Sallie Jumpsuit Pattern // Romper Pattern Hack

I know that summer is generally a slow time for most sewists (what with the sun, the bbqs, the beach, and the merciless days when it's so hot you get chafe rashes on your inner thighs from any kind of movement and can only survive by lying down on sweaty cotton sheets with a fan blowing on you while getting melted popsicle all over everything. Err, just me then?) That said, this Montreal summer has been pretty schizophrenic and we've only had a couple of truly oppressively hot days, a godsend to some degree because I work from home without air conditioning. It's been mild enough that I can actually sew without sweating and crying, and I've been cranking out summer me-mades like a one woman (barely) sweat(y) shop.

When I launched the Sallie Jumpsuit sewing pattern, a few of you were keen to make a romper variation. It was one of those *bang head against desk* moments, because a romper hadn't even occurred to me (pattern tunnel vision - it's a thing!) Had I not had my head up my butt, I definitely would have included a romper pattern variation, since y'all know I like to drown you with options. Needless to say, it's basically the easiest hack in the world, and I zipped up this cobalt number to test it out. I've been cruising around town in it every since.

The fabric is a medium weight cotton jersey from Globetex. I loved the colour but knew it was way too thick to keep the bodice lined, especially not for a little summer romper you throw on when you want as little touching your skin as possible. For this hack, I eliminated the bodice lining, finished the neckline and sleeves with knit binding and added a separate elastic waistband channel. I'll be sharing a tutorial on adding knit binding to the neckline later this week since it's an easy, pretty finish. In hindsight, I would have been better off extending the arm opening seam allowance and doing a simple folded hem; I'm not crazy about how the shoulder lays with the knit binding.

This has turned out to be the perfect summer something; easy to throw on, lightweight, and with enough fabric in between the legs to prevent the dreaded summer "thigh chafe of misery". Tomorrow I'll be sharing a tutorial on the super easy changes you'll need to make to the pattern to crank out your own romper, along with that knit binding tutorial I promised later in the week.

And you? Have you already rompered it up? Or are you too busy lysing on sweaty sheets, dripping popsicle on everything?