Oh man, it’s been a hot minute, hasn’t it? Ben’s school schedule got shifted a bit, which meant we had to juggle around our remaining summer plans, and consequently left a bit abruptly, leaving me no time to pre-write some posts as I had originally been planning. But we’re back now and have no more travel plans in sight, so I can get back to writing and especially sewing!
Normally I post things that don’t fit the season. In this case, I made these when they were definitely not seasonally appropriate, but, hey!, I am actually posting at an appropriate time. Progress! So let me introduce you to the Hoppe Jumpsuit by Straight Grain. If you haven’t checked out Straight Grain before, I think she has some insanely adorable little girl patterns (and actually, I think her patterns go up to size 12, so maybe not necessarily exclusively “little” girls), so if you’re in that market, check her out sometime!
I actually made a total of 5 jumpsuits when I made these. I made 3 for my nieces and then made the ones for my girls, because they were a breeze to sew and because I had plenty of fabric left over. I don’t have a picture yet of all the girls wearing their jumpsuits together but maybe we’ll get one someday.
So, as you can see, the jumpsuits were pretty straightforward in the sewing arena. As you can see, the body is virtually just two pieces. Of course, there are also the straps, the ankle cuffs and there’s a facing (that is actually pretty similar to a shelf bra). Oh, and there are pockets! My girls are wild about their pockets…not that they have anything to carry…but, you know, whatever. They love them.
So I guess they are a little more intensive than they look, but each jumpsuit took me less than an hour to sew up, so it really wasn’t too bad at all.
Now that I’ve been sewing a bit longer, there are things that I noticed were left out of the instructions that might help the garment hold up to more/harsher wear. For example, the back facing isn’t edgestitched and, as a result, a bit of it tends to peek out on the back. Truthfully, if I make more for my girls, I still probably wouldn’t worry too much about edge stitching the facings and the pockets, but if I make it as a gift (which I plan to do), I probably will take those extra steps, just because it’ll help make it look more professional. Kids grow quickly and their clothes seem to always be a bit askew, so choose for yourself what’s important.
But one thing I will definitely do the next time I make it, no matter what, is lengthen the facing about an inch. I tie the girls’ straps about as tight as they go, which means the facing lands higher than intended, so next time, lengthening it is in order.
I guess I haven’t talked about the fabric, which is probably my favorite part of this project. The fabric is a double brushed poly knit from Raspberry Creek Fabrics. It has a couple awesome things about it. It is super soft (like seriously, so soft) and it was so affordable. It’s less than 7 dollars a yard. I bought 2 yards of fabric and got 5 jumpsuits out of it. Pretty good deal, in my opinion.
Anyhow, this was a very smooth-going and easy project. I plan on making a couple more as gifts for some friends who’ve had babies recently. The jumpsuit itself is kind of harem style which is cute and unique and I think it would look great in a lot of different prints.
As I’m sure you’ve noticed, taking pics of my girls is always a breeze and results in flawless photos. Haha, just kidding! Sometimes I take my girls out and the pictures I get are sub par…but you get what you get and you don’t throw a fit, right? Yeah…that’s what I tell myself…
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