Apparently I still have rompers on the brain. When I first read about this month's Flip This Pattern, I immediately saw this romper in my mind's eye. Frances Suzanne chose the Oliver + S Croquet Dress for July's challenge and I found my excuse to purchase another O+S pattern. My solution isn't so much a Flip as it is a Mash-Up of two patterns, the Croquet Dress and the O+S Puppet Show Shorts.
The original Croquet dress calls for a drop-waist. As much as I would have loved that look on a romper, I'm quite confident The Peanut would have kept trying to tug the drop-waist up to her actual waist once there was a pair of shorts attached. Therefore when I matched the Croquet dress top to the Puppet Show shorts I moved the Croquet waistband up to just below her actual waist -- making a blousy top, hopefully with room to grow.
Typically the first time I sew a pattern I complete it as written. Then I feel confident flipping and mashing freely. I skipped that step with the Croquet portion of this romper and I regret it. First, the fit across her shoulders is a little wide. Second, it wasn't until the top was fully constructed that I realized I needed a much wider opening so the romper could be pulled on from her feet up. I fixed the opening by adding a zipper down the back. It stops just above her waist and it fought me going in. I had to add a tab at the bottom to cover the battle scars. And then after the zip was in and the shorts were attached I realized I could have fixed the width and avoided the zipper war by cutting straight down the back and taking out a smidge before adding the zipper. The first time I put it on The Peanut I shook my head at missing the obvious solution to both issues. Next time.
The Puppet Show Shorts portion of the romper I made without alteration to the shape or the length, however I left off the pockets and the waistband. After I attached the Croquet Dress elastic casing to the shortened top (using the directions from the Croquet pattern), I sewed two lines of basting stitches across the front and again across the back of the top. With right sides together, I put the top upside-down into the shorts matching front center, back center and both sides, gathering the waistband of the top (it is slightly wider than the shorts) as I pinned it in place. Then I stitched them together with my fingers crossed holding my breath praying it would work and ...it did!
I sewed a hook & eye into the top back, threw it on The Peanut, and bribed her with chocolate and an indoor playground to cooperate for pictures (her contract seems to get more expensive as she re-negotiates each photo shoot). Another mom at the indoor playground recognized the fabric right away (Ikea). I had a momentary panic that it looked too Von Trapp Family curtains, but she reassured me that it did not. Turns out she also sews and is a photographer with an eye for such details. So? It doesn't look too curatin-y, does it?
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| The zipper makes bathroom breaks easier on both of us than my original idea of a row of buttons. |
Typically the first time I sew a pattern I complete it as written. Then I feel confident flipping and mashing freely. I skipped that step with the Croquet portion of this romper and I regret it. First, the fit across her shoulders is a little wide. Second, it wasn't until the top was fully constructed that I realized I needed a much wider opening so the romper could be pulled on from her feet up. I fixed the opening by adding a zipper down the back. It stops just above her waist and it fought me going in. I had to add a tab at the bottom to cover the battle scars. And then after the zip was in and the shorts were attached I realized I could have fixed the width and avoided the zipper war by cutting straight down the back and taking out a smidge before adding the zipper. The first time I put it on The Peanut I shook my head at missing the obvious solution to both issues. Next time.
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| I mean seriously, look at that zipper, it basically goes all the way to the waistband. Why didn't it occur to me to extend it all the way down? |
The Puppet Show Shorts portion of the romper I made without alteration to the shape or the length, however I left off the pockets and the waistband. After I attached the Croquet Dress elastic casing to the shortened top (using the directions from the Croquet pattern), I sewed two lines of basting stitches across the front and again across the back of the top. With right sides together, I put the top upside-down into the shorts matching front center, back center and both sides, gathering the waistband of the top (it is slightly wider than the shorts) as I pinned it in place. Then I stitched them together with my fingers crossed holding my breath praying it would work and ...it did!
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| Love the false-collar created by the fabric's geometric pattern. And the white "belt buckle," too. (And those summer-scraped knees.) |
I sewed a hook & eye into the top back, threw it on The Peanut, and bribed her with chocolate and an indoor playground to cooperate for pictures (her contract seems to get more expensive as she re-negotiates each photo shoot). Another mom at the indoor playground recognized the fabric right away (Ikea). I had a momentary panic that it looked too Von Trapp Family curtains, but she reassured me that it did not. Turns out she also sews and is a photographer with an eye for such details. So? It doesn't look too curatin-y, does it?
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| Remember when you over-pay your model in chocolate, she may start climbing the walls. |
Fabric
Ikea: Bjornloka Figur, 100% cotton (kind of a light weight canvas)
Love
I took a lot of care placing the design of the fabric to highlight the geographic pattern. I especially love the detail at the neck that appears to be a collar.
Notes
Be sure to check out the sew-along (click the pic) for other ways to Flip This Pattern!
Ren Murphy writes for The Inspired Wren.
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