Sunday 28 August 2016

How To: Simple Silky Playsuit

photo PurplePlaysuitDIY2_zpsmspgekw2.jpg
A super light playsuit is about as close to you can get to wearing nothing = the ideal desired state in +45°C summer Dubai.

Tutorials take a lot of time & effort to create, and I choose to make mine available for free. If you enjoy this guide, you can support me with a donation that feels right for you, here.



TOOLS:
photo 0 Tools_zpsrkyvtgxj.jpg
Lightweight, airy fabric, 2 m (my choice silk crepe)  |  Elastic  (enough to go around waist comfortably)  |  Pins  |  Thread, sewing machine, needle, safety pin  |  Scissors

I.  Here's some indicative measurements for my piece for the top part..
photo 1 Cut top_zpsdz5fy9yx.jpg
.. And the shorts. I made my shorts a bit big to be able to adjust to the right side later. Note that in the below image there's two layers of fabric - two pieces for the front (on the left) and two for the back (on the right).  Started by pinning the curved front and back seams, fabric right sides facing, and sewed those, finishing with a zig-zag and a good press.
photo 2 Cut shorts_zps5klzxp92.jpg
II. Then pinned the crotch together, right sides facing, and sewed that.
photo 3 Sewn back and front seam_zpswrpvb3hl.jpg
III. Next the sides seams.

photo 4 Pin sides_zps0sdvqg2j.jpg
Once I had sewn the sides, I tried the shorts on and adjusted the width at the waist a couple times until I had the right looseness (loose enough to go on but not too much to be all baggy).
photo 5 Adjust size_zpsqdnvgym2.jpg
Here's what I had at this point.
photo 6 Shorts done_zpsvi3t1mps.jpg
IV. Moving on to the top. Placed the pieces right sides facing, pinned and sewed the sides.
photo 7 Pin top sides_zps0xvcsl4b.jpg
V. Then pressed a double-fold along the arm holes and sewed those by hand (machine sewing would be fine, I didn't want a stitch on the right side).
photo 8 Sewn arm holes_zpsg2nvy0wm.jpg
VI. Next I cut a long strip of fabric for the piece that would make up the shoulder straps (I cut this at a bias to make it had the appropriate stretch)..
photo 9 Strap_zps54wuxjwb.jpg
.. And pressed it like this - in half width-wise, and both of those halves again in half..
photo 10 Pressed strap_zps3llisibl.jpg
.. With the ends finished like this.
photo 11 Pressed strap end_zpsfozh6khi.jpg
VII. I then pinned the strap to the neckline. Starting from the left end of the back piece neckline, I aligned the top edge of the back piece with the edge of the strap, right sides facing. Then left a 11 cm gap that was not pinned to anything, and after that gap, pinned the strap in the same way to the front neckline. This left me the same 11-ish cm at the end of the strap free (those are the parts that sit on your shoulders). Then sewed along the fold line (where the pins are pointing in the below image) to attach the strap to the front and back pieces.
photo 12 Pin to top neckline_zpsjuknhgns.jpg
After that I folded the strap down, so the other folded layers were left nicely tucked in between. Hand-sewed the whole thing in place so no stitches were visible.
photo 13 Fold over_zps7cqi9hxm.jpg
VIII. To finish the neckline, I added a button hole to the left side of the back piece's neckline..
photo 14 Button hole_zpsbrwejals.jpg
.. And a button on the underside of the end of the strap.
photo 15 Button.jpg
This is what it looked like - the button is on the underside of the end of the strap, so when it's attached, it's not visible.
photo 16 Neckline done_zpsxrbt9quh.jpg
IX. To attach the top the the shorts, I pressed a 1-cm fold on the reverse of the hem of the top. Also zig-zagged the waistline of the shorts piece.
photo 17 Fold top hem on reverse_zpsvkq5vkjz.jpg
And then pinned the top to the shorts so they overlapped by 1.5 cm, just a bit more than the width of my elastic.
photo 18 Pin top to shorts_zpsbrql1myr.jpg
And finally sewed two straight stitches around the waist - one where the shorts' waistline ended underneath, and another right at the edge of the folded edge of the top. Left a gap in one of these stitches to be able to insert my elastic with the help of a safety pin, sewed the ends together, and done!
photo 19 Waistline sewn_zps3hizb5ls.jpg
..  Or almost done.. At the end I clipped some length off from the shorts, and hemmed them with a blind-stitched double fold. I did also use my leftover fabric to make a simple belt, which I attached to the playsuit with belt hoops made from the same fabric.
photo PurplePlaysuitDIY_zpsugbolqil.jpg photo PurplePlaysuitDIY3_zpspb5januw.jpg photo PurplePlaysuitDIY4_zps6mhmdbmf.jpg
xo,

Julia

4 comments:

  1. So pretty! Love the overall shape of the playsuit, perfect proportions! And the colour of the silk is beautiful...

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is fantastic! I am awed by the fact you don't use patterns. The color is delicious and it looks so lightweight and comfortable for hot weather. Call me inspired!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Amy<3 It IS incredibly comfy! And the funny thing is I am actually beyond impressed by people that sew properly with patterns:D

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I would love to hear what you think and learn about your DIY adventures! If you use one of my tutorials, tag me on social @contour_affair, I'd love to see!

 

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