McCall’s 7330: Rompered Up

I’ve been anti-jumpsuit for a number of years. Multiple witnesses will tell you that I have vociferously expressed my concern about the level of undress required when using public restrooms while wearing a jumpsuit.* That said, after seeing all the awesome jumpsuits other sewing folks have made, I cracked. Everybody looks so chic and breezy! I want to look chic and breezy, too!

I actually have two jumpsuit patterns in my stash. My mom stink-eyed my choice of this pattern. But I forged ahead with McCall’s 7330 anyway.

And the result? Oh, dear.

It’s mostly my fault, I think, with the pattern instructions offering an assist. I haven’t put in a fly zipper in over a decade. I just don’t make pants very often, and I usually prefer the look of a side zip. But I still didn’t expect to botch it all up so thoroughly, which I somehow managed to do. And while it wasn’t irreversible, I felt that unpicking all the stitching and the zipper would wreak havoc on my gentle rayon fabric. There was no way I wasn’t going to end up with at least a few pulls in the fabric. So I left the incorrect zip fly as-is, and have a fly that’s doubled in width, and therefore also a smaller waist measurement than I’d prefer.

Fortunately, you can’t even tell… Right?…

There is approximately one place on my body where the waistband can sit and actually be closed. There is no breathing room otherwise. Unfortunately, it sits about an inch higher than it should, leading to some, um, … uh… oh good grief, here it is: this jumpsuit is one big wedgie factory.**

A couple of notes:

Based on the finished measurements, I cut a small on top and graded to a medium on the bottom. I really wish I’d cut a medium starting at the waistband instead of just the top of the shorts. Since there’s some intentional gathering, this would have been easy to adjust for. Hindsight.

I followed the instructions for View C, even though I don’t think I’ll ever wear the sleeves down. (I love a good sleeve tab and rolled sleeves!) So, I’m not sure why I bothered making the cuff. Seriously, consider not bothering with constructing the cuff if you’re not going to wear the sleeves at full length, which, let’s be real, is kind of a weird look.

Also, the shorts are short. Like, whoah. I actually added about an inch and did a narrow hem. Be warned.

Would I recommend this pattern? Hesitatingly, and with the caveat to make a muslin, if possible. The style has possibilities (which Erica Bunker aptly demonstrates), but it’s not a slam dunk for me. Also, I question the back pocket placement on this jumpsuit. Deeply.

I was actually pretty down after making this (and my original write-up reflected it — I totally just deleted some pseudo-thoughtful wardrobe cultivation paragraphs), but it’s amazing what a few weeks’ perspective will do. I’ve worn this a couple of times and enjoyed it. I’ll wear it all summer long and get my money and fabric’s worth out of it for sure. The only thing keeping me from wearing this all summer would be a bunch of unnecessary new clothes that I sew up and wear instead. Which will probably happen. But it’s not the jumpsuit’s fault.

My current sewing experience is completely dovetailing with some posts I’ve seen recently about slowing down and enjoying sewing. It seems that many of us have gotten caught up at some point in feeling “productive” and trying to churn out garments out of a self-imposed sense of duty, either as a creative human being or a blogger.

I was doing it for a while when time permitted. But life got busy, and I’ve only made 3 or so garments in the last 6-8 weeks. And I don’t really care. I did at first. “Oh, no! I’ve only made one thing in three weeks! I’ll never get to sew all the amazing things in my head!” But I’m not willing to compromise my sleep, my family time, or my other interests, so I’ve made peace with it. And seriously? I just can’t wear that many clothes. I kind of want to make sure all my existing garments get a fair shake.

So, add my voice to the small crowd that’s happy with sewing slower and sewing less and working on enjoying the process more.

Aw, this lady approves!

*I showed up at my BFF’s house wearing this. We live a couple of hours apart and don’t see each other nearly often enough. Her first words to me, shouted accusingly from the doorway: “ARE YOU WEARING A ROMPER?”

**You know, after wearing this all day for traveling and shopping, it was surprisingly comfortable. There was a certain amount of unflattering tugging and pulling happening, but not as bad as I expected. Still, be warned and don’t repeat my mistake, folks. Check a zip fly tute before getting down to it!