northbridge jump suit styling and fabric inspiration

Are you excited about our new Northbridge Jumpsuit sewing pattern? I certainly am, and it’s been rewarding to see how excited our our testers are, too. (I’ll show you a roundup of their sewing soon.) Today I thought I would show you a few ideas for styling this fun piece and talk about some of the fabrics you could choose to sew it.

The two samples I sewed for the photo shoot were this very coarse orange linen:

and I used the reverse side of a denim for View B. These are not drapey fabrics, but they still suited this style just find, which means you have a wide variety of options when it comes to substrates, from fabrics with a lot of structure to very drapey options. The final look will be different, depending on your choices, but they will all work for this style.

First, styling. Like our Chacarita Wrap Dress, this style is great for throw on and go dressing, which is helpful to anyone with a busy life. (Isn’t that all of us, these days?) I like how both of these photos included shoes that simply slip on because that’s how crunched time feels lately.  It’s like they’re saying, “who has time to bend over, pull on a shoe, and then tie or buckle it?”!

I adore this large-scale print, below right. A print like this would be very suitable for the Northbridge pattern, too. But meanwhile, look how easy it is to get dressed! Jumpsuit, shoes, go.

Add simple sneakers for a day on the run. Or sew it from a fancier fabric for dressier occasions. I’ll be showing you more of this when I show you our testers photos, too.

But obviously you can get so much more creative with this style when you have time, too. Add a belt, narrow or wide. Add a jacket (or our Brunswick Jacket, for example, would be idea for this style) for another layer. In winter add some boots or clogs, and maybe a turtleneck underneath for those really cold days. There are so many options for this style.

And here are two photos to demonstrate how you can wear this one for the most casual to the dressiest of occasions, depending on your fabric and styling choices.

So what would I suggest for fabrics? For casual, try denim or coarse linen, printed or yarn-dyed cottons, gauze, and printed rayon. For a more dressy style try solid rayon, drapey silk in a variety of weaves, crepe, sateen, fancier linens, and lightweight twill. I’m sure you’ll find other fabrics that will inspire you, too. And if you’re looking for help finding fabrics online, try our list of retailers to find just the right fabric!

Pick up your own copy of the Northbridge Jumpsuit in paper or in digital format. As always I hope you’ll show us what you make with it. I especially love seeing the fabrics you choose and the ways you style it. You always find ways to make our patterns your own, and to me that’s what sewing is all about! Please tag us #lieslandco and #northbridgejumpsuit so we can see your sewing. And I’ll be back with those testers’ photos I told you about, so stay tuned!