Hope you have all been coping in the heatwave this week! 40 degrees in London just seems mental! Luckily, I am summer ready with this latest make!

I picked up the end of a roll of gorgeous linen from Stitch Fabrics at The Stitch Festival earlier this year. I only had 1.4 metres so I knew my options were a bit limited but I couldn’t resist the Dolce & Gabbana inspired print! The substrate was what I considered a bottom weight linen – heavyish and with plenty of body and bounce – which was a big factor when I was deciding what to make with it.

I thought about a skirt or a dress but in the end decided on a little playsuit. I’ve always loved a playsuit and really wanted to make something I knew I’d love with the fabric. I picked up a Simplicity pattern in a recent sale and thought it was cute enough to try!

I tried to do this properly and made a wearable toile for the pattern before cutting into my main fabric. So unlike me I know! But I was determined not to mess up that fabric!

I used pattern S8635 which comes as a dress, jumpsuit and romper on the bottom half. The top half has a fitted bodice with skinny crossover straps and options for either a very low back (open to the waist) or a normal back bodice. There’s an invisible zip in the centre back and the straps tie together in the back. I opted to use the low back and the shorts for a little romper!

I made my toile in a yellow plaid I bought from a destash sale (I’ve used it before here!) and made view D in the size 14. I shortened the bodice by 1.5cm as per my normal adjustments and did nothing to the shorts except missing out the pockets.

Overall it fit pretty well right off the machine! I made an adjustment to the back to compensate for a slight swayback that I have (probably not a true swayback but a slight curve cause by a big butt… 😂) and took out a little bit of length in the back bodice towards the centre. I chose to finish the toile properly as it was totally wearable and very cute!

(Don’t worry too much about the crotch creases in the pic below 👇. They’re mostly because I was sitting around in it!😂)

Before cutting into my main fabric I made some changes!

I incorporated my swayback adjustment, altered the pockets to be a slant pocket opening instead of side seams and increased the depth of the front pleats for a slightly looser short.

I spent more time worrying about pattern placement than sewing it seems! I was so desperate to make good use of the fabric and make sure at least a full giant playing card was visible as well as pattern matching as much as feasibly possible.

I really like the finish of this pattern. The top is fully lined and the shorts have a facing on the inside which I feel gives it a super clean and tidy finish. It also provides more structure at the waist to help hold my bits in!

The backless look is not for everyone. In my old age I’ve become someone who can’t be bothered to wear a bra if I can get away with it so it suits my style at the mo! If needed though I can always wear this with a t-shirt underneath for a bit more coverage and versatility. It was perfect for when I was in the Sicily last week though!