I love a good romper. They can be so cute and obviously they’re perfect for hot summer weather. I was really excited to give this project a try, and spoiler alert: I’m in love. I’m seriously so happy with the way this romper came out and I am so excited to wear it. In this tutorial, I’ll walk you through exactly how I made this awesome romper from scratch.
By Jessica Shaw
Check Out How I Made an Adorable Romper From Scratch in This Tutorial
9 materials
$20
3 Hours
Easy
Tools and materials:
- Fabric
- 2 Front Pieces
- 2 Back pieces
- 2 4” straps
- 2 pocket pieces
- 2 facings for pockets
- 7-9” invisible zipper
- 4 buttons
- Sewing pins
- Clippers/scissors
- Sewing machine
- Seam ripper
- Marking chalk
- Ruler
Make a romper
Draw your pattern
I started off with a pattern for a romper that I bought, but after doing a test-run, I realized that I didn’t love it. So the first thing I had to do was modify and adjust the pattern for this project. Once my pattern was ready, I traced the front and back pieces, as well as the darts, onto a separate paper.
How to make a romper
Mark your placements
I put on a shirt and used marking chalk to mark different lines. I marked where I want the neckline to be, the strap placement, the diagonal armpit part, where I want the back to be, and for reference, I also marked my waist.
How to make a romper out of fabric
Copy the shirt markings
I took off the shirt and placed it on the pattern, matching up the waistline and the shoulders, and drew the markings I made on the shirt onto the pattern, with added seam allowance. Then I cut out the pattern.
How to make a romper from scratch
Cut out the fabric pieces
Using a polyester blend that was 58” wide and 1 ⅜ yards long, I drew out the straps and cut out all the pieces of the pattern. Then I traced my dart lines onto the fabric.
Romper from scratch
Sew the darts
The first things I sewed were the darts. This pattern had two darts on the front, and two in the back. I folded the darts and sewed them.
Fabric romper DIY
Sew together the front pieces
Next, I took my front pieces and placed them right sides together, and sewed all along the center-front seam. I did the same thing on the back, but only sewed it to the end of the zipper.
How to DIY a romper
Make the pockets
To make the pockets, I took the pocket facing and folded the edges under by ⅝”, then ironed the fold and sewed it down. Then I placed it on the pocket, right sides together, and sewed all around. I then flipped it inside out and folded down all the edges by ⅝”, and did a topstitch at the fold line and went up, across, down, and stopped at the other fold.
Romper with pockets
Add the pockets to the romper
Once my pockets were done, I placed them onto the romper, made a line where I wanted the fold to be, and pinned them in place. Then I sewed from one fold line all around to the other side of the fold line, making sure to leave the flap open.
Romper with pockets DIY
Add the zipper
I then pinned the zipper onto the romper, right sides together. Once they were pinned, I flipped it over to the other side so I could pin down the second side with the right sides together as well. Once that’s in place, I sewed it down.
How to DIY a romper with pockets
Hem the raw edges
The next thing I had to do is was hem the different raw edges of the romper, so I did a simple rolled hem along the neckline. If you’re making this and you want it to look more professional, I would suggest doing a facing on the neckline, instead of a rolled hem. After the neckline, I hemmed the bottom of the shorts.
Cute romper DIY
Connect the front and back
To connect the front of the romper to the back, I pinned them together, right sides facing each other, and sewed along the side seams and crotch seam.
Romper with straps
Make the straps
The next thing I needed to do was add the straps. I couldn’t decide if I wanted a regular strap or an overlapping strap with a button, so I hit the Instagram polls, and the winner was the button straps. To make them, I took the fabric and folded it in half lengthwise and pinned it. Then I sewed along the long edge and closed one end. Then I flipped it inside out and ironed it flat before attaching them to the front of the romper.
Jumpsuit DIY
Add buttons
To add buttons to my straps, I had to create buttonholes. The button I had chosen was too big for the buttonhole hook, so I did it the old fashioned way. First, I marked the top and bottom of the button on the strap where I wanted the button to be. Then I sewed a small rectangle with a zigzag stitch, and used my seam ripper to cut open the inside of that square. Lastly, I hand sewed the two big buttons on the back and the two small buttons on the pockets.
Completed romper
Completed jumpsuit
Okay, you guys, I’m obsessed. Seriously, this came out so cute! I absolutely love the buttons on the crossed straps and am so happy with the way it looks. I need it to be summer forever so I can wear this all the time. It was also relatively easy to do, so I’m calling this one a success. Should I just go ahead and make one in every color? I probably won’t, but if you make one, show me your variations in the comments!
Comments
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Wow, this turned out awesome! So cute!