Super Comfy Sirocco Jumpsuit

This is the first Deer and Doe Pattern I’ve used and had it printed by Patternsy.

I used an unusual textured knit fabric with the required 60% stretch. It’s a single jersey with a contrast Lycra knitted through it that creates a waffle design. The jumpsuit needs 60% stretch to be able to get it on and off! It has to stretch over your shoulders to get your arms in and the waist relies on the fabrics stretch to hold its shape, but also has to stretch over your hips.

I’m only 5’3” so usually need to reduce the body, sleeve and leg length of patterns. I could tell I’d need to reduce the crotch depth of the trousers by about 6cm. The body length wasn’t so easy to work out as it wasn’t clear where the waistline was meant to be. There’s a separate waist band so I presumed that would sit on my natural waistline. I tissue fitted the bodice and decided it the length was ok for me.

To lose 5cm from the body of the trousers presented a problem because I didn’t want to reduce the depth of the slanted pocket opening. I made size 42, but cut the top of the trousers to the smallest size which lost 2.5cm and the other 2.5cm was taken out below the pocket.

My only negative comment is the pattern would benefit from a few more balance marks and arrows to indicate which way the pleats should fold. The order of making is a bit unusual. I chose to make the top and the trousers separately which meant I could try them on and adjust the fit if necessary before joining them together with the waistband.

The other thing I did was to make long sleeves which aren’t an option on the pattern. I’m making this as an autumn/winter garment, it’s warm and snugly, so longer sleeves were essential for me. I made them with a deep hem that can roll up.