I had limited lengths of this, so made the facings out of some striped cotton from my stash, had to split the pack pieces so there’s an extra seam across the butt and made the waist tie much skinnier than the pattern piece.
The way the fabric distresses is really interesting to me, but also meant that unpicking and stitching showed up, so I has to be careful in not bruising the fabric too much. In some lights’ the distressed effect of the fabric marks can also look like I’ve had an incident with flour/ double cream /chalk / jiz *delete as appropriate*; but in general life I’d say the odds of me wearing something with a stain are pretty high, so this is really an excellent cohesive piece to add to my wardrobe.

The instructions are clear and there’s a nice technique to get the facing/armholes/zip all in together.
As always, I knew that I’d want pockets, so blow me down, I added in-seam pockets before sewing up the side seams- on a more fitting garment I might have not done this but as a loose fit piece, I wasn’t worried about the pocket bags bunching and causing drags or bunching at the thigh.

This pattern is drafted quite long, I ended up lopping off about 5 inches from the legs as a shorter gal; I wanted mine to sit like the cropped wide leg trousers that are all over RTW at the moment.
Finishing inside was all overlocked, even though it probably didn’t need it due to the fabric’s finish.

I was delighted to find out that that the back zipper can be opened and closed without any assistance, jumpsuit autonomy FTW- too many times, have I been trapped in a toilet trying to do up my own jumpsuit before having to resort to asking a stranger to help dress myself.

The fabric is a little odd and makes this one of my noisier garments, as it rustles when I move but I’m hoping this will quieten as it wear it in and tell it no ones cares about it’s opinions and to ‘shut the fuck up’ .
If i were to make again I’ve dreams of a multi-directional striped number in linen.

This pattern would be great for a warmer summer break, simple and cool, yet still practical for walking about and looking at baroque churches and that.

Anyway, here she is! Views with and without tie waist. Also did a sneaky shot in the lift at work- industrial vibes, off to go and weld something…

Chow for now sew pals.