Vogue 1483 Sandra Betzina Jumpsuit

Have you tried making a jumpsuit yet?  I don't know how popular they are in ready to wear, but in patterns, jumpsuits are definitely making a comeback. There are sooo many jumpsuit patterns out there right now, that if you only want one, it's hard to pick.  Just take a look here at the McCall's jumpsuit/pants page.  I already own one black jumpsuit-it's a wide legged flowy style with a cowl neck and short butterfly sleeves.   I wear it for parties, and I consider it pretty dressy.  So, I didn't want another dressy one.  I had a few criteria that I used to narrow down the selection- it needed to have pockets, be casual, and be easy to get out of.  Sandra Betzina's version in Vogue 1483 met all three.  Plus I love the Today's fit sizing and Sandra's personal touch in the instructions.  I always learn something new.

I used a ponte knit from Fabric Mart, and you can see my post for them here.  The pattern suggests a drapey woven or knit, ponte, challis or crepe.  As a taller than average person, my biggest worry about a jumpsuit is that the torso would be too short.  Sandra does address the torso fitting in the pattern instructions, but there is still a large degree of just knowing your own proportions and guessing if you need to add length.

So, I just took a wild guess, and knowing that I"m tall, I added 1-1/2" to the bodice.  That was adequate as far as comfort goes, but I definitely don't have the blousiness that it shows on the cover jumpsuit.  I'm not sure that the extra blousiness would be attractive though because the zipper coil isn't blousy- it just kind of sticks out in the little bit of blousing that I have in mine.  And if you are like me, you really don't want anything sticking out to make your tummy look any larger!  That may be why you see more patterns with side or back zippers, or buttons instead.   There really isn't anything that you can do to make that zipper coil drape prettily in the center front.

The bodice is styled like a raglan t-shirt, which is always good for easy fitting.  You don't have to worry about the pesky shoulder line being in the right place.  The collar however, didn't work for me.  It has you interface it, and when I put it on, it was too long for the neckline, and because of the interfacing, it just stuck out.

So, I removed it, peeled off the interfacing layer and shortened the band about 3 inches.  This time it looked better.  But, I was using a knit ponte, and was able to stretch it to fit.  The pattern says that you could also make it from a woven, so in that case, you might need to keep the interfacing.  I would just recommend that you baste it in place, and see what you think before you make it permanent.

The pockets are great- very nice and large. The waist area has a casing on the inside.  I skipped the casing, and just stitched my elastic directly to the fabric.  But, I did have a very soft elastic, so it's not scratchy against my skin.  If your elastic is a little stiff, I would definitely make the additonal casing.
I also added 1-1/2" to the length of the pants, and definitely needed every bit of that length.

I do feel that the style looks very similar to pajamas.  In fact, my daughter, said it looked like I was going hunting in my pajamas.  Haha!   So, I'm going to have to accessorize to try to get some distance from pajamas- thus the belt, necklace and vest.  I think that the long sleeves contribute to that pajama look, so if you are making the short sleeves, that might not be as much of an issue.   Anyway, I'm enjoying wearing it!

How about you?  Would you like to try a new jumpsuit pattern?

Happy Sewing!
Ann