Thursday, May 8, 2014

Vintage Jumpsuit Butterick 5471

A month or so ago, I was contacted by my sweet reader Candace, who had a vintage jumpsuit pattern that she thought would be right up my alley. As soon as I saw it, I knew she was right, and today I'm crazy excited to finally show it off!


The pattern is Butterick 5471. I decided to make the short version. Since I wasn't sure whether or not a jumpsuit would "work" for me, I wanted to make it in all black. Black covers all wardrobe sins right?! I happened to have a yard of black "amaretto linen" in my stash (that's Jo-Ann's code for "fake linen") and went back to JA to buy some more. On my way in, I was mulling over the options for buttons and BOOM it hit me--pearl snaps! They would dress up the outfit a bit and also be more functional than buttons.

But you don't care about any of that right this second, you want to see the garment, right?


Oh yeah, and there are pockets!


I'm completely in love with this jumpsuit! More exclamation points!


It's comfortable, fun, and fits great. I did make a muslin since fit could have been totally off here (torso length is pivotal) but the only change I made was a longer hem. The pattern called for a 2 inch hem allowance, but I found that to be creep-up-into-your-butt short, so I went with 1 inch. The inseam is now just right.


The elastic waist casing even hits me in the right spot without changes! I did opt to leave off the drawstring and just used elastic.


This was my first time working with a vintage pattern. I probably got lucky with how well it went, but I'm definitely not scared of them anymore! No way out but through.


On these detail shots, I overexposed the pictures so you could see a bit better. Black is so tricky to photograph!


It took me a good week to sew the jumpsuit, not even counting cutting and muslin time. I sewed on the collar maybe 4 or 5 times? Collars have always been hard for me, but after all that work this one is perfect, which is immensely satisfying.

Inside view

The armholes and neckline are finished with facings, and the front placket is a cut-on facing (something I love!). The waist casing is made by stitching down bias tape. I actually had some vintage bias tape that I got at a garage sale last year (the grey) so that was fun to use on this project. I tried to keep my finishes vintage-inspired and used my pinking shears on my seams. The serger never touched this garment!


The hem was finished by hand using lace hem tape (also vintage, same garage sale!). Part of why the project took so long was because of the hand-finished hem, and the hand sewing needed to tack down the facings.


There is one wonky bit at the bottom of the placket. I don't know if I cut wrong or sewed wrong, but you can see a bit of the white interfacing peeking out. I use hand stitches and zig-zag machine stitches to cover it up and reinforce the area. I don't think you can see it from far away (thank you black!) and if you're this close to me, well, then I probably don't care what you think about some wonky stitching ;)


And the pearl snaps? Absolutely perfect. Kind of a PITA to put in (I don't have the little tool thingy, so I used a hammer). Snaps are so much better for quick bathroom trips, and c'mon, don't you feel like the Hulk anytime you get to rip something open like that? Also, they're pretty!


I wore this outfit to the park with AB and it was perfect for climbing, sliding, swinging, and carrying my keys and phone, all without worrying whether my clothes were staying put. Consider me sold on the jumpsuit bandwagon! I'm not sure what anyone else thinks of this look on me (except my husband, who said it reminded him of a Steak-N-Shake uniform) but I think I pull it off well! A super huge shout-out THANK YOU to Candace for sending me this pattern, it's exactly what I wanted and I'm thrilled with the results! The only downside? That it's Me-Made-May and I resolved to wear something different every day! I seriously will be wearing this once a week this entire summer.

4 comments:

  1. Wow, it turned out GREAT! Fits beautifully, and the snaps are such a good idea. I was watching an episode of Sew It All featuring wrap pants, and I kept wondering if you had to take them all off to use the bathroom, which would be a complete deal breaker.

    I am so happy you have your jumpsuit!

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    Replies
    1. Yeah, the snaps make bathroom breaks much less frustrating than buttons. Which is good, since I'm usually trying to keep a toddler and/or a dog out of the room so I can be left in peace!

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  2. I love this! It is so cute on you. And the snaps was a great idea, they certainly add a great detail to the garment.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you! I love when a small detail like snaps can make such a big impact!

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