disco butt

Things my husband said after seeing my newest, completed make:

"Ooooh baby, you've got disco butt..." (what does that mean..?)
"What I really like about this is that you can go right from the roller skating rink to a karate dojo without having to change your outfit!" (and I added: "And then right to BED!!!")
"This makes you look really skinny. Like Mia Farrow!" (I didn't even pay him...)

This, my friends, is a jumpsuit. And while we're on a roll here with the list making, I've been keeping a mental list of all the things that jumpsuits are awesome for:

• High kicks
• Impromptue yoga
• Looking dramatic in a breeze
• Lounging (obviously...)
• Striking poses
• Calling people "Daaahling"
• Riding bikes (but I roll up the legs, because those are some biiiig hems!!)
• Looking like you got dressed on those days when you don't want to get dressed
• Collecting cat hair (well... I can't speak for all jumpsuits on this one...)

And here's the list of things that jumpsuits are not awesome for:

• Ohmygodwhatthef**k TOILETS!!!

Here I was, thinking to myself: "Why don't people wear jumpsuits all the time?? They are so comfy!!" And then I think I uttered an audible "oh shit" the first time I was confronted with a toilet while wearing my jumpsuit.
But how I manage to do my business in this jumpsuit is not the point of this post! I made a jumpsuit! This has been on my 'to make' list forever. I sort of "drafted" this pattern myself. I say "drafted" because I'm not totally sure that my method of 'Just Drawing Shapes on Paper and Hoping For the Best' is really a method of pattern drafting. If it is - than I am a master! I did test the bodice part out first in some leftover jersey I had laying around and deemed it 'good enough'. The finished jumpsuit is made out of some black rayon modal jersey. That stuff is just so slinky and soft! Perfect for this sort of swishy, drape-y, unstructured outfit. Also, completely forgiving of my haphazard drafting methods!

One of the tricky things about (cough cough... ahem) drafting your own patterns, is that they don't come with any instructions! I mean, no duh, obviously, but you really have to spend a bit of time thinking through how you're going to construct your garment - how edges are going to be finished, what areas need to be interfaced, etc. I was having a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to finish my neckline edges. My first thought was to bind them, but no matter how careful I am, anytime I bind edges in jersey it always looks like a huge, hot, mess. Then I thought about encasing elastic - similar to how Heather instructs you to do it with the Bombshell swimsuit - but I wasn't sure I wanted all that zig-zag topstitching to be visible. Finally, late at night (when I should be sleeping, but instead I'm thinking about sewing... come on... you do it too) I had the aha! moment of using facings! It's also a sort of 'no shit' solution, but for some reason I always underestimate the power of facings.

The other completely obvious, yet also revelatory discovery I made while making this jumpsuit is how effective a fusible knit interfacing can be on jersey (I know, I know... minds = blown I'm sure...). The interfacing has just a teensy amount of stretch, so it works with the fabric, but it also stabilizes it, which is perfect for a 4-way stretch knit like modal. I interfaced my facings, pocket edges and hems. Interfacing the hem was totally revolutionary for me! No more crazy, ripple-y hems! I interfaced about an inch around the bottom, serged the raw edge, turned it up and did a double-needle topstitch. Seriously the most gorgeous hem I've ever gotten with a knit. Of course this only works because I don't need the hems to stretch.

I've pretty much been wearing this jumpsuit non-stop, even despite the awkward bathroom moments. It's just that comfortable, and yet I also feel sort of chic in a 70's disco(butt) kind of way!

As a matter of fact, my jumpsuit was the first thing I packed when I jetted off to NYC two weekends ago! Yep... that happened!

All photos, except that last one, are from the lovely, amazing, Jennifer
Wanette, Oona, Sonja, Latrice, Devra, Jennifer, Kelli, and of course, my girl Heather.

So, forgive me for a second you guys - I'm sure this is going to sound like just another love-fest of a blogger meet-up recap - but let me put this in perspective for you: I have been sewing for a little over three years now, and blogging over two, and I have never had a real, live, in-depth chat with another sewist, let alone another sewing bogger! I was seriously over-the-moon. Getting to meet these women in real life, who's blogs I look to for inspiration, education, commiseration, to be awed and amazed, and for a good laugh, was such an incredible experience. It re-newed my creative energy, and reminded me why I blog and make the effort to be a part of this space - because our little on-line community is made up of some of the most creative, talented, brilliant, kind, genuine, open-hearted and FUNNY women (and a few men) I have ever had the immense pleasure to come across.
My weekend was epic. And one that I will hold close to my heart forever... at least until it happens again! And a special thank you to all you ladies up there that I had the chance to meet and talk to and get rowdy with. Ya'll are precious.
xx