Laura’s Sierra Jumpsuit
My inspiration this month came from a ready to wear garment I happened to stumble upon, and then couldn’t stop seeing everywhere.
The garment in question was from a shop called Joanie, a small online retailer operating out of my hometown of Manchester. They have recently released some collaboration pieces with Laura Ashley, a British textile design company renowned for their “quintessentially English” design and floral fabrics.
In this collection, I fell in love with a jumpsuit/overall made in a floral needlecord. It just felt timeless. And the fabric was so like the one that Hayley has chosen for us in this beautiful wine colourway that it was simply kismet.
After browsing some patterns, I settled on the Sierra Jumpsuit from Papercut Patterns. It is not a doppelganger for the original Joanie jumpsuit, which is a button up front with patch pockets, but I prefer the silhouette of the Sierra with the wrap style bodice.
I wish I could say that this make was clear sailing. I am sure that we are all guilty of steamrolling ahead when we’ve got an idea in our heads and so eager to get going, but occasionally this comes back to bite us. This is nothing to do with the pattern itself, more a lesson in paying attention!
My first mistake – I misread the fabric requirements. The fabric this month is a narrow width, but I only looked at the requirements for this pattern for 140cm wide fabric. Unfortunately, I only noticed my error after I had cut out several pattern pieces.
Cue a blind panic! As I had already cut out a large chunk of the fabric, it wasn’t an option to jump ship and make something else instead. I raided my fabric scraps for a large enough piece that also matched the needlecord.
Thankfully I found this dusty pink cotton twill leftover from a pair of trousers last year. It’s a similar weight to the needlecord so it was a good choice, and the colour brings out the pink in the floral sprays adorning the fabric. Crisis averted.
My second mistake was the cutting layout. I probably cut 99% of my pattern’s fabric right side up. Not usually a problem as most patterns have symmetrical pieces. But the bodice pieces for the Sierra Jumpsuit are different, and the pattern indicates to cut on the flat. What I failed to notice was that the cutting layout also indicated to cut the fabric wrong side up.
I didn’t have enough fabric to recut them, so I constructed everything on the “wrong” side and my jumpsuit tie is actually on the right instead of the left.
But aside from these little errors, I really love this jumpsuit! This was my first pattern from Papercut, and I am very impressed! The construction was really interesting, and the drafting was perfect. The bodice is fully lined, there are in-seam pockets and an invisible zip closure at the side.
The original styling of the Joanie jumpsuit was super romantic, full-on vintage countryside vibes with a white prairie blouse and chunky boots. So, I mirrored it here with a Tilly and the Buttons Marnie Blouse. Perfect, right?!
I don’t have a countryside manor just yet, but I feel like I would fit in very well.