Playsuit Pattern Hack

Hi I’m Olu, I blog at Needle and Ted but I will be making regular contribution to the Bernina blog too from now on. I sew on a Bernina 350 Special Edition (the pretty one). I sew for my 2 daughters mostly, I don’t buy them ready-to-wear clothes anymore. During 2014 I set myself a challenge to make all their clothes for a year (I can’t remember why I decided to do this, I must just love a challenge). I was able to buy school uniform, sportswear, underwear, socks and a winter coat, but that was it.

My sewing experience was minimal, there were so many basic things that I did not know. Like pre washing my fabric, sewing machines can sew buttons and the existence of a rotary cutter. I didn’t even know what knit fabric was let alone know that I needed to use a zig zag stitch to sew it. But I learnt from my mistakes, read lots of blogs, watched lots of tutorial, went to a sewing class, basically threw myself head first into the world of sewing and discovered a community that I never knew existed who were extremely willing to share knowledge. Now I feel I can pass some of that knowledge on too.

I ended up a making 96 items altogether throughout last year and learnt a lot in the process. Now I’m addicted. My challenge is over but I continue to make my girls pretty much every item of clothing they wear and I continue to practice my skills and learn new techniques.

Occasionally, when I get the time. I make clothes for myself too. I love grey, I love harem pants, I love stripes, drapes and asymmetrical styles. Most of what I make for myself is simple but sometimes a little quirky. I shall be showing you some of the things that I make for myself and my girls and sharing some tips and tricks that I have learnt along the way.

When I first started sewing regularly I would buy a pattern and make it exactly as it was intended. I never really thought about adapting it in any way, apart from maybe lengthening or shortening (but I didn’t always get that right). It seems so obvious now, it’s actually completely up to me what I do with a pattern, of course! So, nowadays I adapt patterns regularly to suit my needs and taste.

The top half of this playsuit was taken from this pattern, but omitting the flutter sleeves, adding a zip and shortening. The lower half was taken from this pattern but using knit fabric instead of woven and therefore going down a size to allow for the stretch in knit fabric. Thus creating something unique but most importantly, something my daughter will love to wear.

Have you ever seen something in a magazine or online that would love to make but can’t find a pattern? Sometimes combining 2 or even 3 patterns could be the solution. Give it a go. The possibilities are endless.

My daughter was very pleased with her new playsuit, we find getting ready in the mornings a whole lot easier if you only have to choose one item of clothing. Reason why playsuits, jumpsuits, rompers and onesies are a favourite in our house.

What’s the difference between playsuits, jumpsuits, rompers and onesies anyway? 😉