Pattern Review: Deer & Doe Sirocco Jumpsuit Size Expansion

Deer & Doe has just released their first patterns in their new extended size range, and they offered copies to the Curvy Sewing Collective for review. I’m so excited for the opportunity to sew and review the Sirocco Jumpsuit! I’ve been in love with the pattern ever since seeing Michelle’s review a couple years ago, but I’ve been a good bit outside their size range until now. I’m happy to see another pattern company joining the ranks of indie pattern companies with expanded size ranges, especially one with such a big presence in the online sewing community.

Pattern Name

Deer & Doe Sirocco Jumpsuit

Size Range

With the size range update, Deer & Doe is now offering their updated patterns in two different ranges: 34-48 and 46-60, so there are two sizes that overlap in both ranges. Here is the size chart for the new 46-60 range:

They also include some helpful additional sizing info on their website – they draft for a height of 5’6″ and a C/D cup, and their smaller size range is based on a size 40 block while the larger is based on a size 52 block. That means those are the “base” sizes for each size range that are drafted and fit until the designer is happy, then the pattern is graded up and down to fill out the rest of the sizes in each range. This is an important piece of information for a size range expansion – the farther you grade out from a “base” size, the more likely you are to have distortion and strange proportions in the largest sizes, so starting with a new larger block for the new size range means the patterns are drafted and graded with the proportions of larger bodies in mind.

What are your measurements? What size did you make?

I made a size 60, graded into a size 54 at the shoulders. My measurements right now are high bust 46″, bust 60″, waist 49″, and hips 59″.

What adjustments did you make and how long did they take?

I made a few minor fit adjustments, and since I was able to do them on the fly while cutting with my projector, they were all very quick to make.

First up is grading – even though my bust is outside the size range, I figured the style and fabric would be forgiving enough to not make any major changes outside of grading. Given my large sewing cup size, my shoulders are generally several sizes smaller than the rest of my body. But since my full bust generally fits into the same “straight” size as the rest of my body below it, I often just start with that size and grade in at the shoulders rather than doing a true full bust adjustment. Your mileage may vary with this technique – it works very well for me and my proportions, but all bodies are shaped differently, even those with the same measurements!

Next I added 1.5″ of length to the bodice – I did this after measuring the bodice length of the flat pattern piece, then seeing where that would hit on my body. And then last I extended the horizontal crotch point of both front and back pattern pieces – front by 3/4″ and back by 1/2″. I compared the crotch curve on the pattern to an existing pattern I own that I’ve previously adjusted to fit me and saw that I’d likely benefit from the slight change to the crotch curves.

This one is more of a hack and less of an adjustment in my opinion, but I changed up the sleeves to make them gathered and full length. This was actually pretty quick too, since I wanted gathering at the shoulder and wrist I basically just split the sleeve pattern piece vertically down the middle and made it as wide as I could while fitting on my fabric folded in half. I kept the armscye seam curve up to the notches, then added the width between them while blending in the rest of the seam curve. For the length, I measured my shoulder point to my wrist and used that for the sleeve piece length. I added a cuff by cutting rectangles with the same width as my wrist measurement with a length of 6.75″ to end up with a 3″ long finished cuff (folded in half with 3/8″ seam allowance).

What fabric did you use?

I used a Liberty of London viscose jersey for the bodice and sleeves, and the rest is a black rayon jersey from Joann.

What was the construction process like? Did the instructions make sense to you?

The construction process and instructions were very clear and worked out well, although I did make a few minor construction changes:

• I added satin ribbon to the shoulder seam allowances – this was done due to my fabric choice mostly, but also because I was adding bigger/heavier sleeves. In my experience, viscose/rayon jersey stretches out a lot at the shoulders, and I wanted to avoid that.
• I didn’t have any clear elastic on hand, so I interfaced the pocket seam edge of the pants fronts instead with tricot interfacing. I think this results in a nicer finish anyways, and probably would have done this even if I did have clear elastic on hand.
• Anywhere the pattern called for basting, I used a 2.5×2.5 zigzag stitch to baste instead of a straight stitch so I wouldn’t have to go back and remove basting stitches if they didn’t get trimmed off by my serger.

How do you like the pattern’s fit? Do you think the design works well for your body?

I love the fit! Even though my bust is larger than the size chart, it fits great through the upper bodice and the faux wrap front stays closed and doesn’t gape at all. I really like the style on my body – I’ve been making a lot of loose and flowy clothes lately (which I do love), so I was a little unsure initially about the semi-fitted silhouette of this but I’m so happy with how it turned out.

Will you make the pattern again? If so, what fit or design changes will you make?

Yes, I already have at least two more versions planned in my head! I want to make one in a solid color, slightly heavier knit that could be dressed up easily, and then also one with a print used for all the pattern pieces (I adore the plaid version that Sarah Thomas of the Curvy Pattern Database made!). I love my big voluminous sleeves on this one, but that’s not a look I wear everyday so I’ll probably stick to the sleeves as drafted in my next one. Other than that, I’ll keep the adjustments I made for this first version, the fit is great.

Do you have any advice on this pattern for other curvy sewers? Are there any resources that helped you sew this piece up?

This is the knit jumpsuit I’ve been lusting over for years – if a knit jumpsuit is something that appeals to you, this one is most definitely worth trying. It really helps if you’re familiar and comfortable with sewing knit fabric already, since I found that some of my preferred techniques differed a little from the pattern instructions.

Pattern Rating
Size Range: 5
Instructions: 5
Construction Process: 4
Final Fit: 5
Overall Rating: 4.75

The fit of Deer & Doe’s new expanded size block is great, I’m really looking forward to them releasing more patterns in the new range!