Seachange Jumpsuit in silk (Pattern Emporium)

This Seachange Jumpsuit is an unexpected, a hair in the soup of my sewing program whose genesis was entirely dictated by this pink zebra silk coupon that had slipped into my Instagram feed…. 

Pink zebra silk. I immediately fell in love with it and jumped on it despite its substantial price tag.

And at the same time, as our president would say, I see viscose, pro-viscose, tencel or organic sweatshirt at 25 € per meter. In the end, for silk, it’s okay.

The Seachange Jumpsuit pattern

The quest for the perfect pattern was entirely dependent on my silk coupon:

1. I wanted to use as much of the 3 m as possible…. I might as well be honest, I can’t have 25 pieces in pink zebra silk in my dressing → so a dress or a jumpsuit
2. it’s a fluid and wispy fabric → so no pattern requiring structure but on the contrary, a rather loose and floaty pattern
3. it’s a very fine & lively silk → so not a too complicated pattern
4. I’m not attracted by frou-frou & flounces → so no frou-frou & flounces

I don’t know what turned me on to the babygro style jumpsuits other than they are super trendy….

In the same vein, I’ve also been toying with the Amy jumpsuit from Closet Core Patterns or the free Jumpsuit pattern from In The Fold x Peppermint.

 The Seachange Jumpsuit is a minimalist jumpsuit, flared from the underarm to the hem.

It features a rounded, open neckline but 100% bra compatible, multiple leg lengths, multiple statures, in-seam pockets, an optional back slit, 6 strap options and 2 options to adjust the jumpsuit (ties or belt).

All these options + the price are the arguments that made me lean towards this pattern vs the Amy combi.

The brand was a total unknown, frankly, I still wonder how I came across it. On Pattern Review?

Pattern Emporium is an Australian pattern brand. I’m not a fan of the graphic universe but the explanations are plentiful, the size range is very large, the PDFs are very professional, etc.

Bonus: many photos & reviews from testers of all ages and shapes are visible for consultation on the site. It’s easy to get an idea of the different options.

The only info I couldn’t find was the stature of the pattern.

Finally, the pattern pieces display all the relevant information so you don’t have to go looking for explanations: seam allowances, cutting instructions in words (fabric & interlining). 

Sewing the Seachange Jumpsuit

The size

Following the designer’s advice on sizing, I sewed in size 10 from top to bottom, despite the difference between my waist and hip measurements.

Considering the ease of the model, the real point to watch out for is to be able to put your bottom through the bust opening when you put it on (hence the back slit that allows you to put the suit on when the waist/hip ratio is too big).

It’s just about right, I do wriggle my butt when I put it on but it’s fine.

I took the tie option to adjust the suit and it’s perfect.

Below, loosely or tightly.

The bust has been decreased by 4 cm in height so that the ties fall correctly on my waist.

The fabric

To sew this light silk twill, I used a 7/55 silk needle and some very thin viscose thread normally used for machine embroidery.

The whole coupon was machine pre-washed, in a special silk program, with only a 400 tour / minute spinning and a special detergent for silk and wool.

Since then, I’ve washed with the same presets. Perhaps it will shorten the jumpsuit’s lifetime but the alternative was to hand wash it or dry clean which would have seldom happened.

So, between wearing it and shorten it’s lifetime and not wearing it and extend its lifetime … I made a choice!

Straps & pockets

The straps are the thin fixed straps with loop version to which I added a snap to be able to open them. They are also at least 5 cm shorter than the pattern.

For the straps, I used the silk brocade (also very discreet), used for my wedding Chardon skirt, and embroidered with pearls to hide the snap seam.

The bra is well hidden like this and with the wide straps option, it would really be totally invisible… but I don’t really care.

Otherwise, you won’t believe it, but this Seachange Jumpsuit doesn’t have pockets.

I was planning on making them. And I forgot.  ¯_(ツ)_/¯

But as I made – you are starting to know me now – French seams on the side seams… I didn’t take the risk to unpick!

To tell you the truth, I’m not really sure of the fit of a handkerchief in the pocket of a silk jumpsuit.

Length of the suit

For the length, considering that I had already taken back 4 cm on the bust, I started with the maximum length in regular stature.

And I ended up with an unplanned hem of 4 cm + 1 cm. A double hem that I had a hard time to fix because the bottom of the Seachange Jumpsuit is not designed for a wide hem.

Note to self: plan your move when you make a wide hem and DRAFT IT!

Conclusion

Ooh how I love it! So chic! So comfortable!

Wearing this jumpsuit is almost like wearing nothing. It’s light, soft and cool (or warm when the air gets cooler… magic). I find the pattern very fitting for such a loose fit.

The big plus is that the silk travels very well and wrinkles 1000 times less than the tencel of my Charlie Caftan dress or my Goji shorts. And when I say 1000 times less, I weigh my math.

I’m thinking of making a combishort, or even just a tank top with it… We’ll see!

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