Fake Jumpsuit Review:
Hello all! Let me introduce myself, I'm Rudy. no its not short for anything.. all my nicknames are longer! I've been sewing about 2.5 years after my husband made a guess that I’d enjoy a sewing machine for Christmas one black Friday. He did good! My sewing escapades generally go on @roodles_runique head over and give me a wave if you like sewing, and dogs, but mostly sewing!
So for my very first blog post for Sew Me Sunshine, I ordered this beautiful crepe, with every intention of making myself a lovely Seamworks Alamanda to wear with jeans or for work. But then the fabric arrived (super quickly I hasten to add) all plans went out the window! The drape of this crepe is lovely and floaty so I just knew it needed to be something more. Plus a Alamanda uses a lot of fabric and I had images of getting more out of the large amount of fabric.
I saw @Suziela recently made a faux jumpsuit. She used culottes and a floaty t-shirt and it looked fabulous and it got me thinking! So I decided I would give this a go. I love jumpsuits, though my Mum doesn’t she says I look like Andy Pandy, but now I’m getting old I really hate having to take the whole thing off to go to the loo! Also as I was making this to wear to the Handmade Fair too I decided porta loos and jumpsuits do not mix!
I decided I would make an OgdenWinslow FAKE jumpsuit! I've used the Winslow culottes, which are a favourite of mine that I always get compliments wearing, but this time with full length trousers and the Ogden Cami which I'd never made before but I’ve been admiring for some time!
The Winslow’s are a great pattern for anyone that is new to sewing trousers because they are floaty meaning that fit isn't really an issue. I like to wear my Winslows high up on my waist, but I leave the crotch where it is so that if I ever wanted to wear them lower I could. Higher just prevents chub rub… ha ha! I made the full length version this time, and I think I could have made them a bit shorter as I keep rolling over my legs in my office chair, but when I’m stood up they are perfect for wearing with flats which is all I ever wear anyway!
The Ogden Cami is clearly going to become a staple of mine! I squeezed it out of a smaller amount of fabric than advised by shrinking the length of the facing, which I wouldn’t recommend as it can lie funny on my boobs, but needs must! I think this is going to be a great one for using up odd ends of fabric after I’ve made a dress or something.
Top Tips for Sewing with Crepe:
-Make sure the tension is right on your machine/overlocker. If it's a bit tight it ends up shrinking the fabric as the seams end up being short- not great for trousers
-Overlock/zigzag the life out of it! It frays like crazy so I overlocked each pattern piece once I had cut it out
-Pattern weights and a rotary cutter are better for this slippery beast or it'll slip slide everywhere
-Use a walking foot or I'm told a roller foot but I’ve not tried that. Just gives you a bit of extra control over the fabric
-I prefer to sew in interfacing, because it scares me getting the hot iron near crepe as if it’s too hot it just melts!
-Last one is a fun fact I learnt most recently, CLOSE the window. Otherwise it just blows everywhere and you end up prying pocket pieces from the pooches!!
So what do you think? I actually love it, because really it’s like 3 outfits! I can wear them as separates or together and all options are suitable for work too so I can show off more me-made in the office, as if I need an excuse! The pictures are a little from the Handmade fair and some more when I wore it to the office the following week. Happy Sewing!
Click here to view all of Sew Me Sunshine's crepe georgette fabrics that are in stock right now!
Love this Rudy, looks fab on youxxx
I love the whole outfit Rudy. Those trousers are really fully and so drapey! The combination it great and it was so clever to make two separate pieces as you can get lots of wear all round. x