Vogue Jumpsuit for Cocktail Hour #sipandsew

After taking part in the Sewalong for The Eve Appeal last year, I was delighted to be asked to participate in this year's Cocktail Hour. You have probably seen some of the other projects on the tour, as it began back in March and continues until November (details here). The Eve Appeal is the only UK national charity raising awareness and funding research into the five gynaecological cancers – ovarian, womb, cervical, vaginal and vulval. This is the 2nd year they have teamed up with the McCall Pattern Company UK to donate to The Eve Appeal for every pattern sold from the Cocktail Hour collection.

Pattern
I chose Vogue V1960, a jumpsuit with options to be short or long sleeved, with a wrap front or high rounded neck, and with shorts or full-length trousers.

Reason for pattern choice
You can see all of the patterns which are part of the Cocktail Hour collection, here. I found it pretty hard to choose as I already have a couple of good go-to patterns for 'fancy' dresses, and some of the garments on the pattern covers were not my style. I really wanted to make a garment that I would get some wear out of, and as I had been planning to make a jumpsuit for ages I opted for V9160. Although I wasn't particularly enamoured with the drawings on the envelope (nor do I have any occasion to wear a lace romper), I could see that the technical drawings showed that it had good 'bones' and a nice selection of customisable options.

Fabric & Notions
I used some fabulous satin backed Prada crepe from Minerva Crafts in black. This is a truly lovely fabric and I was really happy to get a chance to use it, after having eyed it up for some time. I went for classic black though they do have a great range of colours available. I love the soft matt side and then having the satin on the reverse as it feels beautiful to wear.

I also got some of the leaf print crepe (also from Minerva) which I have since noticed popping up on other blogs and on Instagram. It's lighter in weight, and my original plan was to use it for the wrap bodice. However this had the potential to look a bit Dynasty, so I opted for plain black as it is more adaptable and used the leaf crepe to make the belt. You could make several belts in different fabrics for a bit of variety.

 
Pattern alterations or any design changes
I was really interested to find that this pattern came up very true to size (hooray!), unlike previous experiences I had had with a contemporary Simplicity pattern. I ended up sewing a size 16 here, as my measurements suggested.

I made a rough toile and was generally happy but decided to lengthen the bodice slightly and also make the bodice sleeveless as I preferred the look of this. I didn't line it as the pattern suggests, as I didn't feel this was required, particularly for the satin-backed crepe that I used.

 

Inside of the bodice - I used satin bias tape to bind edges of the facing

As I wasn't using lace for the bodice, as the wrap bodice requires, I made a facing using the front wrap pattern piece instead, which worked well. I handstitched a few invisible stitches on the inside of the wrap join, as otherwise this flaps open. I also used back satin bias tape for binding the armholes and decided to crop the trousers too.

How was it to sew?
Fairly straightforward, especially as I wasn't lining it or working with difficult fabrics.

Would you sew it again and do anything different next time?
Yes I'd sew it again.

Would you recommend it to others?
Yes, the pattern has good options and great potential for customisation. Plus it comes up true to size, so no nasty surprises there.

Cost
I was provided with the pattern for free and was given a fabric allowance. I will make a donation directly to Eve Appeal.

Conclusion
I really love this jumpsuit. It's very comfortable to wear -  the fabric is gorgeous but also I am happy with the sizing as it's roomy enough to sit in or eat in (or both at the same time!). I love it in this fabric because it feels luxurious and comfortable although I'm not completely happy with how the trousers look - despite heavy steaming and pressing of the side seams they aren't very crisp and the trousers hang in more of a relaxed way than I would like (if that makes sense) - but I think this is the trade off of using such a beautifully drapey fabric.

I'm really glad that this opportunity gave me the push to make a project I had been thinking about for ages and I am sure that this is going to become a well worn favourite. Thanks to The Eve Appeal and McCall's for the invite - do make sure to check out the other great makes on the blogger tour too

K x