They Said it Could Never be Done: A Hawaiian Zadie Jumspuit

I appears that most manifestations of the Zadie Jumpsuit pattern are made in lovely, earthy, solid-coloured linens. And whilst I fully agree that those look incredibly, I decided to head towards the other end of the taste spectrum for this, my second version of the Zadie pattern. 

My first version, if you recall, was made in some wonderful lock-and-key print African wax fabric (AKA Ankara). I adore that jumpsuit and it's one of my very favourite garments to wear. I love both the way it looks, and the way it feels. The only pattern alteration I made was to fold out 2cm from the bodice pieces to account for my short-waistedness, which I feel was a success. 

This Hawaiian print cotton poplin has been in my stash for almost six years. It came from Fabric Godmother, before I worked for them in any capacity. I've long been a big fan of Hawaiian print fabric, so it's a surprise to me that I hadn't used it sooner. I nearly used it a number of times during my several-year-long Rockabilly phase, yet I came out the other side of that phases with the fabric remaining unused, so I put it into my #2020makenine plans (you can see the full nine in this post).

The most head-scratching part of this project for me came at the beginning, trying to position the pattern pieces onto my limited amount of fabric. Not only was my length of cotton shorter than the pattern called for, but I wanted to cut the back piece on the fold (rather than in two halves) so as not to break up the print. In general I had to be very careful about print placement, positioning two sections of the print too close to each other, for example, would be super noticeable. To make it work, I ended up omitted the hip pockets, which was a shame but a necessary sacrifice. I also made the length shorter, but I had wanted to do that anyway.  

I constructed this jumpsuit mainly through the recent, very excellent, online Sewing Weekender event (organised by Charlotte from English Girl at Home along with Kate and Rachel from the Foldline), which I was very proud to contribute, adding my own little talk about saving money and resources whilst sewing. I hadn't expected to the chance to enjoy any of the content (basically due to the kids being around), yet I managed to watch quite a bit of it. Because I had already made this pattern before, I didn't need to concentrate on my project too much which really helped. 

As for this jumpsuit, I really like it! The print and colours are a bit intense, but when the sun is shining, I think it works well. I can definitely see yet more Zadie's in my future. Maybe a subtle, earthy-toned linen one should be next...

African Wax Print Zadie Jumpsuit

Basically, it's been raining solidly for about three weeks, so getting some half-way-decently-lit photos of my more recent projects has been impossible. Finally, it wasn't too miserable for a couple of hours yesterday, so now I can show you my new Zadie jumpsuit! 

I'm sooooo thrilled with this make. I got it finished in time for a staff night out and my kids' joint birthday party, which happened in the same week. If it hadn't been such terrible weather ever since, I'd probably have worn it every day since as well. 

Pattern:

Is the Paper Theory Zadie jumpsuit pattern actual magic? IMO, there is not one single version out there on the internets that doesn't look amazing, and it seems to work on every body shape. I knew I had to make one at some point, it was just a matter of finding the right fabric (more on that below). I bought the pattern through Fabric Godmother (where I work part time), because they had offered me a free A0 pattern print out, and this seemed to be the right pattern to cash in that offer. I've never had an A0 version of a sewing pattern printed out before. I've always felt it was an extra expense I couldn't justify, but I was very grateful to get to skip sticking multiple A4 pages together this time.

(image source: Paper Theory Patterns)

It felt like a real treat to have the pattern printed out all big, however I did feel under pressure to pick the right size. Having got the A0 version, it would have felt disheartening and a real waste if I'd had to print out another copy if I chosen the wrong size to cut out. I'd heard that the pattern comes up a little large, and I think it was reading about Fiona's (Diary of a Chain Stitcher) stunning cotton Zadie that ultimately pushed me to just go for it and cut out a whole size smaller than my measurements suggested. My measurements also suggested I should blend between sizes, however the fitting notes of the pattern hinted that blending wouldn't be necessary as you can adjust the fit somewhat with how tightly you tie it up.

The one change I did make was to fold 2cm out of the length of the bodice, which is my standard adjustment for my short torso/high natural waistline. The construction was super simple, and not nearly as time consuming as I was expecting it to be. Applying the binding around the front edges was probably the fiddliest part, but in no way headache inducing. 

Fabric:

It took me months of lusting after Zadie jumpsuits on Instagram before I realised that I had potentially the perfect fabric already sitting in my stash. This amazing African wax print cotton was in my #2019makenine plans to use this year, but I just didn't know what to do with it. I bought it a few years ago from Goldhawk road, but I can no longer remember what my initial plans were for it, if I had any at all. I had already used some to make an (un)wearable toile for a different project a year or so ago, but I still had several metres left. As you can imagine, the Zadie jumpsuit is a fairly fabric hungry pattern, and I basically had just enough for this project. 

I adore African wax print, especially the more nutty print designs. This lock and key design is by no means the most bonkers subject matter I've seen used for this type of fabric, and the background pattern here is also fairly subdued. I had been trying to find something more crazy than this on that particular shopping trip, but now I am so glad that I didn't because I think it fits this garment style fantastically, and I couldn't be happier with the combo. Sometimes it really does pay to let a length of fabric live in your stash for a while...

Thoughts:

As I've mentioned a few times already in this post, I could not be happier with this garment. I love the look of it, and it feels comfy to wear but also quite put together. There's a slightly odd, unintentional pattern matching/placement thing happening along the front legs, but I can totally live with that without it bothering me. I'm pretty desperate for the weather to warm up again so I can wear this alllllllll the time. I'm concentrating on sewing from stash for the foreseeable future, however, next year I can definitely see me buying some gorgeous linen to make a solid version as well.

The Kabuki Tee Experiment

You know when you have a ma-hoooossive list of projects that you want to sew, many of which you already own both the pattern and the fabric for? And then you have an idea for a new project, something clicks in your mind and you push aside all your carefully laid plans because you have to make it RIGHT FREAKING NOW? You do? Good, then I don't need to explain. 

Pattern:

I had been aware of the Kabuki Tee by Paper Theory Patterns for a couple of months before the sudden urge to make it took hold. If Hunter S Thompson had been into sewing, that last sentence would definitely be something he'd have written I think. Anyways, the Kabuki tee is a definite deviation from the rest of my wardrobe, but after the success I had with my recent experimentation with volume, I felt the Kabuki tee pattern just might work out for me. With a contemporary Japanese feel that I very much appreciate on others, but is something I have yet to dabble with personally, I decided to take the leap. I kept my fingers crossed that I had some other items in my wardrobe that I could match it with, so that it wouldn't be an orphan. 

(image source: Paper Theory Patterns)

I love the drafting of this pattern. Those sleeve insets-come-bust darts look so simple but are executed so nicely. The bias-bound neckline and basic hems complement the general clean look of this style. The pattern's body measurement put me (as per usual) in two sizes: a 12 for the bust and 14 for the waist and hips. Looking at the finished garment measurements, I decided that the design ease was sufficient for me to just go with a straight 12, and the resultant fit is great. 

The instructions are lovely and clean, with very clear illustrations. However, when I got stuck into the construction, I was a little disappointed at the sparseness of the guidance. There was one mention of possibly overlocking the raw edges of just one of the shoulder seams, and that was the only reference to finishing raw edges throughout the project. Similarly, there was little mention of pressing seam allowances, and the instructions for the hems were just to turn up and stitch, with no direction to finish the raw edges first or to double fold them.

The lack of seam allowance finishing and pressing directions left me feeling somewhat in the dark when it came to those tricky sleeve insertions, more hand-holding would definitely have helped me feel a bit more confident there. I'm a fairly experienced sewer at this point, and I've inserted panels like this before so it came out alright (FYI, I overlocked the seam allowances of the sleeve insertion together, pressed them towards the body of the garment, and decided to topstitch them down), but I suspect that the explanation for this part of the project might be a head-scratcher for someone who hasn't been sewing for long. Which is a shame, because the lack of fitting required with this style would otherwise lend it well as a project for a newer sewer.

Fabric:

As we know, fabric choice is key and can totally make or break a sewing project. I adore the plain linen sample version photographed on the Paper Theory website, however I wanted to work with what I already had in my stash if possible. I was also carrying a mild concern that this top might end up looking a bit 'flouncey pottery teacher in her 60s' (no disrespect intended to anyone, that is OBVIOUSLY where my style is ultimately heading, I just don't want to get there too soon!), so I aimed to pick a fabric that would work for this pattern but be a type of fabric I do already wear, to bridge the gap between the new-to-me and the more familiar.  

I had recently become the grateful recipient of a remnant length of this 4oz washed denim from Fabric Godmother that had some light damage in parts. It's the same fabric I used for my most favourite, and possibly most worn, top ever so I already new its properties and how it will eventually age. I was able to cut this pattern whilst avoiding the most obvious light damaged sections. I think the fabric has just enough structure to hold the shape of the Kabuki pattern style (although probably not by it's millionth wear and thousandth laundering I'll wager), and I'm excited to see how it fades at the seams, neckline and hems over time.

Thoughts:

Luckily for me, as soon as I finished this top, the climate dealt us an extra helping of late-summer warm, sunny days to wear it in. It felt so breezy and nice. I've also found a surprising number of bottoms that it looks pretty good with, including these Cobra corsage Luna pants, and my three knit pencil skirts. Will I make another Kabuki tee? Possibly. If some lovely linen or linen blend lands in my lap at some point, I may take the next step towards my inevitable complete Art Teacher aesthetic.