Skip to main content

Chaillis Short Jumpsuit/Romper Butterick 6220


Would you call this a short jumpsuit or a romper?


Jumpsuit sounds so serious: "You must put on your suit to do the business of jumping."  And I can't help but associate jumpsuits with prison attire.  I blame Orange is the New Black for this stereotype.

Romper, on the other hand, sounds very light and carefree.  No cares or worries- just skipping and romping in the sunshine.   Romper also reminds me of Romper Room.   If you are under 40 or from outside of the US, it was a very innocent children's show.   It had a huge bumblebee character named Do Bee that taught manners with advice such as "Do Bee good boys and girls and help your parents."  Here is a fun look at a Do Bee book.

Image from Modernkiddo.com

I watched it, and my husband knew about it, but didn't watch it.  Can you guess which one of us has better manners?

I've digressed.  Back to rompers or short jumpsuits: whatever you call them- I've been seeing quite a few patterns for them lately, and decided to test the waters with this very simple pattern- Butterick 6220.   I really think that the back is pretty with the tie and crossover.  Here it is from the back, and the line drawings from the pattern:






 I see several pros of this pattern over other similar patterns:

     1.  Can be made from a woven fabric.  A lot of  jumpsuit/romper patterns are designed for knits.  I wanted to use a rayon challis for mine, so this was perfect.  It took about 2-1/2 yards.

      2.  Lots of coverage on the top.  This is great if you don't want to show a lot of skin. The short rompers with halter or spaghetti straps are great if you are a twenty something, but not for me.

      3.  Easy to put on- no zipper, just a tie in the back.

      4.  Can be made short or long with pants, or with a skirt.


It's pretty similar to this one from Zara.  With a few tweaks of this pattern, you could duplicate this look.


And here are the cons:

      1.  Tricky to not have your bra show in the back with the crossover.

      2.  Getting the right body length is crucial, since you aren't using a knit that will stretch.

      3.  It's rather plain as is, so you really need to wear a belt with it to break it up.  This makes the already challenging task of going to the bathroom a little more challenging because you need to figure out where to put your belt!

I'm taller than average, so I added 1" to the length of the bodice, and 1" to the length of the pants.   I  extended the back crotch curve 1" at the inseam to give me a little more depth.  I really was just shooting in the dark with these adjustments, but I got lucky and they worked well.


If I make it again, I think that I would add an additional 1"to the bodice length, so that it I could blouse it over the belt a little more.   Or I might add a couple of buttonholes at the center front waist and thread a tie belt through instead of using elastic.

The construction is pretty straight forward- a facing on the front V-neckline, narrow hemming everywhere else.   Here's the inside of the facing:


The only part that I disagreed with was the waist casing.  The instructions have you straight stitch the raw edge of the elastic casing closed.  With a challis, the straight stitch would unravel in no time, so I serged the edge, then stitched again 3/8" from the seamline before I inserted the elastic. That may not sound like a big change, but it does shorten the body length, so you need to compensate for that if you finish the waist that way.


I also needed to hand tack down the overlap in the back a few inches above the waist, so that it would cover my bra strap.  Here's the back flat:


Overall, I'm really happy with this look.  It's super comfy, cool, and different than anything else that I've got in my closet right now.  I'm sure that at least one of my daughters is going to want one of these, so I'll definitely be sewing it again!


Romper Room would always end this way "Romper, bomper, stomper boo. Tell me, tell me, tell me, do. Magic Mirror, tell me today, have all my friends had fun at play?"   And then the hostess would look through a magic mirror and read names of kids watching at home.  Since I had a very common name that was read frequently, I was sure that she could see me, so I was always a good Do Bee!


Is there room for rompers in your sewing plans?  Do you remember Romper Room?

Now, I'm going to go start the new season of Orange is the New Black in my romper.  Oh, how this Do Bee has fallen!

Happy Sewing!

 Ann

Comments

  1. VickiJune 13, 2015 at 6:58 PM

    Very cute!

    ReplyDelete
  2. bettyJune 14, 2015 at 12:58 AM

    That's a cute romper. I'm never going to wear one though. I've worn jumpsuits in the past and going to the bathroom was just too much of a production number :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ann BrodskyJune 14, 2015 at 9:56 AM

      Thanks, Betty. I probably will just be wearing this when I'm sure I won't need to use a public restroom. It's not so bad if you are at home.

      Delete
  3. SewCraftyChemistJune 14, 2015 at 8:59 AM

    Haha to the sign off! Hilarious :) I've heard of Romper Room but have never seen it.

    I do call shorts versions rompers and I do like yours! It fits very well!

    Also, that's how I do casings too. Serge then stitch. Much easier.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ann BrodskyJune 14, 2015 at 10:01 AM

      Thanks, Nakisha I've liked the jumpsuits that you've made too!

      Delete
  4. UnknownJune 14, 2015 at 10:22 PM

    Very cute! In the past whenever jumpsuits were in style I was right there but I'll probably pass this time around although it's tempting!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ann BrodskyJune 15, 2015 at 8:40 AM

      Never say never, Diana! That's kind of why I chose this one because it really was a quick and easy project, that if I didn't end up wearing it, I wouldn't be out that much in terms of effort. But, pleasant surprise- I really like it, and will be wearing it alot!

      Delete
  5. AnonymousJune 16, 2015 at 11:35 AM

    Very cute! I love the back split, very sexy, in a good way.

    I have a similar things with the name "romper" that you have with the word "jumpsuit". When I first learned the word (English is not my first language), it was in connection with baby clothes, so I steadfastly refuse to wear rompers, for me they are all jumpsuits, even when, strictly speaking, they ARE rompsuits.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ann BrodskyJune 17, 2015 at 4:55 PM

      Haha! That's funny. I can see your point. I guess that is why it's good to have two options!

      Delete
  6. prttynpnkJune 18, 2015 at 6:33 AM

    I totally waited for her to see me!
    This is pushing me into the romper zone....nicely done!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Gavanna patterns/ Tina olssonJuly 1, 2015 at 7:14 AM

    Love your jumpsuit/ romper/ whatever ;) It looks very cool and relaxed, and in a very pretty fabric!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for visiting my blog! I would love to hear your opinions! Please share your comments here.

Popular posts from this blog

What to Wear in Madagascar

To be honest, I have no idea what to wear in Madagascar, and this title may need to be changed to "what NOT to wear in Madagascar" in a few months.  We will have to wait and see.  My 22 year old daughter, Alyssa, left for the Peace Corps this week, and she will be stationed in Madagascar for the next 2 years and 3 months.  Yes, you read that right- TWO YEARS and three months!!! We are very proud of her for wanting to help make the world a better place, and for being fearless in doing so, but it will be a looooong time for Mama and Papa back home. Not knowing anything about Madagascar, the first step in figuring out what to pack was to figure out the weather and the cultural norms.  Madagascar is a very large island off the southeastern coast of Africa.  It's very, very unique in it's ecosystem, and has many species that are not found anywhere else in the world- most famously lemurs. Right now, it is experiencing it's rainy season, as you can see by t...
17 comments
Read more

Giveaway Day

The popular blog SewMamaSew is sponsoring a Giveaway Day!  We are participating and would like to offer a prize of 3 SewBaby patterns!  To enter, just comment about which SewBaby pattern you would like to win the most.  We will ship internationally, and the prize winner will be selected randomly on December 6th.  Make sure to leave a way for us to contact you if you are the winner!  You will get to choose which three patterns are your prize!
201 comments
Read more

Vogue 9305 Asymmetrical Tunics

It's April and we're expecting snow tonight.  Have we switched hemispheres?  Nevertheless, I am sewing with visions of warm sunny days.  And for those warm sunny days to come, I imagine sitting in the shade with a light breeze flowing through the air, enjoying a light beverage with friends.  Just close your eyes and you can imagine too.  What would you be wearing?  Well,  I love a dramatic asymmetrical tunic made of the softest linen.  As luck would have it, I found just the fabric in the "As Is" section in Fabric Mart's sales category.  With just some irregular dye marks on the selvage, it was marked down, but still completely usable.  It started out as a solid color, but I did an ombre dip dye process to get this look- more on that later! For my pattern, I chose Vogue 9305 , a tunic with a shaped hemline, and two styles of pants (I didn't make the pants).   This pattern must be the biggest bang for your ti...
16 comments
Read more