Nettie Bodysuit

Nettie Bodysuit

To continue my sewing with knits adventure, I decided to try my hand at the Nettie Bodysuit! I remember in sixth grade I had a black ribbed bodysuit that I paired with a pleated plaid skirt and patten leather loafers, and it was one of my favorite outfits, so why not bring it back, 20 years later?! This pattern was actually released on the same day that I was lamenting that I had nothing to wear with these high-waisted, loose-fitting black pants, so when I saw the Nettie, I thought it would be the perfect solution!

The Nettie is a really versatile, PDF pattern, that can be made with long or short sleeves, a variety of necklines and backlines (backlines?) and can also me made as a dress. It was released by the awesome lady behind Closet Case Files (I have admired her sewing for a long while), and I really think it's a great pattern!

Close up

For this version I cut the size 4 for the shoulders and arms and then graded out to the size 8 to accommodate my J. Lo booty (is J. Lo still relevant? Is there a more current big-bootie celeb I should be referencing?) (Beyonce, perhaps?). Anyway, that was a smart move because the bottom part actually covers my.... bottom part? :) So it's really comfy and no wedgie! Yay! I think the 4 would probably be too tight if I was making this a dress, but its good as a shirt, and the tightness helps keep the arms from falling down, so it works here.

The Nettie before the legs were finished

I made the medium dipped neckline, and the medium-low back, and I like both. I think the amount of scoop is really flattering. The back does kind of show my bra straps, but I dont mind my strapless bra, or there is the option to sew in foam cups, so that would take care of that (and be comfy!), so maybe next time I'll attempt that (I dont like to have to learn too many new things per pattern!).

From the back

As a side note, check out my hair! Longest its ever been :) The fabric I used is a cream-colored knit that I sell in the store. It is really soft and a nice quality, its a nice weight but not at all bulky, and it didnt curl too much when sewing, which was nice. I dont usually sew solids, so this was sorta boring, but I needed something basic, and it will look cute with lots of different skirts (including the neon green one I'm about to start) so I guess sewing basics is needed too.

Also I used my new sewing machine to sew this (a Husqvarna Viking Opal), after I took the machine class, so I was able to use some good knit stitches and it made things much easier! I also followed the Nettie Sewalong on the Closet Case Files blog, so that made things pretty easy because there were lots of pictures! I am not positive that I sewed the neckline and leg bindings on right, but they are on and look fine, so I guess it's ok!

Hand sewing!

The only bummer was hand sewing all these snaps. It took me forever but thats because im really slow. I didnt think about it at the time, but I should have used voile or something other than knit to attach the snaps, because it made that part really bulky, with all the folded layers of fabric. But thats fine, Im just proud I actually did it!

Anyway, I really like the Nettie, it is quite quick to sew, even for a newbie like me, and the pattern doesnt take long at all to tape together because it isnt very many pages. Highly recommend! I think my next one will be stripes, or possibly flowers...decisions decisions!