You’re a Wizard Yari, or Part II of the Summer of Basics

My second project for the Summer of Basic was going to be a linen jumpsuit and I went with the Yari jumpsuit by True Bias. My goal for the Summer of Basics was to make some hot weather clothing as the two unusually hot months before the challenge started proved I was in dire need of that. Well folks, that was definitely the right decision as it has been scorchingly hot the whole summer!

The Yari jumpsuit comes in four views: short versus tapered pants, and sleeveless versus extended sleeve. This can be mixed and matched and additionally you can add or leave off d-rings to add waist definition. The Yari was released at the beginning of summer, right when I first started to think about what I wanted to make for the Summer of Basics. Initially I thought to make the Roberts collection jumpsuit, but when True Bias released Yari, I switched to this one, because I love the seventies inspired style-lines and the more summer-suitable options it came in. Also – it’s got pockets, super stylish pockets!

I went with the shorter version with a sleeve band. I opted to add the d-rings at the waist, to add some visual interest and also to have the option to decide how much waist definition I want. When I’ve had a good muffin week I can always just loosen that shit up, or just let them hang there. I’ve included photo’s with the bands tightened and loose so you can see the difference in look and fit. I thought I would prefer the “waist defining” look, but after looking at the photos I think I like both equally well.

Putting together the jumpsuit does take a bit more time than your average jumpsuit. Okay, so to be fair that’s just my guess because this is my first jumpsuit, but based on how long it takes me to sew other stuff, the Yari just is built up of so many smaller pieces of fabric with lots of seams as well as lots of top stitching. Seeing it all come together was very soothing though, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It totally worked as an incentive to keep stitching. I also quite enjoy top stitching, so this was awesome pattern for me.

I knew I wanted to make it in a linen fabric from the onset, but I debated for a while which colour to go for. I was really drawn to the rusty orange one of the samples is also made in. Eventually I ordered this dark petrol green linen, which when it arrived was a bit more “dark green” than “petrol”, but I think I like this even better. I also got these brass hand-hammered look buttons that I’m super pleased with. I’m very happy with the quality of this linen as well, my limited experience with linen taught me that the difference between linen quality can differ quite spectacularly. The fabric was nice to work with, wears really nicely. This is 100% linen and there definitely are some wrinkles in here, but that is something that I just expect and roll with when working with linen.

I didn’t do any length modifications. The pattern is drafted for someone who is 5.5″ tall, which is taller than I am, but I figured I could always take of a smidge more of the shorts if I needed to. I’m glad I went with this approach though, because this is the length as per pattern and I’m not sure how comfortable I’d be if it where shorter.

So some real talk here. I’m super pleased with the jumpsuit, technically it’s the best made garment I’ve ever made, it looks exactly like I envisioned and I’m also proud of my sewing on this. That’s said, a garment like this is also a bit out of my comfort zone, and I needed to get used to wearing it out of the house. It’s not just the jumpsuit in itself, which I mostly still try to figure out how to style best.  After wearing it I found that it’s also the shorts that I need to get use to. I don’t really wear shorts and need to get used to seeing all that leg out there when I look down! I think this feeling will pass though, with a couple of times of wear. Once I get a bit more used to it I think this might well become a staple of my summer wardrobe. Anyway, for my Summer of Basics, getting out of my comfort zone and experimenting a bit was the point of participating, so… mission accomplished?

I made this jumpsuit back in July and these pictures were taken in another bout of 30+ degrees weather that we’ve had so many of this summer. I can definitely attest to it’s heatwave appropriateness! The amount of leaves on the ground makes it looks a bit autumnal, but I can assure you autumn still feels like a long time away. Due to a record hot and dry summer we’ve had these scenes over here since the end of June and it has only worsened over the months. All of this is highly unusual over here and it is really odd to see these pictures knowing how warm it really was.

I’m currently in working on the final project for my summer of basics, which I hope to finish this weekend just before the deadline of the Summer of Basics. I’ll try to post it on instagram once it done, but it will probably be a little longer before I post about it here on the blog.

See you then!