I jumped at the chance this week to try my hand at sewing a jumpsuit. I’m excited to say, it’s probably the closest I’ve ever gotten to my inspo photo. This jumpsuit is so soft and comfortable, it’s going to be my new at-home uniform.

There are a couple variations and I chose the culotte-length with no tie belt. Here’s my insp from the DIBY Instagram:

Fabric is a double-brushed poly peachskin from Joann Fabrics. I picked it up for $8.49/yard with a coupon deal. This is either the first or second time I’ve used polyester. I don’t plan to make a habit of it, but I can see now why Califabrics is always saying double-brushed poly is a popular bestseller. It’s very soft and super comfortable, easy to work with, cheap, nice drape, thick and opaque. The downside is of course that it will last in the environment for 10,000 years. I’m not sure what the eco-fabric equivalent would be. This is definitely thicker than the cotton-modal-spandex jersey I used last week from Blackbird. It’s almost halfway to a scuba fabric.

The DIBY Club instructions made getting the right fit very easy. I did a 3/4″ FBA (full bust adjustment), which is a pretty small adjustment, but it gave me some nice room in front and kept the bodice from pulling the pants up. I also graded from an 8 at the shoulder and upper bust to a 14 at the waist and hip.

I would go so far as to say these DIBY Club instructions have helped me turn a corner on fitting. In my Closet Clase Learn to Sew class, Heather Lou gave me an introduction to FBAs and other adjustments, which I equated to just “does it need darts and how big are the darts?”  Then when I made the Itch to Stitch Sabalito Top, I did it with darts and without and thought it looked better without darts. So from that singular experience, I started eliminating darts and not considering FBAs. This jumpsuit has turned me around there. I’ve found there are multiple ways to do an FBA that don’t just insert a dart. I also never want to waste fabric again on something that’s not going to fit. So it’s adjustments and muslins for me now all the way!

A new technique I learned in this garment was inserting clear elastic. I ran it through the serger in order to stabalize the pocket fronts. This video from 5 out of 4 patterns was really helpful and I used the Wondertape trick she suggested to attach the beginning of the elastic to the pocket edge. When it came to inserting in the neckline, however, that had to be done on the sewing machine and I knew that was a no-go. You’re instructed to use a zig-zag stitch to sew clear elastic to the 3/8″ seam allowance around the neckline. On the best of days, Singer can sew 1/2″ from the edge. Any closer and it’s chew-town. I did give it a try and sewed about 2″ before I confirmed what I already knew — it would be a big ‘ol mess.

It’s a shame because I am really tugging on the neckline to crawl into the jumpsuit. There’s no other way in except the neck!  Also because of my grading, the neck is smaller than it would have been without grading. I heard a seam pop when I stepped in this morning, but I’m not sure what I can do about it. My husband reminded me of a story my dad tells about how they would sew loggers into their wool long johns in the fall and cut them out in the spring. Maybe he sews me into this jumpsuit in the spring and cuts me out in the fall…

The DIBY Club instructions suggested using a long straight stitch to hem if you don’t have a coverstitch machine. I’ve never heard this but I jumped on it, as I haven’t been thrilled with how the zig-zag looks on hems. Unlike the neckline, this area doesn’t get stretched much so I’m hopeful these stitches will stay in place.

I would definitely make this pattern again, as soon as I can figure out how to stabalize the neckline. Until then, it would need to be in something else like this peachskin with a large percentage of spandex and a snappy recovery.  Keep reading for updates on how long the neckline lasts! -rp