Who else loves secret pajamas? A knit jumpsuit must be one of my favorite things to make and wear. It looks put together, even dressy, but feels like I didn’t bother getting dressed in the morning.
I had this jumpsuit in my head for quite a while before I managed to bring it to fruition. This jumpsuit originally appeared over on the Cali Fabrics blog, where I wrote all about the fabric I used (Cliff’s Notes version: The fabric is soft and drapey, but shows all the sweat, so I wouldn’t recommend it for summer).
I easily could have purchased a pattern for this jumpsuit, but I never like to make things easy. I decided to mash together two patterns from my stash — the Named Ninni Culottes (Mac talked about converting this pattern for wovens here) and the Made for Mermaids Daphne top, with a splash of the Cali Faye Basics Dress thrown in for good measure!
With the patterns I chose, mashing them into a single jumpsuit wasn’t too hard, but it did take just a little bit of tweaking to get it right. I used the Ninnis almost exactly as they are drafted, just omitting the side seam pockets because I knew I wouldn’t really use them, and I just don’t like side seam pockets on knits.
The top is also a fairly close approximation of the Daphne top with some minor variations. I hacked a couple of inches off of the short sleeves because as drafted they were longer than I wanted. And then I had to figure out the bodice length. I used the dress bodice of the Daphne for my base, but I could tell from the listing photos that the bodice piece was too short to blouse the way I wanted it too. That’s where the Cali Faye dress came in.
The Cali Faye dress blouses perfectly over the waistband of the skirt piece. So I used the bodice piece from the Cali Faye dress to lengthen the Daphne bodice piece to get that blousing effect. It also gave me the extra length that I knew I would need to make the casing for the elastic at the waist.
And it all worked perfectly! This jumpsuit came together amazingly well. My only gripe about it is that I didn’t have enough 1/2″ elastic in my stash for the elastic around the neckline, so I had to use the 1.25″ that I used for the waistband. The shoulder elastic is just too wide to sit nicely when the top is not worn off shoulder. That’s a bummer because it does make the jumpsuit harder to wear. Oh well, maybe I’ll try again sometime!
If you want some secret pajamas, but don’t feel like mashing a bunch of patterns together, I’ve rounded up a few great knit jumpsuit patterns for you to try. Each one of these dresses either up or down really well, won’t feel restrictive at Thanksgiving dinner, and will leave you feeling like you stayed in your PJs all day long!
The Closet Case Sallie Jumpsuit is a perennial favorite among home sewists, including me. I made my first Sallie as a romper, and then followed that up with the full-on knit jumpsuit. I love both it’s cool ’70s vibe and its incredible comfort factor.
Friday Pattern Company has a couple of great knit jumpsuit patterns, starting with the Joni Jumpsuit. I actually made a Joni on my sewing weekend back in April, but haven’t had a chance to photograph it yet! I love how the Joni is fitted in the top but skims over the belly and hips. It’s comfortable and sexy.
The Bayside Romper by New Horizons patterns is business in the front but party in the back. I love the cross over back on this pattern. It covers adequately to wear a regular bra, but adds a great level of interest.
The Lucy Jumpsuit by Seamwork is the new kid on the block here. This jumpsuit was in the July issue of Seamwork and is a great casual look. I have a similar RTW jumpsuit that is one of my favorite pieces when I’m truly looking for comfort.
As you can likely tell, this is the jumpsuit that inspired my brown jumpsuit above. I love the off-shoulder look and loose oversized bottoms. It’s stylish and on-trend and a great option if you don’t feel like mashing your own jumpsuit together!
So tell me, are you a jumpsuit person?
–Katie
