When Suzanne of Winter Wear Designs mentioned that this month's blog tour would be rompers, I honestly thought I might have to sit this one out. I have nothing against rompers, and other people look so cute wearing them, but not me! If I wanted to participate, I'd have to choose... there's the super cute Riviera Romper, and then there's the Boho Breeze Romper.
So let me tell you how I came up with this! 😎
A little about both:
The Riviera Romper - Looking at the tester images, I fell in love with this one. I knew I wanted to sew it, but just couldn't picture myself wearing a romper. Maybe one day? But not today! HA! I loved the scooped neckline that dips in the back. I love the blousy top. It has options for shorts or capris. The bodice has the option to use a coordinating fabric for the straps. The neckline is bound with a tie in the back. The bodice is designed for knit fabric, and the bottoms can be made using knits or woven fabrics. It has a soft, feminine look. It reminds me of something I'd want to wear at the beach, which was probably her intention with the name Riviera.
The Boho Breeze Romper - This is another very pretty pattern. The bodice is off the shoulders (with optional straps). It also has a blousy bodice (which I love). It is designed for a knit bodice and either woven or knit bottoms. There are also options for either shorts or a skirt. A skirt ?? YES!!
So as you've probably gathered, I really love different features from both patterns. So I asked Suzanne if I could do a "mash-up" of the two patterns!
My New Dress:
The Bodice
I chose to use the bodice pieces from the Riviera Romper pattern and the skirt piece and instructions from the Boho Breeze pattern, but made a few modifications to get exactly what I want.
For my bodice, I chose to raise the back by about 3/4" to make sure that it covers the back of my bra. Suzanne mentions in the tutorial that it is designed to, however she recommends making a muslin just in case any changes are needed. I didn't make a muslin, so I just decided to err on the side of caution and raise mine a tad.
I actually dropped the front neckline a tiny bit to make it more nursing friendly (although, now that I have my finished dress I know I probably didn't need to). I avoided dresses for so long, but there are really some super easy modifications that you can make to patterns to give a baby access!
So now I have a new neckline... what about the binding piece measurements Suzanne gives? I needed to make my own! I decided I just wanted to make regular binding with no tie in the back, so I measured the new neckline of my bodice and multiplied it by 85%. The piece I cut was perfect!
Since I was attaching a skirt instead of shorts, I decided to shorten the bodice piece a little. On the Boho Breeze pattern, there is a shorter bodice for the dress than the romper, so I figured the same logic would apply here. I took a couple of inches off of the bodice to make it slightly less blousy. But it is still blousy enough, in my opinion!
The Skirt
As I mentioned, I'm using the skirt piece from the Boho Breeze Romper. It's really just a gathered skirt, but I noticed that I didn't actually have to gather it that much! Yes, I could have definitely figured out a gathered skirt myself, but since I didn't have to, I didn't! haha The skirt has an above the knee length and a maxi length, included in the pattern. I decided that I wanted mine to hit at the knee, so I added a couple of inches to the above the knee length measurement. I'm super happy with the length of mine!
Putting It All Together:
This was an amazingly quick, straightforward sew! I followed instructions for the Riviera for the bodice, and then when I was ready for the skirt, I switched over to the Boho tutorial. I LOVE the way the elastic is encased at the waistline. It brings it in to the natural waist, allowing the bodice piece to blouse out.
My Fabric:
My fabric for this dressed is a buttery soft Double Brushed Poly that I ordered from Surge. The colors are so vivid and beautiful! I love the weight and drape of this fabric! It made a really lovely dress. I'm kind of glad I have more of this one... I can have a top or something too!
Other Fun Ideas for Sewing (and Hacking) These Patterns
So you love the look, but you're skeptical about Rompers too? I'm considering making one but trying out separates! I saw in the Winter Wear Designs facebook group not too long ago someone recommended making the top separately and hemming it, and then adding a waistband to the top of the pants for separates that still look like a romper! I thought it was a brilliant idea!
You could switch up the skirt portion... If you wanted a fuller skirt, I'm sure you could swap it out for a half or full circle skirt pretty easily, or you could always make the skirt more fitted (like a pencil skirt). I think that would make for a very elegant dress - the blousy top over a fitted skirt portion!
There are so many possibilities for hacks with these patterns!! The hard part for me will be deciding what I want to try next!
Go on... Check these patterns out!
The Riviera Romper - Looking at the tester images, I fell in love with this one. I knew I wanted to sew it, but just couldn't picture myself wearing a romper. Maybe one day? But not today! HA! I loved the scooped neckline that dips in the back. I love the blousy top. It has options for shorts or capris. The bodice has the option to use a coordinating fabric for the straps. The neckline is bound with a tie in the back. The bodice is designed for knit fabric, and the bottoms can be made using knits or woven fabrics. It has a soft, feminine look. It reminds me of something I'd want to wear at the beach, which was probably her intention with the name Riviera.
 |
| Line Drawings of the Riviera Romper, borrowed from the Winter Wear Designs Website |
The Boho Breeze Romper - This is another very pretty pattern. The bodice is off the shoulders (with optional straps). It also has a blousy bodice (which I love). It is designed for a knit bodice and either woven or knit bottoms. There are also options for either shorts or a skirt. A skirt ?? YES!!
 |
| Line Drawings of the Boho Breeze Romper, borrowed from the Winter Wear Designs Website |
So as you've probably gathered, I really love different features from both patterns. So I asked Suzanne if I could do a "mash-up" of the two patterns!
My New Dress:
The Bodice
I chose to use the bodice pieces from the Riviera Romper pattern and the skirt piece and instructions from the Boho Breeze pattern, but made a few modifications to get exactly what I want.
For my bodice, I chose to raise the back by about 3/4" to make sure that it covers the back of my bra. Suzanne mentions in the tutorial that it is designed to, however she recommends making a muslin just in case any changes are needed. I didn't make a muslin, so I just decided to err on the side of caution and raise mine a tad.
I actually dropped the front neckline a tiny bit to make it more nursing friendly (although, now that I have my finished dress I know I probably didn't need to). I avoided dresses for so long, but there are really some super easy modifications that you can make to patterns to give a baby access!
So now I have a new neckline... what about the binding piece measurements Suzanne gives? I needed to make my own! I decided I just wanted to make regular binding with no tie in the back, so I measured the new neckline of my bodice and multiplied it by 85%. The piece I cut was perfect!
Since I was attaching a skirt instead of shorts, I decided to shorten the bodice piece a little. On the Boho Breeze pattern, there is a shorter bodice for the dress than the romper, so I figured the same logic would apply here. I took a couple of inches off of the bodice to make it slightly less blousy. But it is still blousy enough, in my opinion!
The Skirt
As I mentioned, I'm using the skirt piece from the Boho Breeze Romper. It's really just a gathered skirt, but I noticed that I didn't actually have to gather it that much! Yes, I could have definitely figured out a gathered skirt myself, but since I didn't have to, I didn't! haha The skirt has an above the knee length and a maxi length, included in the pattern. I decided that I wanted mine to hit at the knee, so I added a couple of inches to the above the knee length measurement. I'm super happy with the length of mine!
Putting It All Together:
This was an amazingly quick, straightforward sew! I followed instructions for the Riviera for the bodice, and then when I was ready for the skirt, I switched over to the Boho tutorial. I LOVE the way the elastic is encased at the waistline. It brings it in to the natural waist, allowing the bodice piece to blouse out.
My Fabric:
My fabric for this dressed is a buttery soft Double Brushed Poly that I ordered from Surge. The colors are so vivid and beautiful! I love the weight and drape of this fabric! It made a really lovely dress. I'm kind of glad I have more of this one... I can have a top or something too!
Other Fun Ideas for Sewing (and Hacking) These Patterns
So you love the look, but you're skeptical about Rompers too? I'm considering making one but trying out separates! I saw in the Winter Wear Designs facebook group not too long ago someone recommended making the top separately and hemming it, and then adding a waistband to the top of the pants for separates that still look like a romper! I thought it was a brilliant idea!
You could switch up the skirt portion... If you wanted a fuller skirt, I'm sure you could swap it out for a half or full circle skirt pretty easily, or you could always make the skirt more fitted (like a pencil skirt). I think that would make for a very elegant dress - the blousy top over a fitted skirt portion!
There are so many possibilities for hacks with these patterns!! The hard part for me will be deciding what I want to try next!
Go on... Check these patterns out!
- These patterns are BOTH on sale this week for the blog tour!
- Grab them both and you'll have TONS of options!
- off the shoulder look (Boho)
- elegant scooped back (Riviera)
- pretty tie back (Riviera)
- shorts and capris (Riviera)
- shorts and gathered skirt (Boho)
- different options for finishing the hem of the shorts/ pants (Riviera)
- Excellent Support from the designer in the Winter Wear Designs Facebook Group
Thank you so much for reading my post! I have included my affiliate links to these patterns in this post!
My Link to Winter Wear Designs: https://www.winterweardesigns.com/?aff=46
Riviera Romper: https://www.winterweardesigns.com/products/riviera-romper-for-women-size-xxs-xxxl?aff=46
Boho Breeze: https://www.winterweardesigns.com/products/boho-breeze-off-shoulder-romper-and-dress-for-women-size-xxs-xxxl?aff=46
Come follow me on Instagram if you don't already! I'd LOVE to see what YOU make!
Come follow me on Instagram if you don't already! I'd LOVE to see what YOU make!
Don't miss any of the spectacular rompers
on the Romp On Tour!!!
5/28
5/29
5/30
5/31
6/1
Absolute LOVE!!! This is gorgeous and I love someone else hacking and proving that the mash up works perfectly so that I can make one for myself now ;o) Hugs, you are the best!
ReplyDeleteThank you for doing these fun blog tour and having me participate 💙 You've definitely given me a reason to start doing some self-sewing and I've really enjoyed it!
ReplyDeleteOh, I sure do love this! The pencil skirt possibility has my mind churning. I'm always looking for a quick outfit for going out on those rare occasions we get date night. I might need a few of these rompers...
ReplyDelete