wearable romper muslin
Well, I guess I am someone who wears rompers now.
Interweb sewing people I love have been all rompers a-go-go for a little while now. Stamped with internet approval? Okay by me!
Actually, there are a lot of problems between rompers and me: 1) they’re not exactly flaw-forgiving; 2) they’re kind of a hassle to put on and take off; 3) they sometimes tap into that icky infantilizing thing; 4) they’re super-trendy, and I can mostly be kindly described as classic (okay, okay, dowdy). But they’re also a) really fun to wear; b) cool and breezy; c) easy to adjust to suit your figure; and d) adorable. In the heat of midsummer, when all your prim and proper clothes feel stale and boring, a romper wins, I think.
This is actually a wearable muslin, in a little piece of vintage cotton shirting I picked up at Mama Said Sew. I learned two new things with this project: I used bias bands on edges for the first time (love!) and inserted a lapped zipper (SO MUCH BETTER than an invisible zipper!). I have my eye on this gorgeous cotton and linen plaid for the Son of Romper.
I’m still trying to decide if I want to add some length so I can have deep cuffs on the shorts. And what I really think about those pleats. The pattern is Doryon, from Burda—I’ve raised the waist to the natural waistline and made all my weird body-specific changes to make it look passable.
Things I’ll do on the second romper: Put in a waist stay. Possibly raise the waist another half an inch. Maybe add length for cuffs. Probably narrow the upper body - the shoulders are just a leeetle too wide for me. Match plaids better. Figure out how much pleat I can really live with. Underline the bodice as well as the shorts. Overall, though, I like this project a lot. Who’da thunk it?
