Combining Vogue V9000 and Butterick B6354
Life doesn’t always give you much free time and days off are few and far between which means when I have time to sew, I don’t want to waste it deciding and planning my projects. Like most of us that trawl through the World Wide Web, I’m on Pinterest and have more than one album for sewing inspiration. One evening whilst browsing my board, I came across this playsuit which I fell in love with immediately and knew it would be my next project. So today, we are sewing my Pinterest wish board.
It might be hard to believe but I might be getting a little bored of sewing dresses so seeing this super cute sage green gingham playsuit really sparked an instant love within me. This project would give me a chance to combine a few patterns, try a different collared bodice pattern as well as keep practising how to sew well fitted shorts (a mini side-quest I’m on). After a little research, I couldn’t actually find where the original image/pin came from so I can’t credit or even find out much about this playsuit. A part of me thinks that the internet gets so saturated with photos of new clothes that it’s getting harder to track down original designers and garment information. If I do end up finding the original designer, I’ll mention them in an edit.
With our inspiration sorted, let’s look at patterns. For the collared bodice, I originally thought about using Simplicity 10646/ 9164 which we have seen here, here and here before on the blog. Our inspo playsuit doesn’t have sewn in sleeves and I wanted to try a different pattern. Within my pattern stash I found Vogue 9000 which is a vintage reproduction but the bodice for style A had an almost identical collar and sleeve that my inspo had. It looked like Vogue 9000 was the top bodice option and it was time to talk about shorts patterns. As I mentioned above, I’ve been on a secret mission to figure out shorts (I just really want to learn how to make a few styles that really flatter me as nothing I find from the shops works and I just want cute shorts). In my quest for good shorts, I still haven’t found the best pattern so I decided to stick with one I’ve made a few times which was Butterick B6354 that we’ve made here, and even as part of a playsuit here. My plan was to work on the fitting of the playsuit and to size up to a 14 in the shorts pattern as the booty needs to be comfortable.
This particular pin has actually been haunting me for a while and since last year, I’ve been keeping my eye out for the perfect sage green gingham cotton fabric. A few months back when I was in Homecraft Textiles shopping for Disney Cruise fabric, I found the perfect gingham. The second I saw it, I remembered this pin and bought a few meters because it’s actually been quite tough finding sage green gingham or even just a nice green gingham cotton in general. Often I found that the green wasn’t very pleasant or the cotton was so thin that I couldn’t wear it without exposing breakfast. The gingham was mine and it’s been in the stash for only a few months and now is her time to shine.
Now I’ve never actually made Vogue 9000 before so had no point of reference as to the fit and this fact made me a little nervous. The hunt for the perfect sage green gingham fabric took me so long that I didn’t want to waste it or create something that I wouldn’t actually end up wearing (the wardrobe be bursting these days). As I genuinely liked the the collared shirt pattern from Vogue 9000, I decided to for the first time in years and years, actually make a wearable muslin. A wearable muslin refers to testing out a pattern using a cheap or scrap fabric to test for fit, but you intend on wearing it as normal clothing (versus throwing it out like you would with a calico). Way back in 2022 I went to KL and purchased a hefty bunch of fabric one of them was a super cheap cotton adorned with a retro-inspired floral pattern and from the moment I saw it, I knew it would be a retro-inspired playsuit so that is the fabric we will use. Spending a day, I made a muslin/mock-up of the bodice and was happy to conclude that the size 12 fit me perfectly. At the time of writing this, my mock-up is still in her current incomplete state but I promise I have a sewing weekend coming up and she will be completed and blogged about soon.
Sew, let’s get started! The main thing I had to keep in mind when cutting out my pattern pieces was making sure the gingham was going in the same direction and was straight on the grain. Vogue 9000 in style B was really a dream to sew up. On the back of making a few pyjamas which meant lots of collars, this one was pretty straight forward and I’m starting to get the hang of collars more. Style B didn’t have set-in sleeves and instead the sleeves were a part of the bodice in a cap-like style. The front of the bodice had double darts which were really flattering and I’m starting to really enjoy sewing Vogue patterns a little more despite always being intimidated by them. Whilst creating my button/facing sections I realised I had run out of interfacing so this playsuit will not be as structured as I’d like. It has been noted that I need to go buy interfacing because I didn’t realise how quickly I ran out.
The bodice is closed up using a mix of the front functional buttons and a side invisible zip. My zip isn’t as invisible as I’d like but for some reason I just found this one a little tricky to install but I think I just need more practice. For the buttons I used some pearly buttons which I found at the op shop a while ago. Overall, my bodice took me an afternoon and I loved how it came out. The fit was amazing.
For the shorts, as I’d sews Butterick B6354 before I’ve actually made it in a size 12 and a 14 finding that the 14 fit me a little better. Having made these shorts as part of a playsuit before, I also knew that even by adding half an inch to the height of the waistline along the shorts, when it comes to fitting it goes a little easier. Making up the shorts themselves was pretty simple; there’s nothing tricky or difficult and they came together really quick.
With my playsuit currently identifying as separates, it was time to merge the bodice with the shorts. To start fitting everything, I put on the bodice and shorts and started marking where my waist was. From there, I used my fabric marker to create a guide for where I wanted to combine the two pieces that would make it flattering (well hopefully). Taking the pieces off, I pinned the two parts together along my new markings and then sewed and cleaned up all the edges and hems. My playsuit was done!
Getting in and out of this playsuit took a lot of wiggling, thrashing and I definitely got a cramp in my neck and shoulder but once on, I thought it looked really cute. The original inspiration can really be seen in my final garment and although I didn’t add belt loops, I know wearing it with a brown belt would look really cute, (I packed one for this shoot but realised I grabbed one thats actually too big for my waist so I had to ditch it). When actually wearing the playsuit it was quite comfortable but I do worry about the struggle to get in and out of it especially when nature calls and it’s urgent. I wonder if sewing in a longer zip would make a difference of it this is just the way it is due to my body shape and the playsuits fit.
A month or so ago I was lucky enough to be back in Malaysia where I was able to wear this playsuit. These photos were taken around my hotel in Ipoh and despite the heat and humidity, she was a dream to walk around in between the pool and food options. It’s also why she’s a little more wrinkled too (suitcase life).
As for the fate of the original wearable muslin; she still is on my radar to create but sewing summery hasn’t been my priority seeing that its now winter. To keep her a little different to the playsuit, I think I might just turn her into a mini dress but there is still time to decide. I’m thinking a mini skirt might look a little odd but I can also try sewing a different pair of shorts to further continue my quest for the perfect shorts pattern.
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