Hello there! I’m excited to share about a velvet jumpsuit garment that I made with the Zadie jumpsuit by Paper Theory. I was inspired to make a holiday outfit with velvet to wear this year. Last year I made this fun velvet sleeved raglan top last year with Minerva. Initially I thought about making a dress but I don’t currently have many super fancy occasions that I’d need a velvet dress to wear. I saw another maker’s short sleeved velvet Zadie jumpsuit on Instagram and I was sold on the combination. I love the versatility of the pants with the dressiness of velvet. I like that this outfit can be worn around the holidays or through winter. I also appreciate the versatility that jumpsuits offer when worn while traveling.

For the fabric, I picked a dressy crushed velvet in a knit base. There was some risk involved selecting a knit fabric base for this project (the pattern recommends a woven fabric). I’ll share more later on how I approached sizing and applying a knit fabric to this project.

Supplies

 2.5m, Crushed Velvet Knit, Stone (reference size chart for fabric length needed)
 80/12 Ball Point needle
 White Universal thread
 Bodkin
 Iron
 Ball point sewing pins/fabric clips

Recommended fabric:

Per the pattern: “This pattern was designed especially for woven, medium weight fabrics like cotton and linen and would look great in fabric that has a draped quality like crepe, viscose twill or satin. It would also make up well in some heavier fabrics like drill and light weight denim. It is possible to make this in Knit or stretch fabrics like Jersey but the binding technique around the neck is tricky in a stretch fabric so be warned that would take the difficulty degree up a few notches.”

Version:

I debated on which version to make. This is a great problem to have as I love patterns like this that include multiple versions in the same pattern. I debated between the short sleeve or three-quarter length sleeve length. I searched on IG for awhile via #zadiejumpsuit for inspiration. A lot of projects that I saw are the short sleeved version. This might partially be due to the pattern being released March 2019 and people have been enjoying making this pattern over the summer. I will wear this velvet garment more through the winter so I decided to add the sleeves.

Size:

For sizing I read a lot of pattern reviews online before selecting what size to make. That is one really fun element about our sewing community. If you pick a popular pattern to make, a lot of people have already made it and can give you tips and suggestions for the process they went through. I consistently saw people sharing how they sized down two sizes for their jumpsuits.

There are pleats within the pattern in addition to the style being a wrap style. I like wrap style dresses and jumpsuits as the built-in adjustment options are quite nice. I decided for this project to err on the side of a slightly fitted detail vs than making the jumpsuit on the larger size for my body type.

Based on my body dimensions, I selected a size 6 for the bodice and sleeves. This is two sizes down from my body dimensions. I graded past the top of the pants to an 8 for the waist/hips. Grading was interesting as there are multiple pattern pieces to this garment. I decided to only grade on the outside seams of the pants. I did not grade along the crotch seams and instead cut the pattern pieces out at the size 6 along the crotch curves. I cut the waistband tie at a size 8 as I would rather have the tie be too long and cut back later if need be.

Cutting the fabric:

Tthe designer has some intentional ways to use the least amount of fabric as possible. The fabric cutting diagram shows all pieces cut on the flat (rather than on the fold). I wanted to also note that the fabric length chart was intentionally as close as possible to the actual fabric used. Some designers have an extra amount of fabric included into the recommended fabric length. This pattern did not have a large buffer included (so be aware to buy more fabric than recommended if you’re matching a printed fabric or modifying the pattern as I did).

More commonly for me time is a bigger factor so I typically preferred cut on the fold. In this case I cut on the flat as the pattern recommends. I’m glad I went this route and as I did run short on fabric. I had 2.5m of this fabric, 60” wide. This amount would have been enough fabric but I forgot that I added a significant amount of length to the pants.

I referenced my recent MN Flint tulle pants make to match the pants length for this jumpsuit. Initially this meant me adding 8 ½” to the pattern length. As I got to the last section of pattern pieces to cut out I found I was going to be short on fabric. Thankfully, the fabric only ended up being 1” short. I folded up the pants pattern piece 1” shorter for the total length that I added to be 7 ½” added to the pants pattern pieces.

As I was laying out the remaining pattern pieces I found I did not have enough fabric and had to think about layout for the final pieces. I decided to prioritize the belt length, cutting out two pieces of the full belt and the bodice pieces.

Continued in my next post…

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