Tilly and the Buttons – Marigold jumpsuit

I’ve always wanted to have a jumpsuit and after making my faux jumpsuit using the Sew Over It Ultimate Culottes and the True Bias Ogden Cami, the Tilly and the Buttons ‘Marigold’ jumped to the top of my ‘to sew’ list.

I live in the Midlands and when listening to the Stitchers Brew podcast I was excited to hear it feature a local sewing business. Lucy from Sew Essential was on with Harriet from Sew Me Sunshine and I gave out a little celebratory woohoo in the car when I heard Ashby de la Zouch mentioned by Lucy. It’s just so great to hear about a business in your local area doing so well. SewEssential was one of the first online sewing companys that I found and with the recent sewing revival, its just going from strength to strength. Lucy also has a youtube channel, that I have learnt many tricks from, including how to use my overlocker to create spaghetti straps. I was very flattered to be asked by Lucy to collaborate with her on a blog post.

The Supplies:

SewEssential have a great selection of dressmaking fabrics online along with the largest haberdashery and sewing pattern sections too. I am a lover of patterns so choosing a fabric, I went straight to the pattern woven section and the John Kaldor fabrics caught my eye with their bright floral designs. The large print of this fabric just sings summer to me. Its a polyester fabric (bonus no ironing) with a light weight even weave, just perfect for a summer jumpsuit.

The Pattern:

I have the Great British Sewing Bee Jumpsuit on my #2018makenine grid but I have seen so many beautiful Tilly and the Button ‘Marigolds’ on Instagram so I’m going to make a substitution with this pattern. I am usually a size 4 in jersey for Tilly and the Button’s patterns, but I’ve made a Bettine in a size 5. I decided this time to go for a size 4 as I want a fitted version of the jumpsuit, maybe if I make another in some cotton linen I would try out a more relaxed look and go for the size 5.

The Marigold has a slim fitting trouser with slash (large) pockets and fitted at the waist with a wide elasticated waistband. You can use this pattern to just make some trousers too. The bodice has a sweetheart neckline, wide straps and an invisible zip at the side. Its a jumpsuit pattern that would equally look great with sandals and a cardi in the day. And also great with heels and some statement jewellery in the evenings. I’ve also seen it worn layered with a simple t-shirt underneath when its a little cooler, so its a jumpsuit that would suit all seasons.

The Sew:

I’m going to have a mini rave now about the instructions…….. Tilly and the Buttons instructions are some of the BEST that I have ever used. I love the little booklet that takes you through every step, giving you excellent tips from cutting your fabric to finishing your seams. The photos that accompany the instructions are just so clear and simple and even through I now feel that I’ve moved on as an intermediate sewer I still need this pictures to help me understand what to do. If you are new to dressmaking I recommend trying out a Tilly and the Buttons pattern.

Making the pockets followed the same structure as the pockets on the Bettine which was fairly straight forward. You need to apply interfacing to a few pieces on the bodice which I admit, I don’t enjoy. It just seems to start coming off or I apply too much heat and risk melting everything, including my fabric.

The only real issue I have with the sew up was that one of my straps didn’t seem to sit correctly. I didn’t find this out until the final try on, so I have to do a repair job, undoing the top stitching, under stitching and then searching for the strap that I had cut down the seam allowance from!

The Finished Jumpsuit:

I think my original plan of cutting a size 4 to give the slimline look has payed off. With the bright pattern I think that I will be wearing this jumpsuit more as a formal jumpsuit so a slimline look is more ideal. However, I do feel that if I wanted a Marigold that I want to wear day to day I will make the size 5 next time, to give a slightly wider leg and a drape of the bodice over the waistband.

The waistband sits comfortably quite high on my waist but that’s a style that I actually quite like. I’ve heard from others that this high waist isn’t very flattering as the trousers. The pattern has clear shorten/lengthen lines so it would be easy to make that adjustment. The bust dart is a little high and I’m trying to decide if I should unpick it a little and try to reposition it. Maybe I need to try it on with a few different bras to see if that’s the problem before trying to change it.

Overall I love my first jumpsuit and I can’t wait to wear it this summer, especially on holiday.

Thank you Lucy for providing me with this fabric and pattern.

Adelle x