Dressy Sallie

Hi my darlings,

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Today I bring you my dressy Sallie. This garment evolved with respect to the original pattern to improve its fit and performance. The transition took a few weeks. It is made using the Sallie Jumpsuit (version A)  pattern by my dear Heather from Closet Case Files.

Pattern Modifications:

I decided to draft a size 18 according to my upper bust measurement, and do a 2″ FBA (for a total of 4″) for the front bodice and grade the back bodice to a size 22. This modifications added the 4″ required to the bust and waist-line of the bodice.

For the pants… it was a different story. I’d been always afraid of pants grading you guys. Mainly because I wasn’t sure how to modify the pattern to better fit my body. That was the case until I decided to dip into Kathleen Cheetham’s class on Plus Size Pant Fitting.

After so many unsuccessful pants pattern modifications, this class guides you step by step on the appropriate modifications for your body. It is one of the most useful classes I’ve taken in Craftsy. Kathleen is  a great instructor.

The pattern modifications suggested by Kat resulted in my first pants muslin with great fit.

• 2″ Full hip adjustment
• 1/2″ full tummy adjustment
• 2″ full derrière adjustment (FDA)

Construction:

The instructions for the construction of this pattern  are very well written and illustrated. I really love how clear they are. Thanks Heather!

This jumpsuit is made using medium weight double-knit. The bodice pieces are floral and the bottom pieces are in a solid black-grey. The pockets were omitted from the pattern.

While I build new garments, I tend to try them on during the construction in case there are any major modifications. Turns out that while I was building the bodice, I realized that the armholes were not well graded (in normal circumstances, my arms fit perfectly through armholes adjusted to my upper bust). I therefore decided to remove the Kimono sleeve and attach a (4″ long) braid to extend the armholes upwards and allow my arms to get through. This modification distorted the pattern, lowering the neckline as well as the apex of the darts.

I then decided that to be able to wear it, I would have to add a modesty panel (which you can see below) to prevent the decolletage from running too low.

Result:

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Inside:

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I like this garment overall. The floral upper bodice provided a nice contrast to the garment and also I absolutely loved the design of the pants. The fabrics I used made this garment feel unexpectedly classy, chic and breathable!

However, there were too many modifications to the pattern. If you are a plus-sized gal, approach it conscious that there may  be several pattern changes.

I absolutely loved the fit of the pants and I absolutely recommend Kathleen’s class if you have had trouble fitting pants for your shape.

Next time I make these pants, which I will definitely do, I’ll add 1″ of extra FDA.

If you build the bodice as drafted, be aware that the dimensions of your badonkadonk may require a bit more space to comfortably pass through the drafted neckline!!

How do you like it? Have you constructed any jumpsuits? Did you go through similar pattern modifications? Do you wearing jumpsuits? How do you like the contrasting bodice?

That’s it for today folks!

Stay tuned! Later this week, I will show you how I decided to modify the bodice to further improve the fit of this garment (sneak peek).

Hope you are having a nice weekend!!

❤ M