Something Blue - My Zadie Jumpsuit Review

Yes, I made a jumpsuit! This is only the second jumpsuit I have ever made (the first one was in 2015 lol) There is a lot to cover here so i will jump right in.

Initial thoughts (prior to buying the pattern)

The Zadie pattern seemed to be popular right off the bet. So many people were making it and they all swore it was fast, easy, and fit perfectly! It looked great on everybody so naturally I wanted to try it but there were a few things that made me hesitate initially:

I’m not a wide pants leg kinda girl and even though it looked amazing on fellow sewists, I was not sold until I started seeing sewists with similar body types as me make them
I was not sure how I felt about the intersection where the crotch stops and the wrap starts. I had never seen that before and my eyes seemed to be drawn to that area every time. I wasn’t sure if I wanted that to be one of the first places someone’s eyes go.

However, once I saw the multiple versions from Pauline of @sewuthinkucan, Danica of @danicadoesit, and Mac of @macsmakespace, I decided to give it a try.

Pattern

The Zadie jumpsuit is described as a relaxed and easy to wear jumpsuit, wraps around your body with a tie belt so no need for fasters and designed to reduce fitting issues. Because I did not carefully read the instructions, I cannot tell you if they are easy to red but they were easy to skim with very helpful images.

Fabric

From stalking the #zadiejumpsuit hashtag, I knew fabric choice was essential to make this jumpsuit look extra nice. After a long time of thinking of the best fabric, I decided to use the gorgeous twill club brushed denim I received from Measure fabric. It was the perfect weight - light enough for movement but sturdy enough to give a crisp look to the final project. Loved the shade of blue as well.

While I was cutting into this gorgeous fabric, I thought “how could I make this pop even more?” and in came the african print which I used for the sleeve edges and pocket bags. I also used it as the bias binding on the inside of the bodice.

Sizing

My measurements: Bust 39”, waist 34”, and hips 44”
My Zadie bodice: Size 12, and pants size 14.

I used a 5/8” seam allowance throughout the jumpsuit except for the seam allowance that joins the bodice to the pants. I use 3/8 for that.

Pattern Modifications

I made a few changes even before cutting into my fabric. I made these changes based on blogs and feedback from fellow sewists with similar body size like me, figured out what changes were made and decided what I needed to do based on my measurements. Was that a risky move without making a muslin? Sort of but it worked out this time.

I reduced the rise in the bodice by 3/4” and shortened the rise in the pants by 1”. In hindsight, I should have only reduced the bodice by 1/2” but you live and learn right?
I tapered the pant legs in to reduce the wide leg look a little.
I did not follow the bias binding application method given in the instructions. It basically asked to slip the binding over the edge of the garment so that you can see the bias binding on both sides. I decided to instead apply it like I usually would a regular double folded binding so it ended up on the inside (photo below in case that made no sense).

My challenges

I only had one main challenge during the making process which was more of a fear. Once I completed the bodice and tried it on, it appeared too short. I slightly panicked that I did not need to shorten the rise but when I mentioned my fear on IG, a couple people reached out and said the pants will pull it down a little once I attached them together. They were not totally wrong, it worked out in the end but I also had to reduce the seam allowance to 3/8” in that area.