Hey y'all! Summer is here! With the warm weather approaching...oh who am I kidding? It's BEEN here. Gotta love Virginia weather...(also gotta love us Virginians who complain when its slightly hot or slightly cold lolololol) ANYWAY with the warm weather....already here, its time to pull out all those cute tank tops and shorts. Lately, I've been obsessed with rompers. I used to HATE the things, but now I think they're sooo cute. I mean, who doesn't love not having to find pants to match their shirt? The down fall..they're expensive...really expensive...Being a college student, money is something I don't really have much of..also, they don't really make them for short and wide people like myself... so I decided to make my own... there are a few things I would do differently, so be sure to read very carefully, or you'll run into the same problems I had.
So here's what you'll need. A pair of shorts you like the fit of, about two yards of fabric (you may need more or less depending on your size,) and some elastic. Its hard to say how much elastic you'll need, because this really depends on your size. I bought a pack that had 2.5 yards of elastic. I had some left over, but its better to have a little more than you need anyway. You can always use it for something else later! Keep in mind, you'll need enough to go around your waist, and to go across the top of your chest. Here's where things got a little tricky.
Please excuse my terrible photography skills..and my lack of skill drawing lines on the computer..but anyway, here is where I would have changed it up. I would have bought a pattern for shorts. I hate patterns as much as anyone else. They're expensive and annoying...but, me being cheap, I decided to do it this way...it CAN be done, but if you want to save yourself some heartache and time...just get a pattern...please...just get in your car, drive to Wal-Mart, and buy a pattern...However, if you choose to do this the way I did, keep reading. Fold your fabric "Hamburger style" (in other words, so when you cut you'll have two pieces.) and place your your shorts on the fabric. Be sure your shorts are folded over like I have mine. Take a pen and draw where you want to cut out. (the terrible red lines are supposed to represent this. Allow about half and inch or so for seam allowance. You can do more or less depending on how comfortable you feel. Remember, this red line was drawn on a computer FOR EXAMPLE ONLY. DO NOT cut this closely to your shorts. this will give you absolutely NO seam allowance and you will be upset...VERY upset...Repeat the process again, so that way you'll have four pieces total.
Ok, so I PROBABLY should have taken more pictures of this next step, but I believe you all will be ok. So after you're done cutting, again, you will have four pieces. two in the front, and two in the back. With right sides together (pretty sides of the fabric) begin to put your shorts together. You should have something that looks like the picture when you're done. You may have to cut some length off the legs, because when I cut this out they looked a little..thin..Never fear, you can always add length back later. Mine ended up not being too short. So don't worry, if you don't want booty shorts, you won't. If you do...well...you do you boo. The red lines are what you want to sew together. I suggest you use a zigzag stitch. The orange line you still want to sew together, but I made it orange to represent the fact you will have to do this on the other side too. I know this is hard to explain, but you'll know what I mean when you try it...trust me, your butt will hang out for all the world to see if you don't sew up both sides.
WOOHOO!!! Now you have shorts! Set those aside, and begin to work on your shirt.
Cut out two squares. You want them to both be the same size, so this is best done by folding your fabric over and cut out a square, so when you're finished cutting, you have two fabric squares. This is another thing that is going to depend on your size. You can use a shirt that fits you well, measure your waist, whatever you want to do. If you want to be safe, measure your waist, and add a couple inches. This will be your width of the square...or rectangle rather...Then measure from where the shirt will begin. This will be above your breast most likely, but measure in the middle of your breasts. If you measure above one of your breasts, it will be a bit too long. Once you're decided where you want the top of your shirt to hit, decide where you want the bottom to hit. Since this is a romper, I suggest right where your belly ends. Be sure to add a couple inches or so though, you can always cut some off...but its harder to make it longer...
Now, with right sides together, sew up your sides. Leave about a half and inch of seam allowance.
Now that your sides are sewn up, its time to add elastic to the top. With your shirt inside out, take your elastic and fold the top of the shirt over it, like I have mine. This will create your elastic casing. Make your casing just slightly wider than your elastic, but not too much. Pin down the fold. You have to have the exact amount of elastic you need cut just yet We just need it simply for the purpose of creating the elastic casing for now.
With your casing folded and find, head on over to your sewing machine again. Sew as close to the edge as you can. You may want to do this slowly. Leave one end open though, because you'll need a hole to feed the elastic through.
Now that you have your elastic casing sewn, you'll need to cut some elastic. This is pretty easy. Just take your elastic, wrap it around where you want to hit, and cut off the excess. You want it to be snug, but not uncomfortable. How tightly it fits is up to you.
Once you have your elastic cut, pin one side of it to one end of the opening. Feed the other side of the elastic through the casing. It will be shorter than the length around the shirt. When you've fed it as far as it will go, and there are no lumps or bumps, you can fish it out through the other side. This is tricky, but I find using tweezers is easiest. This is very hard to explain, but I trust you're all smart people, and will know what I mean when you try it. If you're still confused, look up elastic waist bands on YouTube. That's how I learned to do it =)
Once your elastic is fed completely though, sew the two sides together, Make sure everything is lined up so that the elastic is turned the same way throughout the entire casing. Sew through it a couple times so the elastic doesn't break in the casing. We all know how annoying that is..You can either carefully cut off the excess of the elastic, or just sew it down. Whatever works for you...or if it doesn't bother you, just leave it. Once the elastic is sewn together, close up your casing. The fabric will bunch up some, but that is perfectly fine.
This next step it optional, but you may wanna try it. When you put your shorts on, (inside out) your crotch it going to be a little baggy in the front (may not be the case if you use a pattern.) if it doesn't bother you, just move along. If it does, all you have to do is fold over the seam in the front and sew it down a little. The rest will fold over. This is NOT really the correct way to take in pants..but since this is a romper and its going to be attached to the shirt, it works. However, do whatever you think works. There's more than one way to skin a cat!
Put your shorts and shirt on inside out. tuck the shirt into the pants until it roughly fits the way you want it to. This will depend on how loose or how tight you want it to fit. Since I cut it to be kind of loose, I just went ahead and tucked it in as far as it would go. Pin it how you want it and take it off. You're going to get really tired of taking your clothes off and putting them back on...just to warn you..
Make another elastic casing for your waist. This is a lot easier than it looks. With the fabric inside out, sew all the way around the top. (Top of the shorts that is, onto the top) Then, flip it right side out, and sew around the bottom of the elastic casing, leaving enough to feed the elastic through. I know this is VERY fuzzy, but once you get to this point, its very easy to see exactly what you want to do.
We're getting there!! Now, lets make some straps! (if you want...this part is optional.) Fold over some fabric and cut down the line like I have drawn. For this, it doesn't matter how much or how little you fold. After you cut, press the crease. You can use an iron if you want, or go over it several times with your fingers. With the fabric kept folded and following the crease, cut a couple inches down.
I am aware this is more than a couple inches of cutting, but I wanted to show you what exactly you're going for. At this point, this is self explanatory. Finish cutting along the crease.
Fold over your strap pieces like I have mine. This is the EASIET way to do this..You can also fold it right sides together, sew down the edge and pull it back right side out...but I absolutely HATE doing straps like that. Its all personal preference though, so do whatever works best for you!
Again, I am very bad at drawing on the computer....but anyway, sew as close to the open edge as you can, but not so close that it will come a part.
Excuse my stubby T-Rex arms, but now its time to attach the straps. Pin the straps where you want them on the back, then put the romper on. Now just pull the strap (making sure it is straight) and pin it where you want it. Sew it onto the front of the romper. Its easy unless you get the strap twisted...then you have to do the whole process over again...Then its just really annoying..
Finally at the finish line! All that's left to do is hem the shorts. You can do this any way you want, but I just put the romper on inside out, folded the ends up, made sure it was even, pinned it, and sewed is along the line I have drawn for you. =)
There you have it! I hope this helped! Again, I would have used a pattern on the shorts, but everything else turned out pretty well! All that's left to do is add some accessories and go! If you have any questions please feel free to ask! See you back here next time!!
Hayley
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