In case you were wondering, yes, a 'romper' is a child’s garment, but by definition it is also ‘a person who romps’. I’m not entirely sure if I romp or not….is that something I would know? It sounds like a fun activity one might do in a meadow during summertime, and if that’s the case you can count me in! Alternatively this type of garment can be called a playsuit (also for children) or a jumpsuit (more age neutral).
I’ve heard many other people saying that rompers aren’t for them, but like any kind of garment it really comes down to finding the right silhouette and fit. They come in so many variations, so don’t be shy to try one out!
This particular design is nice because it looks like a dress. It also has a unique cut on the bottom, angling down from the hips to the knees. We rode our bikes to Granville Island for this shoot and it was fantastic to ride in. The fabric I chose (viscose rayon) wrinkled a bit on the ride but overall I was really happy with how it held up throughout the day.
Here is a diagram of the design since it is difficult to see the seaming in some of these pictures. For my next version I need to fix the side gaping at the armholes, but other then that it fits really well (yay!).
I used french seams for this garment, and I only messed up once. That being said, one time was enough to make me realize that I need to slow down and quadruple check my fabric right/wrong sides before sewing. It is such a pain to rip out french seams because you have to do every seam twice! Check out Jen’s tutorial on french seams if you are interested in the technique.
I do plan on developing this design into a pattern for my online shop (coming soon!). I hope to have it available for next spring/summer with a sleeve variation included - stay tuned!
Final Stats:
Total project time: Approximately 4 hours
Fabric: 2.5 meters of viscose rayon
Pattern: Me-made pattern
