Alina Romper (Hacked into Separates)

RAD Patterns released the Alina Romper and Dress and it’s so amazing!

The pattern is for wovens and has the same gorgeous back as the Camisado Cami and the Ororo Bralette. I was over the moon when Stephanie posted the line drawings for it!
A romper with palazzo pants? Yes, please!!

I immediately ordered some crepe georgette and went for it!

And… hit a snag!
For the top, I’m a pattern size 12 and an 18 for the bottom. I graded the top of the pants to match the width of the top (waist is also size 12) and realized that my bum wouldn’t pass through the top opening. I was so sad and frustrated!
If the difference would’ve been 1 size less it wouldn’t be an issue, but oh well… So, what could I do to make this work?
I didn’t want to fuss with zippers and closures, I really wanted to keep the simplicity and ease of the pattern.

Well, I took the “easy” way out and hacked it into separates!

How I went about it:

made the top according to the instructions and instead of attaching it to the pants, I hemmed the edges with a rolled hem foot. I treated both front panels as one, but next time I’ll probably hem them separately. It will make it flow better;
I made the pants as per pattern and instead of sewing it to the top, I added a waistband (as wide as the pants circumference and 2 1/2″ tall and used a 1″ elastic).

That’s it, pretty simple solution!
The good thing about this is that the “Alina Cami” looks great with jeans and the bad thing is that I really really wanted the romper and not having to worry about tucking the shirt in and adjusting it when necessary.

I’ll probably only wear these pieces together for the romper look, but I’ll definitely make more “Alina Camis” for daily wear with jeans! I really need to get the Ororo Bralette to pair with it…