Blanca Jumpsuit in Floral Corduroy

Sometimes I come across a piece of fabric and instantly know what I want to sew with it. There are several textile and sewing groups in my area that have periodic fundraising sales of fabrics, supplies and patterns where I've found some real gems. I snagged this piece of floral corduroy earlier this year and thought it would be great for another Blanca flight suit for my friend Halnya. It's rare to find a nice floral corduroy, it must be a few years old as it has no stretch and was 45" wide but the piece was around 4 yards so enough to fit the jumpsuit with a bit of pattern puzzling. I made this pattern last spring when I taught an online class and it's fun to put together. More details below but FYI I'm doing this class again starting Feb 1, here's the link. 

She is a fashion risk taker so was very happy to wear this jumpsuit which I think has a 70's look about it. Here's a better look at this fabric. I think it actually looks better with a leather belt rather than the fabric belt. I really like corduroy and unlike other fabrics that I am fine with ordering online, for corduroy I want to feel it and see the weight and the color in person. Lately I've been looking for stretch corduroys in interesting colors, it's always on my list and if I see some I will buy for the stash. I guess it's out there but I find that the price seems too high for my liking. For some reason I would pay a fortune for a imported wool but I feel like corduroy should be in the $10-$15/yard range which is probably unrealistic. 

Anyway - this was a bargain of a few dollars, and then I ordered a zipper from Wawak, their selection and shipping speed is amazing. 

If you note in this photo above I made a change to the sleeve design. On the pattern the long sleeve has a seam down the center and then no cuff, just a snap to make it smaller at the wrist. Which is feature that I didn't really care for so I extended the short sleeve pattern piece into a long sleeve and added a cuff with snaps. 

For cuffs I just decide how wide I want them, how much overlap, measure the finished sleeve opening (where I added a small pleat) and then draw up the cuff piece right on the fabric. And then use that one to cut out the second.

For the opening into the cuff I just used the continuous bound placket and then let the underlap of the cuff be about one inch longer so that the cuff would overlap.

Since the zipper was metal I thought that snaps would look good on the cuffs instead of buttons so that gave me an opportunity to get out my snap tools. Which consist of a bunch of snap kits that I keep in an old metal cookie tin. So many sewing supplies in old metal cookie tins, right? Another one is full of buttons. 

I've found that these Dritz snap kits actually work very well. The key to using these is to follow the diagram on the package exactly. Also not lose any of the little pieces! Now I just buy replacement snaps as I have the snap setting components that came in the kit. Also when I apply the snaps I put the rubber disc on a piece of wood and then the snap holder plus snaps/garment on that, and then hammer on that. The block of wood gives a firm surface to hammer onto and also kind of absorbs the hammer blow so the snap doesn't smash but locks into place. 

Here's a look at this pattern and the technical drawing.

When I first made this I was a bit cautious as I really don't like sewing bulky zippers but it came out fine. In my class I have some further details but here are a couple of tips for getting this zipper in just right. 

When it comes to zippers I work from the top down, as this type of zipper is very visible on the garment and the opening is the most important. It has to be even at each side of the collar.  I mark the stitch line where the collar will attach and then placed the top of the zipper in relation to that line. Then I pin the zipper down to the zipper stop. As it happened this zipper was a bit too long so I cut off the bottom, hand sewed a new zipper stop and then covered the bottom with lining. I did remove the teeth from the zipper tape below the new stop. 

After fixing the bottom of the zipper I hand basted the whole thing and then it was ready to stitch in. I find it takes a few minutes to hand baste in something like a 22 inch zipper but the time is so well worth it as you can then sew it in by machine, with no pins and be sure that it's in just the right location, and centered. 

So that's a second go round with this pattern and I think another friend wants one so it may again be on my to-do list. Meanwhile I might also make up another Merchant and Miller Boiler Suit for Stacey as she wears her first one constantly. I made both of these pattern back in April when I did my online class for Jumpsuit/Boilersuit and that will start again in February, here's the listing on the Hello Stitch website.  I'm happy to say that Hello Stitch will continue as an online entity and continue to offer classes in sewing and quilting so I will be teaching more online classes this year. 

I'm turning into a jumpsuit fan, maybe I will even make one for myself!

Up next, more completed things to post here, and on my calendar next weekend a trip to Britex with my friend Heather. I want a tweedy wool in tones of burgundy for a jacket, and she wants some camel color wool for a coat. That's the plan but who knows what we will come home with!

Happy winter sewing,

Beth

Today's garden photo, a flower from the mallow bush that I got a few years ago at the local community college horticultural department sale. The flowers are so pretty and this thing is incredibly hardy, I think it's about 6 ft x 6ft now and that's with a periodic chop.