Hello there, I’m back!  Work has been so busy lately, with lots of travel.  There hasn’t been a great deal of time for sewing and even less time for blogging – something had to give!  I’ve now got a couple of weeks break, so am hoping to get my blog back up to date.

This Blanca Flight Suit was sewn in conjunction with De Linum linen, who provided the fabric and pattern. Jumpsuits, overalls and coveralls have been big in the sewing community for a couple of years now, but I’ve always been slightly hesitant. Other than the obvious ‘will I have to take the whole thing off to go to the loo – and the answer is of course, yes’ aspect, I always worry that I will feel definite dad-in-his-coveralls vibes, since dad often did wear coveralls in his workshop, he was around my height, and I look a lot like him. I wasn’t sure if that was the vibe I was going for.

Well yeah, it does have rather definite dad-in-his-coveralls vibes to me – and I have embraced that! It’s actually a rather nice feeling to have that connection. Mind you, his coveralls were never in linen and were never this clean!

This is an involved sew. It’s not hard, but there are lots of pieces and many steps in assembling it. I found the instructions to be very clear, and just took my time over a number of days, fitting it in around other commitments.

The linen was superb to work with. Before sewing the Flight Suit I sewed a dress for Clare in polyester satin (still to be blogged) – so sewing with linen was especially pleasureable! It is 250GSM French flax linen in the colour Spiced Clay and was the perfect weight for this type of garment. I wore it yesterday, which was early spring with a top of 19 degrees – and I was comfortable throughout the entire day and evening. De Linum suggest that fabric of this weight is suitable for tops, skirts, dresses, shirts, loose jackets and pants – very versatile.

You really do need the long zip for this garment – don’t be tempted to try a shorter one. Otherwise it will be just too hard to wriggle in and out of! I would have preferred something heavier weight, possibly with metal teeth, but couldn’t find a colour match. The buckle came from Jimmy Buttons. This pattern has a few different options for pockets, sleeve and pant length, and belt.

I had just enough fabric for the long sleeved, long legged version. Luckily for me I’d been able to try on a friend’s version of this pattern, and although she is a much smaller size than me, it helped me to get an idea of how the Blanca might fit and what changes I would need to make. In the end I didn’t really make many changes. I chose to sew size 16 from the 0-20 range, but cut the armholes and shoulders and collar as size 14. I removed one inch from the bodice depth – I am quite short-waisted – and removed three inches from the longer leg length. The pattern has shorten/lengthen lines which makes it pretty easy to do. For reference, I am 158cm tall.

I used printed cotton voile to line the pockets. They’re never seen, but they are very smooth to slip your hands inside and the voile reduced any bulk.

The topstitched pleat that runs down the back is a nice touch. Actually, this pattern is full of nice touches. Closet Core Patterns describe it as follows: The Blanca Flight Suit is a semi-fitted, highly customizable boiler suit pattern inspired by vintage workwear. With multiple sleeve and leg options, it can be made in a variety of fabrics and can easily be styled up or down. Blanca features a center front zipper, patch pockets that double as belt loops, an optional tie belt or buckled belt, a traditional shirt collar and a unique pleated back design. Customize your flight suit by adding a long sleeve, tapered sleeve with a snap button, or short sleeve. The leg is cut straight, with the option to crop it or taper at the hem with a leg tab. In addition, choose between a classic breast patch pocket or zippered pocket for added detail.

The only thing I wasn’t happy with was the lack of finish along one side of the zip. The zipper tape is completely exposed on the left side. The right side has a long fly piece underneath to protect the body from zipper teeth, which also has the effect of creating a more finished effect. If I sewed this again I would use some sort of binding to finish the inside of the left zip that would cover the zipper tape. It would be relatively straightforward to do this and catch it in the topstitching before adding the collar – but I don’t fancy trying to do it as a retrofit.

One tip with this garment is not to over-fit. It’s all in one and you need enough room for movement and for sitting! Fortunately for me I got the body length just right.

I’m even going to share a side-on photo (my least favourite angle) to show you how the Flight Suit works on my shape. It’s pretty comfortable! In this photo you can also see that the sleeve is sewn in two pieces; the sleeve seam lines up with the shoulder seam and is another opportunity for top-stitching.

There is plenty of top-stitching in this garment, so if that is something that you enjoy doing it’s an excellent choice! This time I chose to topstitch in a matching coloured thread, but if I sewed it again I’d be confident in using something contrasting for additional detail. I’d also consider trying the adjustable tabs and buttons that would make the legs and sleeves narrower. But maybe I’ll try a short-sleeved version with cropped legs.

There is a detailed sewalong for the Blanca Flight Suit, and I suspect that there are many reviews around. I even found a live stream on YouTube for sewing this pattern.

You may have noticed that I tucked a couple of Kylie and the Machine labels into this project – the one on the back pocket says ‘you can’t buy this’ and the one on the front pocket says ‘bespoke’. They make me smile.

I really do love sewing with and wearing linen!