Jumping with joy: Selfdrafted Bird print jumpsuit

So here it is, in all it's glory (if I do say so myself!) The jumpsuit I designed, drafted, sewed and wore to Claire and Dan's big day. This wedding was the most anticipated event of the entire year in my friendship circle, so when I decided to make my own outfit, I knew it had to be worthy of the occasion! I'd drafted a similar jumpsuit for my trip to Marrakech (here) but for me, this one was still a huge challenge. I decided to make it out of polyester satin which I'd never worked with before. In fact I've always shied away from slippery fabrics as they can be tricky to handle. But as soon as I saw this print I fell head over heels for it (so much so that I'm currently waiting for the fabric shop to restock so I can go back and buy even more!) And after weighing the pros and cons in great detail with the man in the shop (and giving him an in depth stream of consciousness overview of my project!) I decided just to go for it. So glad I did, I didn't realise I was capable of making something so lux and I was literally jumping with joy at how it turned out!

... Little did Claire and Dan realise their carefully planned wedding venue would also double up as my own private catwalk and fashion shoot!! Hee hee!!

A few shots from the day...

Work in progress...

I found a few handy tips on sewing with satin online. The Grainline Studio tutorial about cutting out silk between paper was really useful. I think this tutorial alone was make or break for this project so really glad I did my research first! I cut the pattern out flat and left it pinned to the fabric while I sewed the seams which stopped the satin from sliding around or getting trapped in the feed dogs. I overlocked the edges with a narrow overlock stitch which worked much better than an normal overlock stitch. I do think the fabric is a tad too delicate for the overlocker though and next time I think I'll French seam instead. I also lined the bodice with a light pink viscose, but next time I think I'll skip this step cause the fabric is not very transparent so the lining didn't really serve much purpose in the end.

 

So glad I took the leap and made this project. Feeling way more confident now about sewing with slippy fabrics. I want to make plenty of other projects using this material too. In the pipeline are a Shirt dress, a playsuit, a midi dress, a crop top, a blouse, a camisole and a Tee so I warn you now, you are going to get pretty fed up of seeing this print!

TTFN xx