Jalie Cora Tights - Shorts!

I ran a 15.75 mile race last weekend in Seward, Alaska. And this is the best picture out of the three we took. This is right after the race. Apparently I had enough energy for crazy poses. My girlfriends joke with me all the time about pictures with me. I’m the one always yelling, “Zombies poses!!!!!!” or “Superman pose!!!!!!” I’m not sure what I was going for here.

 

Anyway, that was last weekend and this is today. I have washed everything and feel a little bit better. I can tell these knees are getting old. The last five miles is straight down on slippery rocks, roots, leaves, and creeks. That’s not a fun part of the race for me. But, I’m a great up-hill runner so I can catch and beat them all during that section (damn them for passing me!!). Mind you, I’m not a fast runner, this is all just competition in my head. But back to the shorts. I’ve made this pattern several times before in the long pants version, but never in the shorts. I’ve got to tell you that I love them. The band at the hem keeps them down instead of having them creep up my thighs like most snug running shorts. I have thicker runner thighs and things tend to get hung up on them if that makes sense.

 

The dark blue is Nike Dri-Fit and the multicolored is a swimwear fabric from Fabric Mart. (Not a sponsor!)

 

Look at those meaty thighs! Those be Power Thighs!

 

Here you can see the amazing pocket. All my girlfriends loooooved the pocket. You can tell the shorts are just the slightest bit too snug around the thighs. Next time I make these, I will add 1/2” from waistband to hem on that long piece in the front.

 

I would make a vertical cut in the pattern and it would go all the way to the hem. That would give each leg a bit more space without sacrificing the look. And I would much rather modify the front than the amazing, butt-shaping back.

 

There’s a large crotch gusset in these shorts. It makes for a very comfortable pair of running shorts.

 

I love this color combination.

 

Since it’s almost 16 miles of beautiful scenery, I took my phone for a camera (which I never use because I’m too competitive to stop – arg). I also took three Gu’s. I only used one on the race, but I like to give myself options. Can you believe it fits? (and Melissa, THESE are the best flavors!!!)

 

Of course, from the side, you look like you have a butt tumor. But if I’m running 15.75 miles, I don’t really care!

Another Bella Dress! In RED!

When I saw CissieW with her red Bella dress on PatternReview.com, I vowed then to make one. Hers looked stunning on her and I decided that I needed one. I even purchased fabric for this make, which I almost never do. I almost always try to make things from stash.

I made this out of a solid red scuba from Fabric Mart. I love how it drapes. This is fuller version than the last one I made. Last time, it was a little too long so cut 2 inches off the hem which made it look not as full. Knowing that, I folded it up by two inches in the hip area so it didn’t upset the fullness of the skirt. Well, that’s what I thought I did anyway. Once I made the dress and hemmed it, I realized that it was shorter than my other one. I went back and measured and I had tucked it up by three inches. Oops, I guess my inner whore was trying to make my clothes shorter. Oh well, it’s not too short.

 

I modified the neckline to make it more t-shirt-y casual. I like the belt because it breaks up the red.

 

It’s still super spinny!! My favorite part!

 

I added a neckband in following with the “casual t-shirt dress” theme.

 

I love blooper photos from other blogs so I include the good ones for you guys. Hello super windy photo shoot!!! HAhahahahahahha.

This is a fabulous Jalie pattern and I will make many more in the future!!!!!!

Who's in the Fabric Mart Fashion Challenge? *THIS* girl!

Guess who got picked for the FabricMart Fashion Challenge?? Why yes I did! It's similar to the PatternReview.com Sewing Bee that is starting soon. There are four challenges and it's a five week contest. I've followed it here and there for the other two Fashion Challenges and it seemed like fun. The first challenge will be announced September 11th. Keep your fingers crossed for me! I'm up against some tough competition. Look here to see who they are. Eek!

I'm cracking my mental knuckles gearing up for this . . .

I had thought about also doing the PatternReview Sewing Bee this year too. Then I realized I was an idiot. One super stressful contest is enough. I will be following along with the PatternReview one and watching y'all.

Jalie 2910–Faux Wrap Top

Here’s another Jalie knit top winner. I must confess that this was a freebie from Jalie. What, you ask? Yes, it was. Pattern was free, but opinions, photo craziness, and snark are all my own. It’s pretty cute, no? Unfortunately, you can’t really see any details because of the fabric I chose.

 

Here are the details. It’s a faux wrap top (this would actually make the PERFECT wrap dress!), with a shoulder seam them comes down in the front. I think this would be so cute in a printed back (so it peaks over the shoulders) and some other subtle pattern on the front with a black band all the way around the wrap part. Does that make sense?

 

Pardon the craziness, children were posing and I was supposed to pose the same way. Things always get crazy when my kids “help” me out. I like that everything stays where is supposed to stay. I did end up tacking the two layers together at the v-neck for about an inch. I just stitched in the ditch.

 

I made a size S which is my typical size. It’s a nice, well-fitting shirt (duh! Jalie!). I can see many versions of this top in my wardrobe. Like I said, I think the va-voom factor would increase with a print on the back so that it peaks over the shoulders. I may have to do this.

 

I’m supposed to be shaking my booty. Behind the cameraman are three children showing me how to “shake it like a Polaroid picture”. Stop and imagine that for a minute. No, really. Imagine it. It’s a wonder any pictures get taken at all.

 

This was my son’s contribution for “posing”.

 

Imagine again, three kids doing this (including fish lips face), helping me pose . . .

 

I always reinforce my shoulders on knit tops. This is a double knit from the Fabric Mart Mystery Bundle I got in the mail recently. It’s like they know I have a need of animal prints.

 

Here’s a normal picture of the pattern. I really like the half-collar? half-mandarin collar? in some of the views. I may have to try black lace over a nude knit (so I’m actually covered!) for the back panel. How pretty would that be peaking over the shoulders?

 

Next up? No idea!! I have so many things on my list!

By the way, have you seen the new Jalie website? I think it’s really cool looking! It even has a gallery so you can add photos of your creations. There is also a new Facebook “Sewing With Jalie” group. You can add in-progress photos, get help, show off your new stuff, or just chat with other Jalie enthusiasts. I know the newest release just came out, but I’m super excited about what they will come up with next!

Jalie 3462 - Cutest Running Tights EVER!

I can’t even tell you how thrilled I am with these Jalie running tights. I love them, I love them, I love them. More importantly, the girls (including THE Cora that the tights are named after . . . ) LOVE them. I’ll stop gushing because I literally could go on forever how about how much I love these. The fit! The pocket! The bright, shiny accent!

 

AAAAAGGHGHGHGHHHHHH! Is the back of these not amazing???? I’m trying not to gush . . .

 

The flower print is a Fabric Mart swimwear lycra. They have it in stock here. The Black is a Nike Dri-Fit fabric, and the green is a gymnastics fabric. It green is not very breathable but I’ll take sparkly over functional any day.

 

Pair #2. The black is Nike Dri-Fit. The leopard knit is an activewear knit from JoAnn’s and the purple scale knit is a gymnastics pattern from JoAnn’s.

 

Everyone needs reptile scales on their running pants.

 

I love this pattern so much!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I just can’t even . . . .

 

Changes: I have beanpole children, this you know. I made the size M (9) for the length and then folded out an inch for the floral pair. That makes them fit perfectly, but I wanted a little extra growing room so I only pinched out a 1/2” on the leopard pair. I figured the easiest place to pinch out the width is on the front looong piece. So I made a fold vertically all the way from the waist to the hem and also made a corresponding fold on the waistband and the waistband facing. Voila, easy!!!

I need to make a pair of shorts for me!

Ottobre 01-2014 #26 - Boy’s T-shirt

Isn’t this child so helpful? I love his posing. Not. Posing aside, isn’t this a cute t-shirt? Yes, I could have made it from my existing KwikSew pajama pattern, but I love the color blocking and the pocket detail of the Ottobre pattern. It’s a pretty good pattern for him too. He’s long and lanky as all my children are. He measures 143cm high and I made size 140 with zero fitting adjustments. I could probably have pinched out 1/4” from the CF and CB, but it’s also fine how it is.

 

He’s a ninja.

 

Here’s a detail shot. This is wicking merino wool. I have it in three colors and I’ll put some on Etsy soon. This is a thin t-shirt weight knit. It’s perfect for undergarments and tops. 

 

This is the same pattern, but with the pieces joined and no pocket. My son was going on a camping trip and needed some wool clothing. Most of his t-shirts are cotton and not suitable for outdoor activities. This is another Merino wool fabric, but it is different than the other three I have. I would consider this more of a medium weight knit. You can see the green and gray knit have more drape than the orange. Look, he’s actually smiling! Unfortunately, in this picture, I cut off his head. Ha, sucky photographers.

Changes: Instead of using my coverstitcher and binding the neck, I create a neckband and sewed it on like a normal t-shirt. I should have cut off some of the neck SA, because the neckline turned out pretty tight. On the green/gray version, I didn’t bind the cuffs, I just folded the fabric in and hemmed with my coverstitcher. Because I knew I was going to do this, I added about 2cm to the arm length.

 

Next? The cutest running tights EVER.

Jalie 3464 - The Lillie Leotard

This another one of the new Jalie patterns. I love, love, love the underarm stripe and the way it shows off slim and trim bodies. My girls may be big fans of this pattern too.

 

I used a bright green for the underarm stripe. Let’s see, the green and solid pink are from San Diego. The rainbow leopard print is from JoAnn’s. Obviously we had fun with this photo shoot.

 

Isn’t that green stripe cool??

 

Good Lord, how flexible these little creatures are . . .

 

This leotard fits perfectly. The girls are eight, but very thin with looooong torsos. I made a smaller size (eek! Where are my notes!) and then added two inches to the torso.

 

Big sister (she’s 13 minutes older and tells her sister this all the time . . .) had to get in on the action. This is a different Jalie leotard. It’s Jalie 3354 and I blogged about it here.

 

Leaf throwing turns into  . . .

 

. . . vicious sister love . . . which turns into  . . .

 

. . . a fun girl on girl slap fight . . . aaaaah, the joys of parenting.

 

I love the leotards though. I love the sleeveless version too. It is actually a different pattern piece so you get a well-fitting armhole. There are so many options for colorblocking and fitting!!! Love it!!!!

Next? I’m frantically making wool shirts for my son who is going on a two day canoe trip with friends. Eek!