Petite Stitchery Elliot romper review

 I have been on a mission to find the just right romper/pull on onesie/almost but not quite overalls.  A key feature I wanted is super low cut armhole areas - I wanted to need a top below it.  I hate the tie on the burnside bibs and a lot of other overall type patterns use that concept with straps that adjust into a tie, so all those were out.  I also know I don't wear tucked in things ever, so the beautiful Ronja dungarees didn't go with my vision.  There are a few still floating around in my head, but then I saw this romper and thought maybe in a knit fabric it would be so cool.  I wanted a heavy-ish black knit but I didn't have one and I did have this other fabric, so despite thinking it might be a bit light to be flattering, I went forth and created.  

My measurements fit an S exactly.  I was not sure if I should make some pattern adjustments like shortening the waist, but because of the pockets it's a multi-piece endeavor and I kind of just decided this was a rough and ready muslin.  It was hot summer, which is REALLY hot in Gisborne and I really just wanted this thing to wear.   That attitude means it's not really beautiful up close - my hems for instance are just horrible. I'm not sure if I cut slightly off grain but they would not fold up straight and I gave up.

The fabric is a very spongey viscose knit from The Fabric Box in Auckland. I got it in person, because this is the kind of fabric that you buy online for the colour and you buy in person because it feels so amazing you can't let go.  I thought I would be making tops out of it and had kind of been saving it (which is also why I had an unusually large piece of yardage) but I wanted this romper and it's a bland enough colour to match lots of things.  For sure, this romper needs a top of some kind under it.  I also thought the epic drape would be an ok match for this pattern, though I did worry it is still relatively light weight and would cling in the wrong places etc.  I think in the end it would be better to use a heavier weight fabric as I'd first envisioned, giving up drape for better glide over the body.

 

The instructions are annoying photo ones, but they are sufficient and the pocket area came together ok.  It's a spot where topstitching would lead to less peeking out of the pocket, but I opted against the topstitching. 

The weight of the fabric and the length of the bodice do make the pockets hang low. My major modification is that I added swimsuit elastic - quite burly stuff - into the tops of the straps.  When this is sitting around it kind of gathers up because of that and looks bad, but it adds a lot of heft and support so the straps don't stretch out and it looks ok when worn.  Overall this is not my neatest effort.  I counteracted that with lots of labels...It has been worn quite a lot though, it's very handy around the house and can be worn with not much underneath but still covers you up.  I do a lot of pole dancing and it saves me from prancing around the house in what looks like shiny underwear when random people show up.  (Did this happen?  You will never know.)  

If I find a nice scuba type fabric I suppose I might someday be inspired to make this again in a dark colour.  I don't think it's very flattering but I rather like it anyway...primarily as at-home loungewear.  It would be nice to raise the pockets, they are distinctly low.  The rise in the front is almost a bit short - I look down and I see my belly and it's almost pulling at the crotch, but the rise in the back is long and droopy. This all makes me feel like I would actually have to redraft the entire shape of the crotch curve to fit.  I have now made three patterns by Petite Stitchery - the Finn top, the Drew pants, and this romper, and they are consistent - quite simple, no genius to the drafting, not necessarily things that give you a good finish, but forgiving knit patterns that produce things that you wear despite the finish and that are relatively easy to put together. 

Petite Stitchery Adult Drew joggers review

I really didn't need more lounge pants, but I was so taken in by the slender fit of these and the cool lower leg gathers that I bought the pattern without much debate.  

I went with size small. 

The debate came about when it was time to choose fabric. How heavy? The instructions don't really give you much help.  I perused the tester photos for help.  I suspected in a sweatshirt fabric the gathers might be too thick, but I didn't really want my pants to be tshirt weight.  I had a perfect drapey midweight cupro knit, but for some reason it felt too special to use on this, since I don't know much about this pattern company.  Also, the gathered legs take a lot of fabric!  This is not your 1-meter loungewear special.  I finally compromised on a midweight jersey without much stretch - it was a remnant at Nick's Fabrics in Auckland and was 1.6m.

The instructions are a bit sparse and can be confusing as the different views are intermixed - but really you don't need too many instructions for these pants.  The pattern pieces come together fine.  I found it irritating that there's no top ribbing pocket piece - you have to make it yourself.  This is the kind of small thing that bothers me.  I noticed that it was hard to tell where to stop gathering on the lower leg.  I lined up my pieces and marked the spot, and I've adjusted my pattern pieces now so that I make a notch at that spot.  It would speed up the process a lot to do that in the beginning.  

In the end I like the pants.  I made my waistband too tight.  The cuffs are a bit tight.  This is due to my fabric not really stretching enough.  The fit was great but loungewear is not really very flattering so here are my scruffy hallway-loitering photographs:

The feature of the gathered lower legs does mean the grain goes a bit strange, but really I noticed that when pulling these on, and never again.  I think in stretchy fabric you can size down for a more legging-like look and that weird pull would be even less of an issue.

I think these pants deserve a second go in something cuddly and very stretchy.  I have lightweight sweatshirting with a bit of cashmere in it so I'm debating using that.  I'm happy with the size chart, and pretty happy with this pattern.  It has a lot of options - include a version sans gathers, and a version that rips all the way up the side like those Adidas trackies from the 90s.  (I wanted those so bad. In the 90s.)  However the set up reminds me of Patterns for Pirates and the cousin company Made for Mermaids - in that I would be hesitant to make anything complicated from them.  Simple things like this, fine, because you can really do anything with knits.  However now I'm contradicting myself because I'm in love with the Elliot romper pattern, so watch this space... 

Spring tshirt binge sew

I'll just jump right in. 

 Ebony by Closet Core Patterns, raglan tee, size 2, which is what I've used before and liked the most.

-in pink interlock knit: I like this! 

Then I made a dress for a friend by lengthening the raglan pattern as much as I could to fit my fabric.  It was fine but I thought there's way too much fabric in the back, so I decreased the amount of hi-lo in the hem and took out a wedge from the back - not at the centre back but slightly to the side of that, starting at the bottom of the armscye which is where it starts to hang freely on me.  And that was fine but then I lost interest.  I gave version two to my friend as well (she's pregnant) - if I make this again, it needs pockets.

Finn Tee by Petite Stitchery size XS. I found it suspicious that the front and the back are the same!  But it does work.  The sleeve somehow seems to have extra fabric in it but I think in rayon or a more drapey fabric it would be fine. I was debating changing the armscye and sleeve to the Sasha Secondo Piano InstincTee though, still not sure if I need more shirts and want to spend the time frankenpatterning a perfect tshirt...yet.  Though last time I was pawing through my patterns I did kind of pause and think it would be a great combination.

 

 

Briar tee in 3 sizes and 3 lengths -
I made the briar in S (white) and XS (purple) of the old sizes, and then in 4, going to 6 at the waist of the new pattern. This is the same as XS according to the size charts.  I had never made the tunic length top before and surprise!!  I don't love it!  I hacked off a large chunk of the back hem.  My new cover stitch machine gobbled up this top after behaving fine on everything else, go figure.  I do like the longer length post trimming.  Then I caved in and made the size 2 (new pattern) with 4" added to the cropped length - out of some silk jersey. This is great and I like the tighter fit a lot -  but the jersey unfortunately gapes a tiny bit at the front neck, enough to irritate me.  I think once I'm wearing it a lot I will not care.

 

 

 

 

Made for Mermaids Avery - size is called purple - I did not end up liking the back feature. It does indeed flip out.  Overall the construction was straightforward, but this type of very long top are seldom my style and I didn't go on to make the dress. I am not sure what I think of this pattern company so far.

Patterns 4 Pirates Tulip front (or back) tee - in green merino, and I love it!  This was one of my favourites of the binge, as I kind of expected.  I have a top similar to this.  This type of top has a lot of caveats - it gathers funny at the front because the sleeves are attached.  The back swings open in unreliable ways.  I love all of it.  I will eventually make the tulip front version.  Not soon.

Pixie tee (or dress) - made in organic cotton from Alabama Chanin - very firm stuff.  I thought this was stupendously boring until I saw the pictures and noticed it has a subtle flare to it.  Hm.  Maybe in a drapey knit?  Also really needs pockets.  I cut my size according to the chart - it's meant to be a pretty breezy top with a lot of ease, and I think that's true.  It fits me well, other than being too long.

tilly and the buttons Agnes - decided to make a short sleeved tee and this time use a better length binding! Well, that was fine and good but it's so tight I can barely breathe.  Oops.  

Hemlock in black - with various modifications that I had applied last year - a bit of curve to the hem, a dropped sleeve...this silk jersey just isn't good for me here.  It makes it into a heavy, oversized top and the pattern would be cute on a dress but does not work.  Silk jersey is funny - sometimes it is amazing but because of the weight and drape it can behave very differently to other jerseys.

 

 

Made for Mermaids LOGAN

Ooh, this is an absolute winner. Surprise winner!  I made a tshirt version to check fit (note to self: add a hem band, even in my photos I wanted to hug my belly out of view...) and then I made one in interlock jersey, and I adore it.  Except for the colours.  I will definitely make this for myself.  Do note: the front pieces are not mirrored.  Don't be like me and accidentally cut some of them wrong side out.  That's what led to the blue in the tshirt, as I didn't have enough greens to re-cut.

 

Luckily I have some new colleagues imported from the US with a teenage daughter keen on cropped items so a lot of these went to her.  This binge was during hard life times when I needed the simplicity to keep me going, but it was good food for thought on why I sew, and also on what results I want.  It's inspired me to stop binge cutting (I have a tendency to cut a bunch of projects which then sit around) - but rather to work on a single project at a time beginning to end. I have a bunch of things I really want to make that I never start because they will be a bit more work, so hopefully this will move me to do those instead of easy things.