sew | romper

So, you know how sometimes you see an outfit on Pinterest that you reeeeeeeeally want, and you can't find out where it's from? (Think Tumblr here, people!) Or, if you're me, you sometimes derive fashion inspiration from child outfits - like this one:

Anyways, I decided that I could handle making this romper myself. Both of my grandmas are sewing extraordinaires, so it runs in my blood -- right? I turned to my granny (on mom's side) for help on this one.

I love checkered print. Always have. So, I marched myself to the nearest JoAnn Fabrics (okay, not really marched - DROVE, an hour) and picked up the first romper pattern I could find, along with an adorable picnic table cloth print. I'm a large for most of my clothes, and I guessed that at the biggest I would be a 14, so I got the amount of fabric that called for that - 1 and 1/8th yards.

I proudly texted my granny (that's right, texted - she's very hip-and-with-it) and said that I had bought fabric and thread and a pattern so I could sew myself a romper. However, I wanted to change the pattern a little so that I wouldn't have to sew a zipper into it -  that seemed too tough for a beginner project. We agreed that I would come to her house on a Saturday and see what she could do about it.

First, she suggested that we combine another pattern (one she used to make my MOM a romper in high school!) to avoid having to put in a zipper. That way it could be strapless (like I wanted) and it wouldn't have a zipper, either!

It seemed like a great plan...until I cut the pattern for the top I had just purchased out of some scrap fabric Granny had, just to make sure it was big enough. And thank God we did! We thought it would be smart to cut out the biggest pattern, just to be safe. Okay, this was the size 18:

Would you say it's a little off?

(Disclaimer: I run about a size 10 typically.)

So, then my granny suggested we do this: make a tube top out of the old mom-pattern and shorten up the shorts a big, and it would be just what I was looking for.

Here's what I used:

Fabric

Thread

Buttons

Eyelet lace

Pinking shears

Scissors

A sewing machine

Granny's patience

Granny and I both snapped some pics from this little project:

AT THIS POINT, I FELT KINDA LIKE SLEEPING BEAUTY. NOT CINDERELLA. SLEEPING BEAUTY. YOU KNOW. WHEN THE FAIRIES MAKE HER THAT DRESS AND IT LOOKS AWFUL.

And, of course, I was THRILLED with the end result!

 

Cardigan / Target
Brown woven belt / Maurices
Aviators / Maurices
Bandana / Not sure. Probably from Rocky's in Hallock.
Pearl studs / Old Navy

Ahh! I love this because it can be kind of dressed up (like I made it above) or you can just throw it over your swimsuit after a day at the beach. Plus, it gives off a very Ellie May Clampett vibe, I think ;)

 

Love,

 

Kalli