Black Blanca Flight Suit

I have been a jumpsuit person for a long time, but I gravitated mainly toward things like the Zadie Jumpsuit and the In The Folds/Peppermint Jumpsuit, When Closet Core released the Blanca Flight Suit in May of 2020, I didn’t think it was for me. It honestly kind of reminded me of the coveralls I’d seen my dad wear to work when I was really little, which I know is actually kind of the inspiration for boiler suits like this. But from a fashion perspective, I wasn’t out here wanting to dress like my dad going to work in industrial refrigeration. Fast forward a few years to a few months ago, when I started to get obsessed with the rainbow array of jumpsuits that Racheal at Banyan Bridges is always wearing when she paints amazing murals. She posted a round-up in her Instagram stories of where all her jumpsuits came from (I would link the stories but they’re not highlighted on her profile), and one of the places was Big Bud Press, which I’ve looked at before. I love their colours, but the cost in USD was a bit steep for me when I knew I could make one myself AND be able to customize the fit at the same time. They have awesome business practices, so if you are in the US and have the cash, I’m sure the price is totally worth it for one of their amazing garments! All this lead me to look at the Blanca Flight Suit with fresh eyes, and ultimately purchase the pattern to give it a try!

I knew from the get-go that I wanted to make my first Blanca in black so that I could test out whether this was the type of garment I would even find myself wearing, and it would be a more neutral test if it wasn’t in an attention-grabbing colour. Secondly, I knew that I didn’t want the belt that’s shown with the jumpsuit, and instead wanted an elastic waistband in the back. I’ve been realizing more and more that if clothes feel “fussy” to me to wear, which can include tasks like tying a belt, then I just won’t wear them. So I’m trying to optimize my clothes to reduce the feeling of fussiness, and an elastic waistband helps with that goal! Closet Core has a tutorial on their blog to insert an elastic into the back waistband, so I just used that. In the tutorial, it says that Amy used 12.25″ of 2″ wide elastic for her size 8 jumpsuit. Based on that, I bought 2″ elastic. But I could not fit it into the waistband no matter how hard I tried. It was too wide! I ended up having to go back out and get some 1.5″ wide elastic and that worked great (and was much easier to find). I made a size 14 (from the lower 0-20 size range – my boobs are a B cup and I think I made the right choice), and to determine how long I needed the elastic to be, I used a highly scientific method. I fed the elastic into the channel (I had purchased a full metre out of paranoia), pinned it in place on one end, and then adjusted until it felt like the “right” amount. And then, because I know from personal experience that I tend to err on the tight side of how tight I actually want elastic waistbands to be once I’m actually wearing them, I added 1″ back. This left me at approximately 15.5″ of elastic in the back waistband, and that is including seam allowances on either end. I’ve worn this out and about a couple times since making it, and I think this was the correct amount of elastic for me.

I was originally thinking of trying to hack the collar to be a camp collar instead of the Blanca’s original one, and there are blog posts out there from people who have done this. But I ultimately decided that for my first one, I didn’t want to make things so complicated. I also don’t own any patterns that have a camp collar to copy, so that was another obstacle. One of the blogs I saw used the collar from the Helen’s Closet Gilbert Top, so I think for a future version I might buy that pattern to mash up with the Blanca. The only change besides the elastic that I made was to shorten the bodice, because I am 5’4″ and I know that Closet Core (and pretty much all patterns companies) draft taller than me. I shortened it by 2″ along the lengthen/shorten lines, which turned out great. I have a short torso and long legs, so I knew that to get the waistband closer to my natural waist, the shortening would likely have to be done in the bodice and not the pants. I think for future I may add 1″ of length to the pants in the rise, while still keeping the bodice shortened by 2″. The overall length of the garment is great for walking around and standing, but it’s a little snug when I sit. You might be able to see this below. It’s not wedgie-inducing or anything, but I just think it could be even more comfortable with an extra inch. The shortening of the bodice made it so there wasn’t as much excess volume in the back bodice either, which I had seen on a lot of versions online. I know that’s how it’s intended to be, but where my torso is on the shorter side, and I don’t enjoy a lower waistband on myself, I’m happy with my decision to shorten the bodice and the amount of volume I am left with.

Overall, I love the Blanca pattern way more than I was expecting to! I’ve already worn it out in public a couple times, and got compliments both times. I definitely want to make at least one or two other versions in bright, fun colours like the Big Bud Press ones. I especially like their colour “spicy mustard“. I also want to try a version in future that has the camp collar, but I think I might test out my camp collar skills on an actual Gilbert top first. So many projects, so little time!