The Paper Theory Zadie Jumpsuit – Should Curvy Girls Wear Jumpsuits?

A couple of months ago, Paper Theory patterns released a sewing pattern that has taken the sewing world by storm. The Paper Theory Zadie Jumpsuit pattern has been the must-sew of this year so far, gracing the grids of many of the top sewing stars of Instagram. It may be an ‘it’ pattern, but is it a good pattern for a curvy girl? And really, should curvy girls wear jumpsuits?

Having seen so many people making the pattern on Instagram, I really did want to try it for myself. But really wasn’t sure if a jumpsuit would suit my size 18-20 figure.

In the end I decided to just take the plunge and have a go!

The Zadie Jumpsuit is marketed as an advanced beginner pattern. It comes with the option of a small drop grown on sleeve, or to add a further piece to make a 3/4 sleeve. A tie wrap around the waist fastens the garment, and it has no zips or buttons. It has wide cut legs. And to my delight it has pockets, which are a must to me as a mum!

Recommended fabrics are light to medium weight woven fabrics, but it would also look great in a draped crepe or viscose, and I have seen some lovely denim versions! It is possible to make this in stretch fabric, but making the neck binding may be trickier when doing this.

The pattern is a PDF downloadable pattern only. The size that I printed consisted of 42 pages of A4. But a brilliant feature of the pattern once downloaded is that you can just print the size that you need, instead of having to wade through a jumble of dotted lines to find your size.

Starting to Sew

As usual, I decided to make a wearable toile. (Find out what a toile is, and why I usually make one)

I shopped my stash, and found a wonderful piece of Makower UK fabric – a lilac and white rose patterned 100% cotton that I really liked. Just one problem, I only had 3 metres. Not quite enough material to make the full length of leg, and I probably wouldn’t have enough to make bias binding from this fabric either. So I decided to shorten the leg by 12cm, and use ready made bias. As I am 5 foot 4 and the pattern is drafted for a 5 foot 7 person, and calls for a 4cm hem on the trousers, I thought I may get away with this!

Luckily I had already decided that I was going to make the short sleeved version.

Although the finished garment size for the size 18 was the closest to my actual measurements, I decided to cut the size 20. I like some room to move, especially in summer garments. The tie waist would wrap to fit in any case. In fact, this has been the most complimented aspect of this pattern. People have commented how well it fits all bust sizes and shapes, which is down to its relaxed style.

Sewing Up The Jumpsuit

The instructions for the Paper Theory Zadie Jumpsuit were some of the easiest and most comprehensive I have worked with. The pieces all came together quickly and easily.

The trickiest part was the bias binding around the curved section of the tie front. I was glad that I had used contrast ready made binding at this point, which I attached in a different method to that recommended by the pattern. I sewed the inner part of the binding first, and then folded over the edge of the neckline and pinned again before sewing the front part of the binding. The pattern recommends to bind both sides at the same time, which IMO is quite hard to do.

Before I knew it, I had a finished garment!

My verdict?

I love it! The fact that there are no buttons or zips do make it an easy sew, and the only tricky part for me was the binding around the edges.

I actually am so pleased that I did have to shorten the leg length to get the pattern cut from the 3 metres of fabric that I had. I love the slightly shorter cullotte leg length for summer. It also has worked really well with the contrast binding, and it is nice to know that this is an option. (also note that some sewers have used facings rather than binding if their main fabric has been quite thick, this is certainly a thought for if I wish to make a denim one in the future!)

And Should Curvy Girls Wear Jumpsuits?

Well this project just goes to show that they can! The tie waist accentuates the narrowest part of me, giving the illusion of a smaller waist. And the wide shorter length leg balances the look. Finally the deep v neck really shows off my bust. Love this cotton jumpsuit for the summer weather. Can’t wait to make it in a drape evening fabric, and I bet it will go great with heels!

Get your jumpsuit pattern here.

Want to try the other most popular pattern this year – see my review of the Wilder Gown by Friday Pattern Company

And like independent patterns – why not try Seen and Sewn? I made the Tracy Bee tunic – see my review here.

And why not pin this post for later?