McCalls M8009, Playsuit

2022 was a bit of everything. The best year, the worst year, the most productive, the least productive, somehow growth and stagnation both at the same time. I look back on my 2022 sewing and I could stamp it with a big rubber stamp that says DISTRACTED - stay behind after class Ms. Holland.

And I'd be right. I was distrated, distracted growing into my house, distracted falling in love, distracted getting my heart broken, distracted playing badminton, distracted learning golf, distracted trying to learn how to swim, distracted writing songs, distracted letting men buy me dinner, distracted trying to get enough vitamin D, distracted recording songs, distracted getting a new job, distracted getting another new job. It's amazing I managed to get anything made really isn't it? 

I want to cut the crap in 2023. I know what makes me happy. It's making, it's learning, it's putting skills into practice. It's sewing, damn it! I wanted to launch the year with a new pattern I'd never made before that would likely need a few fitting alterations. I'm a big big fan of a playsuit (despite their obvious awkward draw backs), a chairty shop TopShop playsuit find was on heavy rotation in 2022 for various occasions. So I wanted to make my own! Having gained a bit of confidence in fitting crotch and legs after my Simplicity Amazing Fit trousers I felt ready to take the plunge. 

I used what I think was the last of the fabric from the backdrop in the Coco Don't video to make the toile. I cut to the bust size as this is where I always have fitting issues. I suspected, and was soon proved right, that this would cause the playsuit to be a bit short in the body. Visually, you could tell the crotch sat too high and it looked (and felt) pretty uncomfortable. The solution was easy - I added 1.5cm to the length of the bodice band. This meant it sat on my natural waistline and dropped the crotch lower. I also tapered the top of the inside leg seams out a bit where they met, so that the shorts were a little looser around my hips/bum. 

On the top half, I had to take a little out of the neckline to save it from gaping. It was only a teeny tiny bit - I just pinched about 1cm on the neckline of the paper pattern and flattened this towards the bust. When I cut the fabric I trued the new neckline so it was straight. 

The gathering on the shoulders and bust is a lovely touch to this pattern. I was worried it would look a bit bulky when the lining was gathered too but there were no problems. I moved the bust gathers towards the centre by about 1-2cm, as I felt the positioning was a little bit off on my initial toile that followed the pattern. I don't think this was any kind of poor design on behalf of the pattern design, more a case of me doing what I can to try and make my boobs appear bigger! 

Tacking together the side seams and pinning up the back it became quite clear I needed to taper in the side seams at the underarm so that the bodice wasn't loose and lumpy. I increased the seam allowance by about 1.5cm, grading out towards the bodice band. 

This floral fabric has been in my stash for 2 summers now I think?! I never quite knew what to make with it. It became obvious quite quickly that I wouldnt have enough fabric for the sleeves and I would have to use something different for the lining (delves into stash and comes up with some tan statin). I think this pattern was a really good match for the fabric. I added some lightweight interfacing to the outer bodice piece which I couldnt see any mention of in the pattern but I think it was a good shout. The pattern also calls for a 24" invisible zip... The shop onmy had 22", but when I put it in it reallly did feel like it was designed with 22" in mind so there were no problems there. 

The shorts ran a chance of being too short, but before I comitted to the length I compared them to the Topshop playsuit I'd been wearing and they were about the same length. I overlocked the raw edge and turned up a tiny hem. 

Lastly, as the sleeves were a no-go I opted for bias bound armholes. I dont actually ever recall doing bias binding before where the whole band is turned inside! It went well, the armholes definitely had the desired neat finish, but I 100% did not enjoy handstitching down on the inside. Next time I will make the armholes a little wider as I don't think I compensated quite enough for how much I lost by increasing the underarm side seam width. 

The pattern is really cute! I'm glad I was couragous enough to try the plunge neckline, the alterations I made definitely allowed me to get away with it. Looking forward to getting my pins out this summer! 

x
Location: Sheffield Botanical Gardens

Currently listening to: Universal Cinema, Gaz Coombes

Simplicity 2860, Amazing Fit Trousers

I've been scared of trousers for quite some time. I've made a few pairs but I've always felt like I was cheating, big pleats and forgiving gathers. 

The Simplicty Amazing fit trousers were what I needed to tackle my fear. The pattern instructions include a lot of fitting tips, and the pattern is designed with fitting alterations in mind, for example the seam allowances are bloody massive and there is a seam in the centre back of the waistband to aid with pinching in or letting out as necessary. 

The toile I cut was a good starting point. It was a little loose on the waist and hips, so I increased the seam allowance but 0.5cm at the waist and a further cm from the hips onwards. I wanted to keep the legs straight, so I was careful not to over-fit at the hips. 

I was prepared to have to make some alterations in the lower back area as I am often needing to tackle a swayback adjustment, but I found the waist/ butt darts gave a good shape to my behind. 

The main fit issue was a found the trousers a little tight in the crtoch area. I did a bit of research and found I needed to deepen the curve in the crotch (which felt sort of counter intuitive as I associate increasing a seam allowance with making something smaller and therefore tighter), and alter the angle of the inside leg seams. This worked for giving me less of a wedgie but did seem to make the front crotch area a little overly spacious. But hey that's what toiles are for! Lots of messing about until the fit is good and the fun bit can begin! 

I may have over-deepened (is that a word?) the crotch seam, but it did work to my advantage - they ended up a little more high-waisted with that extra room which is exactly where I wanted to wear them. I had to be careful though, as any higher and I would definitely have had to alter the darts in the back to fit the curve of my lower back. 

Wearing them a little higher meant that I also had to be wary of the length! 2cm further up the hips meant 2cm higher up the ankle! Luckily there were no disasters, but I did make a slightly narrower hem to be on the safe side. I then blind hemmed by hand so as no stitching could be seen on the outside. 

I loved constructing the fly zip (even if constantly swapping to the zipperfoot was a pain!). I could have done with sewing the left side a little further from the zip teeth so that the tag sat a little more comfortably behind it, but if I wiggle it in after I've zipped up no one would know! Also I learnt when making my toile that the outside of the fly pieces need to be overlocked before inserting. 

One of the only downsides of this pattern, is there's no pockets! But I totally get that this means altering the fit is much more doable at any stage of making. 

What it lacks in pockets it toally makes up for with beltloop bonus points. It's very satisfying adding them into the construction of the waistband right from the off instead of fiddling about with them at the end. There's also the added comfort knowing that if for some reason they need a bit of help staying up you've got an extra safety blanket! 

Other satisfying features of the waistband include the hidden button and buttonhole inside the fly. I was sooo pleased with the buttonhole (new unpicker for smooth slicing and some fray stop before any threads started running). I bound the bottom of the waistband facing with a satin bias binding for a super neat finish. I fastened down with my neatest stitch in the ditch, which for the first time ever you cannot see from the right side and I did not need to unpick a thing. 

Finally, a little note on fabric choice. I would love to make million versatile versions of these trousers. I can see a plain black pair quickly becoming a wardrobe staple. When picking fabric though I need to be really careful not to pick something that creases easily (crease crotch is the worst), but not pick something so heavy or stiff that it chafes (also bad). If I keep the wide straight legs, cord might look a but juvenile (I've already lived through the 90s once thanks), denim would work but only if it had very minimal stretch so as not to alter the fit of the pattern. 

Really pleased with the time I put into altering the fit. I got these guys finished in time to start my new job. Meet your new boss. 

x
Location: Millhouses Park

Currently listening to: Somewhere They Can't Find Me, Simon and Garfunkel

McCalls M8009, Playsuit

This is my second McCalls M8009 playsuit. I enjoyed both making and wearing my first one so much that I wanted to make another. The pattern is the perfect combination of both fitted and loose in different areas so really fun to put together. 

I made the same alterations as I did before, only with a few slight differences. I did find that my last playsuit was a little bit tight around the midriff seam when I sat down or when I was eating. When I got to the sideseam stage this time, I loosely tacked and tried on before stitching down the back lining piece, making small changes until I felt it fit right. This resulted in taking in about 2.5 cm seam allowance at the very underarm, grading to about 3 at the bust, and then back out to 0.5cm at the midriff seam where the shorts join. 

I made sure that I moved the bust gathers by 1.5cm inwards towards the centre front, so that the gathers were sitting in the correct position and not disappearing towards my under arms. I did do this on my last version, but I didn't transfer this to my pattern pieces, but I now feel I can commit this alteration to the pattern. This also means moving the pattern marking dots on the midriff piece 1.5 cm inwards towards the centre front as well, so that the pieces will match up. 

I really love the fabric print. I've seen this fun viscose challis advertised on Minerva quite a few times and it keeps catching my eye. I initially wondered if I could get away with it being a little bit halloweeny, but I think I can pull this off. It's such a fun print! I love how playful both the pattern and fabric are, so I think they compliment each other really well. I did spend quite a lot of time getting the pattern placement right when I was cutting out the pattern pieces. I cut everything out on a single layer as I didn't want skull nipples or a skeleton disappearing into my crotch. I also wanted an even distribution of the pattern across the garment, making sure I didn't have the same skeletons on the bust pieces or a skeleton slap-bang in the middle of the midriff piece. 

The fabric is really soft and comfortable to wear. It's easy to sew with, although you do have to keep an eye on it when sewing to make sure it doesn't stretch out as it is so light. I like to use a pointer or the edge of my embroidery scissors to help evenly feed the top layer of fabric into the machine. 

Due to its drapey nature, it gathered really well so this was a nice pattern to use! 

Initially I was going to make the version of the playsuit with sleeves. I ordered some plain black chiffon from Minerva with this in mind. I tacked in one sleeve and tried on, created an Instargra poll to ask my followers the big question "SLEEVE OR NO SLEEVE?". 80% said sleeve, with over 60 votes..... So naturally I did the contrary and decided to go sleeveless! No, really I have never got on with puff sleeves, and the gathering at the sleeve cap in this pattern was just a bit too much for me. I did consider altering the pattern and taking out the volume, but I just knew in my heart that I would get loads more wear out of this if I went sleeveless. I do however really like the gathers at the cuff of the sleeve and do intend to use the two sleeve pieces that I have made with a different pattern. Perhaps the shirt with puff sleeves?? Watch this space! 

Instead of using lining fabric, this time I cut the lining from the same fabric. As a result, this version has a lot more drape than the first version, which used quite a tough lining. It fits a little bit more softly and is more comfortable to wear. 

I put the invisible zip in with just less than 1.5cm seam allowance in the back, so the zipper tape just covers the raw edge of the centre back - which I did overlock so threads didn't get caught in the zip. I then folded and hand stitched the top of the zipper tape to the inside. I always like to pin then tack my zips before stitching to ensure accuracy. 

This pattern features a lot of gathering, which is quite fun once you get the hang of it. I set the machine to about 3.5 stitch width and loosened the tension as I found with a larger stitch width the gathers are a little bit too baggy. With 3.5 you get a good amount of movement when you start pulling the gathering threads but the gathers are a little bit tighter. 

After deciding to omit the sleeves I made my own bias binding out of the fabric. I cut 2 strips that were 3cm wide and 50cm long (a little longer than I needed for the armholes but it's good to have more to play with). I made a template of the binding piece using a strip of cereal packet, and placed this at a 45 degree angle on the fabric using a set square, so I could get this as accurate as possible. I then folded the fabric strip in half to mark the centre, folded the raw edges into the middle, pressed as I went along and then stitched the fold along the seamline of the armholes. I made the armholes a little bit deeper to make up for having taken extra fabric in at the sideseam. I didn't do this on my first version of the playsuit but I had found that the armholes were slightly too tight. I used the sleeve piece to work out how much fabric I needed to take out at the bottom of my armhole, matching the sleeve notches and then positioning the bottom of the sleeve against the underarm until it sat flat. I then drew the new curve using the sleeve as a guide. 

Once I'd sticthed the binding to the armholes I understitched the seam allowance to stop the binding from flipping out, and then slipstitched the folded edge by hand to the inside of the bodice. I didn't particularly enjoy doing this but it prevents the stitching from being seen from the right side. 

I did a narrow hem around the bottom of the shorts again to stop them from being too short. To do this I just overlocked the raw edge then pressed the overlocking under and hemmed at about 3mm from the edge. Mistakenly I didn't change the tension on the overlocker for using a single layer of fabric instead of double. I need to be mindful of this next time to avoid any bunching. 

I really love the fit of this playsuit. I think it was a good decision not to use a slippy lining fabric as I think using the skeleton fabric gives it a really casual, summery feel. I did use light interfacing on the midriff facing piece, maybe I could have used a tiny strip along the neckline for extra stability, but it fits so well as it is and there are no gaping issues at all. 

I highly recommend the fabric and the pattern. I'd be intrigued to see if anyone has made a version with the sleeves and if they can pull off the poof better than I could! 

x
Location: Eyam, Derbyshire
Currently listening to: We're Just Making It Worse, Cameron Avery + Alexandra Savoir