When I get asked to “make me something!” I almost always say no. Unless it’s a fun creative challenge or for a very dear friend. This happened to be both!
If you can’t tell from these photos, Menaka is over 6 feet tall, which makes finding a properly fitting RTW jumpsuit practically impossible. I have been wanting to try out the Ailakki jumpsuit by Named Clothing for a while, but truthfully more as a sewing challenge as I’m not sure it’s really a style that suits me – it definitely suits Menaka, though!
Before starting, I took her measurements and along with grading between sizes, slashed and spread all the pattern pieces to add height. Even so, it was difficult to properly check measurements on the bodice-pieces, as they are oddly shaped! We ended up doing two muslins of the bodice, and I actually ended up removing most of the length in that area. In addition, I had to enlarge the darts, move the bust point, and take in quite some ease along the side seams.
In the end, the fit is pretty spot-on! I’m not sure whether I had trouble with fitting because of the oddly shaped pattern pieces or it was just drafted to fit a very different shape – most examples I’ve seen of this pattern don’t discuss major alternations.
I had a truly wonderful weekend with Menaka and her family in Seattle, where we took these photos (and the photos in the previous post as well!) Someone with a cockatoo came up and lent his bird to participate as well!
Kausalya Mahadevan 