My Jumpsuit Refashion & Bias Binding How To

If you follow me on social media you’ll have already seen my latest thrift score:

jumpsuit refashion before

The charity shop staff had quite a giggle when I excitedly photographed it on the rack and were overcome with hilarity when I actually bought it (for only €1 – seriously get to know your charity shop staff, a smile & friendly chat about thrifting can most definitely bring you some awesome deals + a peek through the back room treasure trove!)

That incredible example of 80’s nostalgia was in desperate need of an overhaul:

Refashioned Jumpsuit after

Here’s what I did + my simple bias binding technique:

jumpsuit refashion

I removed the weird waist elastic and grabbed some navy blue dye.

jumpsuit refashion

Once the jumpsuit was dyed, I removed the collar.

jumpsuit refashion

Then chopped the legs to my desired length + a few centimeters extra for seam allowance.

jumpsuit refashion

I folded up the raw edge of the pant legs to hem and grabbed some elastic.

jumpsuit refashion

Stitched the hem leaving a small opening for adding the elastic.

jumpsuit refashion

Measured out some elastic to fit snugly but comfortably around my calves, popped a safety pin onto a piece and fed it through the hem opening, stitched the ends together and repeated with the other jumpsuit leg.

jumpsuit refashion

I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to do with the sleeves but they most certainly had to go so first I tried simply chopping them off following the line of the seam. Blech!

jumpsuit refashion

Next, I snagged a shirt with my desired armhole size, placed it on top of the jumpsuit and used it as a template to mark and chop the huge sleeve holes.

(if you’re digging that glitzy top get the tutorial here)

jumpsuit refashion

Then I stitched down from my underarm pin marks angling towards the side seam until I reached it, chopped off the excess fabric & repeated on the other side.

As requested on my facebook page, here’s my quick & simple (totally non-expert) bias binding technique:

bias binding how to

Place the bias binding on top of the fabric with wrong sides facing and the raw edge of the fabric centered in the middle of the bias binding. To make life easier I always use bias binding with a finished or folded edge & don’t measure and cut it to size but instead unroll it as I sew it on.

(As I was binding my armholes I lined up the end of the bias binding with the underarm seam)

bias binding how to

Stitch it on slowly.

bias binding how to

Pay close attention to the bias binding position at all times.

Bias binding how to

As you near the starting point chop the bias binding to size + a centimeter or 2 extra for folding…

Bias binding how to

fold under the raw edge and finish stitching it on.

Hooray, one side is done!

Bias binding how to

Flip the garment right side out and fold the bias binding over the fabric edge to the front and stitch together!

Bias binding how to

et voila! Perfectly bound armholes!

jumpsuit refashion

I wanted to add some of my vintage trim & wasn’t thrilled with how it coordinated with the navy blue colour result so I snagged a package of black dye…jumpsuit refashion

much better!

(unfortunately, in my experience, black fabric dye rarely gives a true black result unless it is colouring a very dark item to begin with)

jumpsuit refashion

I stitched some of that lovely embroidered trim around the waist of the jumpsuit effectively covering those ugly seams.

jumpsuit refashion

And then bound the neckline as well!

refashioned jumpsuit

Love it!

refashioned jumpsuit before after

A W E S O M E !

Continue your passion for upcycling and refashion with my Confessions of a Refashionista e-book series!

20 Comments

  1. Linda Romine says:

    I absolutely adore this piece/refashion!!!

    1. Me too! 😀 I’ve actually just pulled it out of winter storage to get it back in wardrobe rotation for the Spring & Summer

  2. Angie says:

    So cute! Your creativity is amazing.

    1. Thanks Angie, I have soooooo many ideas fighting for space in my brain but unfortunately not enough hours in the day to get them all created! 😉

  3. Oh my god! This jumpsuit is gorgeous! It fits you perfectly!!! I better like the light blue, but I love the embroided trim. *wanna have*
    Greeting from Hamburg <3

    1. Lieben Dank 😀 ich mag es auch sehr! das hellblau war viel zu sehr “80ziger” für mich 😉

  4. Robin says:

    I started reading your post and I was distracted and thought you bought two jumpsuits and then i realized it was the same piece. What a difference! Thanks for your posts-I’m having a rough week and they really make me smile. Hope everything in your world is getting better.

    1. I love a dramatic refashion! Fingers crossed your week improves soon, I guarantee my post scheduled for tomorrow (24/07/2015) will brighten your day! 😀

  5. Brandy says:

    Love the dark color so much more! Great job!

    1. Thanks Brandy, light blue denim is a style choice I never got into and those crazy coloured fabric panels definitely needed to be covered up!

  6. Alice W says:

    I have accepted I am absolutely not build to wear a jumpsuit – sadly, as I think you’ve made a cool look! I have done a similar thing with binding armholes though, and once I even managed to thrift the bias-binding (I feel fabulous every time I wear that dress, just for that fact!)

    1. All of my bias binding and fancy embroidered fabric trims are thrifted (or re-used from other garments), it’s amazing what can be found at the bottom of boxes at the thrift store and thrifted online 😉

  7. Emily Q says:

    Such a great transformation! Thanks for sharing!

    1. It definitely looks and fits waaaaay better now!

  8. Meg Miller says:

    The neckline bound with embroidered trim – BRILLIANT.

    1. hahaha! Thanks Meg, it’s my go to lazy fix for a fraying neckline! 😉

  9. This Overall is awesome and you are too!!! 🙂 I love your page and your Ideas! They are all great and your Tipps for thrifting and DIY are “SPITZE”. Please keep on blogin and share your thoughts, I love to follow!
    Have a happy summer, Manu…

    1. Vielen Lieben Dank Manuela & herzlich willkommen! Mach dir keine Sorgen Blogging ist mein Job und das Teilen meiner sparsamen Tipps und Refashions/DIYs ist mein Vergnügen. 😀

  10. I love how you transform items. In this case I, myself woul have left it navy blue adding some contrasting or other shade of blue lace over those printed frames.
    Looking forward to your other projects 🙂

    1. Cheers Nataliya 🙂 Yup, that’s the beauty of refashioning, you can transform just about anything to your specific taste and style and make everything extra unique and one of a kind! You can check out my hundreds of tutorials right here: https://awesomesauceasshattery.com/tutorial-index-by-photo/

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