Paper Theory Zadie Jumpsuit

If you've been paying even the slightest attention to the online sewing community in recent months, you'll have seen a fair few versions of the pattern that I have to share today. The Paper Theory Zadie jumpsuit has been somewhat ubiquitous recently - as proven by the plethora of gorgeous projects shared on Instagrm under #zadiejumpsuit.

When things become so popular, it often puts me off them. Sometimes the popularity is justified though, and everyone who makes the Zadie jumpsuit seems to love it, and it genuinely looks good on all shapes and size so I thought this was one bandwagon that it was worth hopping on board. Boy, am I glad that I did!

The Zadie (just in case it needs any introduction!) is a relaxed easy-to-wear jumpsuit, with a wrap bodice, tie belt, wide cut legs and the option of wide three-quarter sleeves or the sleeveless, dropped shoulder version that I made. There are no fastenings, so it's a fairly simple project with the neckline binding probably being the most 'complicated' step.

Due to the fact that it's intended to have a relaxed fit, the Zadie jumpsuit has fairly generous proportions. According to the size chart, my body measurements put me in a 14 at the bust and between a 14 and 16 at the waist and hips. After consulting the finished garment measurements and some online reviews, I decided to size down and made a 12 at the bust blending out to a 14 at the waist and hips. I didn't make any sizing alterations (hooray for not having to lengthen anything!), and I'm pleased with how it turned out. There's no gaping at the neckline, and I think it gives me just the right level of looseness without verging into sack-like territory.

In case it helps for reference, my measurements are bust 38", waist 38", hips 42" and I'm about 5'9".

One thing I did like is that the instructions clearly state the height and cup size that the pattern is drafted for (often I end up searching around trying to find out the height that a pattern company uses!), and there are lengthen/shorten lines on both the bodice and trouser pieces. The pattern also lists the finished bicep measurements, which will be useful if (when!) I make a sleeved version.

The instructions are clear and easy to follow. They give you all the help you need, without being too wordy. It's a fairly simple pattern to construct so there aren't any particularly tricky steps - I would have thought that a confident beginner would be able to make a Zadie without too much difficulty.

I did stray a little bit from the instructions. I used stay tape on the neckline instead of staystitching, and I applied the tape before I started sewing the bodice. I thought it was a bit odd that the instructions didn't tell you to staystitch the neckline until the bodice was fully constructed - I think with my fabric I might have managed to stretch the neckline before then just by handling the pieces.

Also, instead of using double-fold bias binding to enclose the neckline as per the instructions, I used single-fold bias binding. I sewed it to the outside of the neckline using a small seam allowance, then flipped it to the inside and topstitched it down from the outside. I think that gives a cleaner finish with a patterned fabric in particular. And from a practical perspective, I'd have really struggled to get my fabric to press nicely into double-fold binding!

Talking of the fabric, it's a viscose twill from WeaverDee. I think it's a really nice weight for a Zadie jumpsuit - it's got a good drape, whilst still having a little bit more body to it than some viscose challis fabrics. It was fairly easy to use, although it does fray quite easily at the cut edges.

One thing to note about this pattern is that it doesn't overestimate the fabric required in the way that some patterns do. I had the exact amount of fabric required, and I had almost nothing left over.

All in all, I love how my Zadie jumpsuit turned out, and can definitely understand why this pattern has been getting so much love in the sewing community. It was an enjoyable project to sew, and it's a really comfortable garment to wear and I feel fantastic in it. What more could you want?!

Butterick 6556 Dress Sewing Pattern Review

The Butterick 6556 dress has been on my radar of patterns I'd probably like to sew for some time now, so when it was included with issue 70 of Love Sewing magazine I took it as a sign that it was meant to be and snapped up a copy. I had some perfectly suited fabric in my stash, so it quickly hopped to the top of my sewing list!

Butterick 6556 is one of the Patterns by Gertie series, and so unsurprisingly has a bit of a vintage feel about it. The pattern is for a close-fitting dress with lined bodice, square front and back neckine, sleeveless or short sleeved options, a very full pleated skirt, pockets (yay for pockets!), and a centre back lapped zip.

While I have myriad patterns with a fitted bodice and full skirt, the square neckline on B6556 is something a bit different and really appealed to me.

Based on the finished garment measurements, I chose to make a size smaller than recommended for my measurements and cut a 14 at the shoulders/bust, blending out to a 16 at the waist. That worked out nicely and my toile fitted well - it was just a tad snug at the waist (fine when I was standing up but a little tight sitting down and considering that I would want to be able to eat when wearing the dress!). In my actual version I used a fractionally smaller seam allowance at the waist (probably about 1.2 instead of 1.5 cm), and that was enough to give me a bit of breathing space.

I also chose to sew the neckline with a 1 cm seam instead of 1.5 cm just to raise it ever so slightly and bring the shoulders in a touch. I'm gradually coming to the realisation that I probably have proportionately narrow shoulders, and that extra half centimetre on each side helps the shoulder straps to stay in place.

As you may have noticed, I also removed the cut-out/notch/whatever-you-want-to-call-it from the centre front neckline. This was possibly slight laziness on my part because I thought that it would take a bit of effort to get that looking crisp and perfectly symmetrical, and I didn't think it necessarily added much to the dress. I think I actually prefer the unadulterated square neckline.

I also lengthened the bodice by 2.5 cm as is standard for me. Another note on length - the skirt in the pattern is probably a bit longer than most. I often have to lengthen skirts by a couple of inches, but this is the skirt length straight out of the packet and it's bottom-of-the-knee length on me (I'm about 5'9").

The instructions were typical commercial pattern instructions - clear but brief. I did think it was a bit odd that they had you leave a gap at the shoulders when sewing the outer bodice to the lining. That's presumably to make turning the bodice/lining the right way out easier, but I managed to turn mine out perfectly well without leaving a gap and that meant that I then didn't have to hand sew the gap closed.

The fabric I used is one of the longer-term residents in my stash. It's a cotton shirting that I bought a couple of years ago, I'm fairly sure from Fabworks. It was the victim of my over-ambitious seasonal sewing plans and didn't get sewn up before the end of one summer, then got put away and has only just found its way to my sewing table. I think this pattern works quite well with the stripes. Obviously making sure they all matched up nicely took a little bit of time and patience, but I'm happy with how it turned out - especially across that centre back seam and lapped zip.

The only thing I'm not too crazy about is that the fabric creases and wrinkles as soon as you look at it, and it seemed to conspire with my camera to make the dress look a bit ill-fitting in places even though in real life it looks great. I can deal with a few creases though, and let's face it what it looks like in real life is more important than photos.

I'm really pleased with how this dress turned out. The ultimate sign that a project has been successful is when you immediately start dreaming up future versions of the pattern, and I've definitely got a few more Butterick 6556 dresses in my head already. They may not all come to fruition, but a second version is already waiting to be made using some beautiful Seasalt cotton voile - watch this space for that one!

Knitting: socks and shawls

I've finished a few smaller knitting projects since my last round-up post, so I thought it was probably time for another review. I never seem to have as much to say about knitting projects (especially accessories as opposed to garments) as I do about sewing, but I still want them all to have their place on the blog so it seems sensible to group them all together. I hope that's OK?

So, we'll start off with a shawl (Ravelry project here)! This is the Reyna shawl by Noora Backlund, which is a free pattern on Ravelry. The yarn that I used was a birthday present from my parents and came from Woolly Mama Yarns.

The Reyna shawl is a lovely relaxing pattern to knit, with alternating sections of garter stitch and a simple mesh stitch. It's specially designed for using single skeins of beautifully colourful sock yarn so it's no surprise that it worked out as a great match for my yarn. I enjoyed making this shawl and could see myself making more because it could look very different depending on the yarn you used.

Next up we have a handy little cowl. This was made solely based on the yarn, which was one of three different skeins that I was lucky enough to win in a giveaway from Mina of the Knitting Expat podcast. When it arrived, the Blue Sky Fibers cotton felt so lovely that I wanted to use it immediately. A quick Ravelry search revealed that the main viable options for the single skein that I had would be a dishcloth/washcloth or a cowl, and the yarn felt too nice to be used for washing so it had to be a cowl. I chose the Cha Cha Cowl by Jody McKinley - another freebie and another simple but effective pattern. It was a speedy project so worked up quickly, which meant I got to wear it a couple of times before the weather warmed up.

The final neckwear item for this post is my Amulet shawl. It's a pattern from The Shawl Society (I was given the book for Christmas) by Helen Stewart. I've used Helen's patterns before and really like the format that she uses - in case you're not familiar, she has a percentage checklist system so you know just how much progress you've made. It makes knitting them a real pleasure, and that was true again for the Amulet. I liked the fact that there are four different textures to knit so you get a bit of variety throughout the shawl.

The yarns I used this time both came from Little Stone Cottage Yarns (the colourways are 'I'm Blue' and 'Ocean') and I love how they work together. A blue shawl will definitely be a very useful addition to my wardrobe once the temperatures cool down.

Now onto some socks! First up we have the Precious Metal socks. This is a pattern by Louise Tilbrook, which I got free as a newsletter subscriber. It seemed to take me longer to knit these than socks would normally take me, mainly because I did have to keep referring to the pattern/chart, but it was still an enjoyable project.

I used John Arbon Exmoor Sock in the colour Mackerel Sky. I'm not entirely sure whether I'm going to be able to wear these (it's been too warm really since I finished them) because they felt a bit itchy when I put them on to take photos, but we'll see how they are once it's colder. And if I can't wear them then I'm sure they'll be gratefully received by someone with similarly sized feet and less sensitive skin!

The second pair of socks I have to share today are the Fernweh socks - a pattern by Mina of Knitting Expat. I used two yarns left over from other projects - Bert by Tracey Mustard (from my Sockhead Hat) and some West Yorkshire Spinners Signature 4 ply in Blueberry Bonbon (which I've used in several projects already). I really enjoyed knitting these socks and I love how they turned out - they're a welcome addition to my box of socks.

And, last but not least, my Nemesis socks. This is a pattern by Ambrose Smith, and I think it's actually surprisingly simple compared with what I thought it was going to be. It's not a mindless knit exactly, but you can memorise the pattern easily enough and that means that knitting them isn't too taxing. This time I used Coop Knits Socks Yeah in the colour Larimar. I really enjoyed knitting with this yarn and it feels really nice so I'd like to use it again at some point.

So that's all the knitting I have to share for now! There are more photos of each project (in case that interests you!) on my Ravelry project pages, which I've linked for in each case.

Have you been enjoying any knitting projects lately?

Agnes/Molly tops

As I mentioned when I posted my Seamwork Rory top a couple of months ago, my wardrobe has been in need of some new summer t-shirts. When this beautiful floral jersey popped up in my Instagram feed one day from Material Girl Laura (sadly it no longer seems to be in stock), I snapped some up to help boost my t-shirt collection.

The only question then was what pattern to make with it. While I really like my Rory top, I wanted this to be more of a "normal" t-shirt. I considered the patterns that I've already made and, while none of them seemed to be quite right, they weren't far enough from being right to justify buying another pattern so I decided to do a bit of low key pattern hacking to make something to my exact specifications.

The Tilly & The Buttons Agnes top is very close to what I wanted, the only problem was that I wanted the neckline to be a little bit higher. While I like the Agnes neckline in general, on me I think t-shirts with slightly higher necklines look better when I wear them with pinafores. Thankfully I have the Sew Over It Molly top (I think I got it free with a magazine), which has a neckline more like what I was looking for, so I simply redrew the neckline on my Agnes pattern pieces using my Molly pattern, and also used the neckband from the Molly top.

While this was a fairly simple pattern hack, I didn't want to cut straight into my pretty floral jersey without being sure that it would be what I wanted so I dug out this bird print jersey for a trial run. While it's Art Gallery jersey, so it's not exactly cheap fabric in itself, it's the leftovers of a piece that I won in a giveaway a couple of years ago (therefore it didn't cost me anything) and I'd already used part of it to make my first Gable top (therefore I'd already got a very successful and much worn garment out of it) so it felt like it was fairly low risk fabric to experiment with.

As you can probably already guess, my plan worked out nicely so I went ahead and made a second version of the top in the floral jersey and had a lovely Sunday afternoon sewing it up at a leisurely pace. While I enjoy tackling more complicated projects sometimes, often my favourite sewing sessions are ones spent working on simple projects where you can relax a bit without too much risk of having to reach for the seam ripper!

I'm really happy to be able to add these two into my t-shirt drawer. They're great basics so they'll definitely be worn a lot, the floral version is super pretty and the trial run version has put another piece of leftover fabric to good use. What more could you want?