It took a trip to the DeYoung Museum to finally have an opportunity to wear this velvet bodysuit, almost one year after I completed it.
To be fair, this was really more of a test run for the pattern and I happened to have enough of the velvet leftovers to cut out all of the pieces with some creative cutting layouts. Once I had finished, I realized that I had no idea what type of skirt I would want to pair it with . . . so it sat folded on a table until I needed something to wear for a day out at the museum. Happily, I remembered this quilted skirt as one option that would work with the velvet.
The major issue that I ran into with the pattern was that I didn't account for enough length through the torso. I did "fix" that by adding an extra piece cotton where the back and front snap together.
The other thing that I discovered while wearing the garment is that the back neckline piece that folds over has a tendency to roll up, which may or may not expose the serged edge underneath it if it migrates far enough over the shoulder. Part of that might be solved by using a more stretchy knit. And while I don't have very wide shoulders, I suppose I could also expand the neckline width slightly, as well.
Overall, I like the design, and I am tempted to make another version in a more appropriate fabric choice according to the pattern stretch requirements to see if that changes any of the issues that I had with this version.
And I definitely love the feeling of getting two separate projects out of one cut of fabric, so that was a win.
Being able to match the bodysuit to my quilted skirt was not expected, but I really like how the pieces work together. I never thought that I would get so much wear out of a quilted midi skirt, but this garment gets so much wear during the colder months that I almost think that I should make another!
There are a couple of other bodysuit patterns that I have stashed away, and I really should pull them out and see about making at least one of them.
I have plenty of full skirts that would work nicely with a bodysuit, and I probably have stashed fabric or remnants that might not be enough for a skirt or dress, but would work for this type of project.
I am now wondering what became of that navy blue bodysuit from the mid-1990s that was a part of my wardrobe, because it might be nice to wear again . . . or maybe I just find a navy knit fabric and make my own!
