As soon as I learn I am going to be travelling for a holiday, I instantly start planning all the outfits I wish to sew despite knowing I will never have enough time. Although I’ve been there before, I recently got offered a chance to travel back to Club Med in the Maldives (see my previous trips and sewing projects here and here) and there was no way I was declining such a fabulous trip, so it was off to the sewing room to plan my projects. I had originally planned to make 4 garments for my trip but I was struck down with the flu a week before my trip resulting in me only just finishing one garment. So todays post will be all about my new retro inspired beach playsuit using Gertie’s Butterick 6354.

Shopping my fabric stash, I came across some retro floral cotton fabric I had purchased from Spoonflower (the designer was red_raspberry_design) and although I had originally planned to sew a mini puff dress, I just knew I would end up turning it into a retro floral beach playsuit for this trip. Although I’ve ordered from Spoonflower before, for some reason I’ve never used their cotton fabric as it always felt too special and expensive yet I’ve always been curious as to its quality. This was a great chance to test out the cotton especially for an outfit with no bottom lining that could potentially go see through. As a woman of science (I mean, not really, but you know), this was to be a fun experiment all around. I had about 3 meters of this fabric which was going to be more than enough for what I was wanting.

Although we have used this pattern before in this review and in a (hopefully coming to the blog very soon) Halloween project, I’ve never had a chance to combine the top and shorts from Butterick 6354 to turn it into a playsuit. From previous creations using this pattern, I have learnt that I am a size 14 in the shorts and a size 12 in the top so for my playsuit I will be combining these two sizes.

Sew, let’s get started. Armed with my pattern and fabric I began by cutting out all the pieces that I needed for the bodice and shorts. As this was to become a playsuit, I decided to add 1.5″ to the waistline of top and and 1″ to the top so I had enough room to join the pieces together, allow for seam allowance and have enough to alter to fit my torso if needed. Although I know people have combined this pattern to make a playsuit before, I figured that adding an extra few inches was a safe bet and I’m really glad I did so. If you weren’t keen on adding to the bodice and shorts and you were still wanting to make this playsuit, you could also add a waistband but for me personally, I wanted the playsuit to not look disjointed.

The top came together pretty quick but I omitted the boning, to stop it rusting once it got wet. I also figured I wanted to make this playsuit as comfortable as possible for all the beach frolicking I planned to do. The bodice is fully lined and I have been using an old white fitted bed sheet which had the elastic let go as my go to white cotton lining. The neckline strap was reinforced with a light interfacing as were the straps. I will note that whilst sewing the top together, I somehow completely forgot to add the straps so they were added on at the very end. Not sure how I skipped this whole step but here we are. With my bodice complete, it was time to move onto the shorts.

All those who sew know not to sew tired; especially when sewing shorts. remembering that lesson from last time I made sure to load up on tea before getting started and what do you know, it worked. The first pair of shorts I’ve sewn that I didn’t make a mistake on; for some reason I always sew them together in the wrong way. Huzzah! Like the bodice, the shorts had waist darts so they sit flush on the body in a flattering way and with everything ready to put together, I began sewing the bodice to the shorts.

I did try my best to adjust the length but looking back now, I should have taken the back waist seam in by about 3/4″ as it was just slightly too big. It wasn’t a huge issue overall but I also know that if the bodice had been boned, this wouldn’t have been an issue so I will keep that in mind for next time. The final steps I needed to complete my playlist were adding a zip to the centre back and then hemming the shorts which only took me a few minutes and my playsuit was done.

This was such a fun outfit to wear along the beach and it was also really comfortable. It was quite humid on our trip and although I got a bit sweaty, at least whilst wearing this playsuit I didn’t feel uncomfortable or too hot. This Spoonflower cotton fabric is something I would happily use again and I am not more keen to use the few pieces I have had in my fabric stash for years. The cotton held up really well especially with the shorts not being lined and they weren’t see through at all. This made me very comfortable as I found sewing them previously in a thinner cotton, I did feel slightly exposed. When this playsuit got wet, it also held up quite well and didn’t turn super see through.

I found the fit of the playsuit really comfortable an I’m glad I sized up in the shorts. Although my previous attempt fitted me, the size 14 was just really comfy to run around in. The bodice was a great fit and although one day I hope to tailer it to absolute perfection around my curves, the fit was lovely for now. I do wish I had added a pocket to the playsuit but I just forgot in my rush to get all my holiday sewing done a week before I left.

I think this was a really fun project and garment to make; I have been wanting to try to sew a few other things despite dresses so a playsuit was a fun addition to my wardrobe. I loved the retro flower print of the fabric as well as the colours which includes one of my favourite combinations of pink and orange. I do have some left over fabric so I’m tempted to make a head wrap so I can keep my hair out of my face on warm days.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts expressed are solely my own and not influenced in any way. There are no affiliate links and I do not benefit from any link clicks or purchases made.