I’ve hacked the Amy Jumpsuit by Closet Case Patterns.

Again!! (My other recent hack is here!)

This one was inspired by something I saw on pinterest. Ahhh, pinterest, where so many of my sewing hacks begin!!

Evidently, I love the leg shape on the Amy Jumpsuit so ridiculously, I just want to add them to everything.

Now I often think that the reason I maintain this blog is because it is extremely useful to keep a record of what NOT to do. Setting out my errors in sufficient detail to prevent others from making them!

Well, settle in, this hack is a good example of exactly what not to do!

Although, at least, all’s well that ends well, and I looooove the final product of this Amy Jumpsuit.

The fabric is 5 oz hemp denim from Blackbird Fabrics, which I bought a little while ago and have been planning on making about a million things with ever since. It is really beautiful, richly coloured, full of drape but lovely and soft. I desperately wish it was easier to get more similar “dress-weight” denim because I want to make everything in it. I could see myself making say a Kalle Shirt, Vogue 9253 and a pair of culottes or asymmetric wrap pants out of it.

If, of course, I had more of it!

Squared neck Amy Jumpsuit: the hacks

Having previously sewn the Amy Jumpsuit in its original version, I knew a few modifications that I needed to make to it.

I added one inch length to the torso (using the “lengthen here” line) and lowered the arm holes by 1.5 cm, as I found that my first version dug in a bit under the armn.

I am really happy with the impact of these general changes on my body and will definitely be using them in the future.

In terms of my more aesthetic changes, I squared off the neckine at both the front and back. At the back I squared it off at the point that the original Amy Jumpsuit strap attached to the bodice. At the front, I squared it off about 2 inches below the point at which the original Amy Jumpsuit strap met the front bodice.

I created an extra wide strap (duh)! Speaking of which, I learnt that you have to install a wide strap like this at an angle, rather than at 90 degree to the bodice to get it to sit properly. Nothing like trial and error!

And added fancy patch pockets. These are the pockets from the Fiore Skirt but I added in an extension to become the belt loop and I fully lined the pockets, as is done in the Blanca Flight Suit.

Essentially, these pockets represent an amalgamation of the Amy Jumpsuit, Fiore Skirt and Blanca Flight Suit – can you tell I’m a Closet Core (formerly Closet Case!) fan?

Plus, you know, pretty topstitching!

Speaking of which, how pretty are the straps and belt?

This project would be absolutely perfect for some sashiko action – if one had the skills and patience, that is!

And, while we’re on the subject of details, I used this Amy Jumpsuit to try deliberately fraying an edge for the first time and it was pretty fun! I’m really hoping it holds up with washing. The top stitching is two layers of triple straight stitch, then underneath them I have a very fine zig zag, so here’s hoping the zig zag will do its job and keep that fraying where it needs to be.

Where to put a zip?

Now, the area where I have the most to offer you is in relation to the question of where to put a zip.

And in the tradition of all good f&@k ups, everything I am about to say seems obvious in retrospect, but it somehow wasn’t obvious enough for me to have realised in advance.

So here goes!

The Amy Jumpsuit pattern has a side zip. Which is perfectly sensible. After all, when wearing a jumpsuit, it’s much easier to unzip oneself from the side than the back.

What I had failed to grasp, however, is that a side zip works with the Amy Jumpsuit because the neckline is roomy enough that you can slip the jumpsuit over the widest point of your body.

Me, I had sewn my straps in place at the back and was trying on my Amy jumpsuit to get the position right for sewing the straps to the front. I pinned them in place, then went to sew.

Only to realise, that unlike the original Amy Jumpsuit neckline, my square neckline was not wide enough to slide over the widest point of my body.

Face palm.

The initial solution I tried for was to place a buttonhole in the front of the straps and a button on the inside of the bodice and have the straps be buttoned into place.

Basically, using the solution you typically find in overalls.

I wore it for one day like this – but the problems were evident.

It didn’t sit as I wanted and tended to tug the facing up and slightly out.

With the button-up straps at the front, this Amy Jumpsuit was also pretty impracticable – using the bathroom required undoing the belt, unzipping the side and undoing buttons.

Yeah, don’t leave that one to the last minute!

Plus, since the straps weren’t made with this purpose in mind I hadn’t interfaced them and I saw that the strain around the buttonhole was going to ruin them in no time.

So, I unpicked the zipper and unpicked the back seam, moving the zip to the back, which then enabled me to properly sew the straps in place at the front as well.

I actually photographed this jumpsuit both before and after I re-sewed the zipper but on both occasions the light was pretty crappy, so I ended up having to use both sets of photos to fill up this blog post – with buttons at the from and without. Hope it doesn’t cause confusion!

And, voilà, just like that, my Pinterest recreation was finally complete.

I gotta say, recreating random images on Pinterest is one of my favourite forms of sewing projects. Sew satisfying.

And am I the only one who stares at Pinterest with “I could definitely sew that” eyes?

Oh and, guess what, I’m not even done with hacking the Amy Jumpsuit. Yep, I’v still got another one to share with you guys.

Someone just doesn’t know when to stop…

Oh and, finally, a little P.S! If you like to get your blog hits through Bloglovin’, feel free to follow me over there: you can find me here. And you can find me on Instagram here.