How We Wear It: Olive Tencel Ailakki Jumpsuit

By Aimee Elise

I’m Aimee. When I’m not sitting at my sewing machine, I’m most likely working as a microbiologist. I enjoy reading, outdoor adventures, and saying yes to amazing experiences.

Jumpsuits, rompers, and playsuits have made a comeback over the past few years. I’ve always liked the look of them, but every ready-to-wear jumpsuit or romper I’ve tried has been ill fitting. They’re either too short in the torso (leading to some major pulling in the nether regions) or the waist of the jumpsuit didn’t fit properly.

I knew I could solve my fitting woes by finding a jumpsuit sewing pattern and adjusting the pattern to fit my longer torso. The Ailakki Cross Front Jumpsuit by Named Clothing has always left me awestruck, so I made it a personal mission of mine to make it this summer.  

Honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous as I was to start this sewing project. I was especially worried about cutting into this beautiful Olive Green Tencel Twill. The pattern has an advanced difficulty level rating and I was worried about the challenge of fitting an entire jumpsuit.

I cut out a size 6 bodice and waistband and a size 10 for the pants (though I probably could have cut out a size 8 considering the slimmer fit I wanted). The bodice came together pretty easily; however, I did get the exterior and interior lining pieces twisted around each other once they were attached to the back bodice pieces. I would definitely recommend marking your pieces with tailor’s chalk to keep everything in order.

The pants were very straightforward. They’re unlined, but they do have pockets, which I always enjoy in a pattern. Before finishing the seams of the pants or attaching everything together I checked the fit. They were pretty loose overall, which is the intentional design of this pattern. But I wanted a more tailored style, so I increased the seam allowance by ¼” starting just below the pocket seams on both the inside and outside pants leg, tapering down through the calves to the ankles.

After that modification, the rest of the pattern was pretty straightforward to assemble. I added bra cups to my bodice lining to give me a little extra coverage and support because I knew I wouldn’t be able to find a bra that could escape the keyhole front and the deep V-neck in the back.

The last tricky bit was inserting the exposed zipper and ensuring the waistband seams lined up perfectly. Part of my problem was that my zipper was unzipped when sewing up the second side. This caused the zipper to stretch and distort. It’s barely noticeable, and probably something that will only ever bother me, but instead of unpicking it I chose to let it go and gave my seam ripper the day off.

I’m not sure if it’s the drape of the tencel fabric but I do get a bit of bagginess and sagging on the front bodice where it attaches to the waistband if I so much as think about not standing up pin straight. Next time I’d probably take a ½”off of the bodice front shoulder seams to see if that fixes the problem. Additionally, I’d sew the bust dart about a ½” shorter because the apex was slightly high on me.

Do you ever sew outside of your comfort zone? Both Allie and I love a good sewing challenge, especially the little tricks learned along the way for the next sewing project.

Happy sewing!