Meriam Pants and the Linen Jumpsuit - planning

 I'm so excited about this project you guys, SO MUCH EXCITE. It's got a bunch of steps and will result in several useful items: understanding of the Meriam Trousers expanding waistband, a decent crotch block, a pair of linen/rayon pants with said expanding waistband, and my linen jumpsuit. If it works out, I'll also have learned to use "my" serger (technically on long-term loan from Leah

I'm working backwards on this, kinda - the first thing I did was design the jumpsuit.

It's going to be a wrap style that's completely open in the front, and you can take off the bottoms to use the bathroom without taking off the top. To put it on you'll shrug into it, button the bodice, then pull the front of the pants through your legs and tie it around the waist. For the bodice I'll be modifying the Upton dress (since it fits me SO well and is very standard), and for the pants I'll be simplifying a pants pattern. Of course I don't have one that I currently like the fit of, so...

Before I can make the jumpsuit, I'll need to make a pair of pants and get the crotch/waist/hip fitting. As luck has it, just this morning I impulse-bought a bright orange linen/rayon dress from Target because I wanted the fabric and it was on clearance, and the dress is just a huge tube (and I bought a 4X) so it will be super easy to just make it into yardage. I also recently bought the Meriam trousers pattern, and while I don't foresee really having a use for office wear, the flex waistband is CHOICE and I love it. So what I'll do is do a rough fitting  and try out the waistband with some muslin, make a wearable mockup with the orange linen, and then have a pants pattern that fits AND know how to do the flex waistband.

As for the serger? Well, this fabric is gonna fray like a bitch and I want to keep the garments light and flowy, which means low-profile seams. So I'll take this project as my opportunity to thread the serger, learn to use it, and finish all my fabric edges with it. Then I should be in a good spot to use it for a swimsuit.