This month will mark three years since I started this blog.

Kind of on a whim.

About 150 posts later, here I am.

And, I’m going to be honest here, these last couple of weeks, I read my own words and am struck by their triviality. Their unimportance.

I wonder who the hell it’s serving to put more words and images depicting the experience of a white, cis-gendered, middle aged, privileged woman out there.

I stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter, against police brutality which disproportionally impacts people of colour and I hope that this awakening as to the power of white privilege can change the world.

But I don’t want to talk about this on the blog because I don’t think my voice is one which is meaningful. I don’t want to centre current events around my own views. I don’t want to talk about donations from the privileged position of one who can try to solve a problem by tossing money at it.

Frankly, I feel like this is a time when I shouldn’t be talking at all.

Yet talk is, in essence, what I do here on my blog.

In truth, I simply don’t yet know how to navigate things so that I can joyfully share my sewing journey without benefitting from my privilege.

Since I became active on sewing social media three years ago, I truly felt a new fulfilment that came from having found my people. Sewing people.

Makers.

I didn’t give a second thought to the fact that our community is naturally geared towards accepting and promoting people just like me. And that my experience of acceptance and finding a home in the sewing community may not be the experience of all.

In the end, I decided I wanted to touch upon this in order to send a clear message out into this humble little corner of the sewing universe (sewn-iverse?). That this blog will not tolerate racism of any form, casual or overt, intentional or otherwise.

Yep, that’s it. I’m too exhausted and empty for eloquence.

Pattern release time

So, now, onto the blog post that I drafted a couple of weeks ago. Here’s hoping these words don’t come across quite as hollow as I feel.

So, here she is, my version of the Blanca Flight Suit from Closet Case!

I mean, the BELT LOOPS ARE PART OF THE POCKETS!!! How could I resist a detail like that????

I made my version in heavy washed linen from Meter Meter. It’s the same fabric I used for my recent Lois Dress and Pinnacle Top.

I never would have seen myself in a boiler suit but, what can I say, my capacity to try to emulate style by doing whatever Heather Lou does know no ends!

Confession – I actually did a happy dance when Closet Case released this pattern!

I had kind of assumed that, due to ongoing lockdowns, we wouldn’t be getting any new patterns for a while. So it was very welcome when, one kind of shitty afternoon when I was engaged in my current modus operandi of trying to work from home without causing too much damage to the 5-year old by constantly telling him he needs to leave Mama alone, I saw that Closet Case had released a new pattern. I squealed and danced and jumped. It felt like a little wave of hope lapping at the shore.

Size and stuff: Charting Up

I found the Blanca Flight Suit surprisingly easy to fit. And I love it equally both with or without the tie belt.

In terms of options, this is the full-length leg, short sleeves and regular patch pockets (although the zippered ones were tempting…)

My Blanca Flight Suit is a size 14 at the bust, waist and high hip, graded out to a size 18 to accommodate the thighs.

I have the privilege of fitting into both the 0-20 and 14-30 size range of Closet Case’s extended size range. So far I have only ever used the 0-20 size range because it is designed for a B-cup bust, like mine, whereas the 14-30 size range is designed to accommodate a bigger bust.

The Blanca Flight Suit has, hands down, the best finished measurements table I have ever seen. Given Closet Case’ status in the sewing community, I hope other indie pattern companies follow suit! After all, the more information available to us, the better sewing decisions we can take!

The finished measurement table includes 12 different finished measurements – like thigh, knee and bicep! I found the chart tremendously helpful in deciding what size to sew. I’ve always known that I am proportionally bigger across the thighs, compared to my other measurements, but I didn’t realize that it was to the tune of 2 full sizes! My bust, waist and hip measurements fell squarely within size 14, but the finished measurement chart made me see that I would actually need size 18 at the thigh to fit comfortably around the leg!

So the finished measurement chart is definitely a winner for me. If the thigh measurements hadn’t been included, I would definitely have sewn a straight 14 and I wouldn’t be able to get my thighs inside of it!

So, please, please, let’s tell indie pattern designers that we want more finished garment measurements!

And speaking of legs, I feel that the leg shape of the Blanca Flight Suit hits in just the right way. It’s not wide legged, nor is it tapered, and I was pleased by how wearable I find it. If you prefer a more tapered look, there is also an optional ankle tab which can be used to pull it in, but haven’t included it on my version.

Adjusting the Blanca Flight Suit

After making a muslin of the Blanca Flight Suit, I made a few very minor adjustments to the pattern as drafted.

I didn’t like the way that the slightly dropped waist was sitting on my body, so I raised the waist position by one inch. I did this by shortening the front and back bodice at the “shorten here” line and then I added that inch back in at the top of the pant pieces.

Finally, I did a full bicep adjustment to add in another 2cm to the sleeve.

Apart from these, I was really impressed with the Blanca Flight Suit fit-wise. I have a long torso and often need to add in extra length to jumpsuit patterns. There was no need here and I find the pattern extremely comfortable in the torso and crotch rise.

I did find that, on my body, the back waistband belt did not sit closely against my lower back as intended. I addressed this by taking the back waistband in about a half inch on both sides, which makes my back bodice about an inch more fitted than as designed. Closet Case’s fitting post also suggests inserting elastic into the waistband to achieve a closer fit if taking it in at the side seam doesn’t work.

The combination, however, of raising the waistband and narrowing it at the back means that I do have to wriggle a bit to get my Blanca Flight Suit off and on. It’s definitely one arm and then the other in a little wriggle dance, but I would’t go as far as to say that it is difficult to put on.

Most importantly, it’s comfortable once on.

Sewing the Blanca Flight Suit

I found the Blanca Flight Suit a satisfying and easier than expected sewing project.

I’m still working from home at the moment, which means I only print documents when absolutely necessary, so I was following the instructions on my telephone.

And while the instructions were great, I hated trying to read them in such a small format which is why, for the most part, I simply followed the great Blanca Flight Suit sew along on Closet Case’s website.

Not only was the sew along more user friendly on a tiny phone screen, I find following sewalongs a really satisfying way to sew. It’s like you have a little sewing ‘episode’ to follow along with as you go. It really helps me to break things down in manageable chunks.

I also think that, with the sew along, the Blanca Flight Suit is actually pretty accessible, even to more beginner sewists. The collar has no collar stand, so it’s quite easy. If you stick to regular patch pockets on the chest, there is nothing fiddly about any of the details. Sewing the zipper in was definitely the most challenging step, but the instructions were very clear and it was actually simple – everything is just top stitched in place! Hand-basting is your friend here!

All of which is to say, I think that an advanced beginner could definitely breeze through the Blanca Flight Suit.

All zipped up

I definitely had difficulties sourcing a sufficiently long non-separable metallic zipper in the right colour, so if anyone has any suggestions for European stockiest with a good range of very long zips, please leave me a comment.

In the end, I actually used a separating zip, as it was all I could find which was long enough. I created a stop for it by hand-stitching over the teeth. I shortened a longer zipper to the point indicated on the front pattern piece. But, since I do actually find that I have to wriggle a bit to get in and out of my Blanca Flight Suit, I kind of wished I’d let the zipper extend an inch or two further down the crotch.

The zipper is definitely one of my favorite features on the finished garment. It feels just a bit sexy. Plus more importantly it definitely aids with, ummm, accessibility. Sorry, but when I’m desperate to pee and basically have to strip down to my underwear in order to do so, it’s refreshing to not have to faff around with buttons.

So that’s about all I have to say on my Blanca Flight Suit. It ticks all the boxes. I really like the shape and fit of the garment. I love having so many pocket options I don’t even need to carry a bag. I love the convenience and jazz of a statement zip.

Besides, neck to ankle linen is pretty much my preferred state of being (I would have made a good Egyptian mummy).

What can I say, I feel a little bit painter, a little bit astronaut and a little bit kick ass when I wear this Blanca Flight Suit.

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.