Jalie 3130–Fitted Blouse

I’ve been wanting to make this top for a while. I’ve also been wanting to make the perfect shirt dress for a long time too. I think this will make a perfect base for that. Before I committed to the dress version, I wanted to check the overall fit and construction. This top is semi-fitted with front and back darts. It has a collar and separate collar stand. The sleeves are about 3/4 length with an optional sleeve cuff to keep them up. It also has small pockets with flaps. I left the flaps off mine.

And here is my version. I think it’s pretty dang cute. I do think it’s just a bit big overall. Although the shoulders look like they are just about right. This is totally my work uniform. Often I’m wearing a knit top instead of a woven but very similar styling. I usually wear something like this or a knit dress to work.

This is a cotton shirting that has been lingering in my stash for a while. I can’t seem to get some of the wrinkles out of it, like this horizontal crease below the yoke. Any tips or ideas about that??

Next time I make this as a shirt, I’ll take a little more out of the waist so it is slightly more fitted.

You can see it’s a pretty long top too. This would look good with a belt too, I think. 

I still seem to have that pesky swayback. Some day I will attack that.

I used snaps instead of buttons.

This is by far the best collar I have ever done.

Here’s the cute little pocket. I matched the stripes like a boss. Well, mostly.

Here’s the optional sleeve cuff. When you don’t want it, you just unroll the sleeves and it is short enough to stay inside undetected.

Overall, I think it’s a WIN!! I know, right? Shocker. I’m definitely going to make this as a dress. I think I won’t change it at all except the length, and maybe make it just a bit wider at the hem for walking. I’m trying to decide if I want to go truly button-down denim shirt with thick gold topstitching thread or if I just want to go more neutral.

Hot Patterns–Metropolitan Good Times Dress/Tunic/Tee

So, let’s refresh ourselves shall we? Back in May, I bought three Hot Patterns to try them out and to see if they would fit me well. I had never tried Hot Patterns before but I have long admired their sassy line drawings. (Note to self: never, ever, ever rely on line drawings for informative consumer prices. Not that these drawings are misrepresentations of the patterns, but line drawn women always look so perfect with their wind-blown hair and sassy poses.)

Anyway, here is my dress version. Let’s see. I think it’s . . . okay. Initially, I was going for all purple, but then, obviously, I ran out of fabric. I chose the striped fabric because I knew I wouldn’t find anything to match it exactly. And I’ve learned that if you are going to mismatch, mismatch like a boss, meaning do it loud and proud. Here’s what I like. I like the yoke and overall shape. Yes, I think it would have been better in all one color. But I don’t think that’s the main issue.

Here’s what I really don’t like. I really don’t like the sleeve shape. This is a very soft fabric and the sleeve just kind of collapses. In a stiffer fabric, I’m afraid this would stick out like wings. If I make this again, I’ll have to re-draft them to make them sit like they should. The sleeves on this are rectangles, with no shape. Literally rectangles. And the longer 3/4 length sleeves are the same but just longer. I think they would have the same issues.

This is not the look I am going for but this is what I would get if the fabric had less drape.

The amount of fabric in the back seems excessive too. Well, I’m not too impressed with this dress. It’s okay but it certainly doesn’t look like the billowy, wind-blown models.

So, the tally. My first Hot Patterns was a bright success, the second was a horrible failure and this one, well . . . what do you guys think? Okay as is? Salvageable with changing the sleeves?

Jalie 3676–Another Vanessa Pant

I knew I would make another pair of these quickly. Who doesn’t love an easy, elastic-waist, comfy pair of pants? Last time, I left off the leg elastic and made them a little cropped. This time, I used the leg cuffs. I did fold out an inch in the length at the thigh and again under the knee. I’m about 5’5” and my height is in my torso. I knew I wanted these a little shorter than called for and with my shorter legs, I decided two inches would be about good.

Here’s a slightly lighter picture so you can see some details.

This is a linen/rayon blend from JoAnn’s. This is a really comfortable fabric and it doesn’t wrinkle like I thought it would. There is no stretch in it all. I also bought it in a gray fabric. I’m not sure what I’m going to make with that, but another Jalie Vanessa pant is not out of the realm of possibilities.

In this picture, I pulled them up a bit. I wish these pants were this length. What do you think? Is this a better length? I’d say this is another two inches. Next time I’ll crop them even more.

I love the details and topstitching on these pants.

This is a close-up of the fabric. I found it in the “suitings” section.

Another Jalie winner!! And on a side note. We recently acquired a furry little friend. She’s six months old and a rescue kitty that was abandoned in a building. :( Poor baby!! She seems to be getting along with our other fur baby. The kids are totally in LOVE.

 

She’s fierce like a lion.

Isn’t she pretty? I love the red spot on her head.
 

I made my last Hot Patterns dress too. I’ll unveil that in a day or so too. I still need to take the pictures.

Jalie 3463–Anne-Marie Dress

I’ve made this pattern up in a top before and I really like it and wear it often in the summer I was wearing it on vacation just last week. I kept putting things in that enormous back pocket. Like my phone, lip balm, tickets, car keys, etc. I know it’s supposed to be for tennis balls, but whatever. I realized that a dress version would be just the ticket on vacation. So, when I got home from vacation, I made one for my next vacation.

I did not make this, just so we are all clear, for a sport use. I made this purely for a travel/fun purpose. The CF/CB panels are made with a fun ivory/black scuba knit. The solid black is a Nike Dri-Fit fabric.

I love how the side panels flare out a bit for an a-line shape. 

This is what photoshoots in my house always look like, by the way. Little photobombers just waiting to jump into view.
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I love how it looks like I matched the pocket on the back. I didn’t. That was luck. I love the back on this dress.

Oh, and this dress has a built-in shelf bra which is actually pretty supportive. I love that about a travel dress too.

I love how big this pocket is. I may have to make another one of these dresses in a solid color just because comfort and pockets.

I will also wear this to work with a jacket or cardigan. And I’m talking to my daughter here. She’s a sassy beast.

Jalie 3669–Nico Raglan T-Shirts (for Dudes!)

Jalie released three raglan tops in their last collection. One of them is for men/boys and I’m really excited about it. I have a boy’s Kwik Sew pattern that has been bullet proof for me so far, but it only goes up to size boys 14. My son is almost 13 and I am quickly approaching the time when that pattern won’t work anymore. The Kwik Sew pattern is also not a raglan t-shirt, it’s your standard sleeve t-shirt. This is the pattern I’ve been wanting to fill in the gaps between boy and adult sizes. Well, maybe “fill in the gap” really should be “replace my Kwik Sew pattern” instead. There are not many great mens/boy patterns that fit well. I love Ottobre but they don’t have much for the tween and older set. Once he grows out of the Kwik Sew pattern, there isn’t much left. Could I have modified an existing Jalie Women’s pattern? Probably yes, but things get weird with a man’s broader shoulders and narrower hips. This pattern is exactly perfect.

My son measures in the size 9 range but the size 11 height. He’s a string-bean, this one. Anyway, I should have made the size 10 and added length, but I went with the size 11. You can tell it’s large on him. He likes it anyway though. The middle gray/green fabric is a wool blend and he is always cold so he is happy. This pattern has the option of a straight hem or a slightly curves shirt hem. This has the curved hem. It also has three sleeve length options.

It’s rare to catch this one in a smile.

More later!! I’m busy sewing up a storm lately. :)

Gigi Bikini: Jalie 3671

Here’s my new Gigi bikini. I’m IN LOVE with this water/fishy fabric and this pattern. I bought it in Yardage Town in National City. The top has princess seaming so it would be easy to modify to larger or smaller cup sizes. This has wider straps and it’s really comfortable on. The front is lined and all the seams are sandwiched between the fashion fabric and the lining. The bottom is a very standard bikini bottom. But, a bottom THAT FITS and doesn’t go up my crack (sorry if that’s TMI). I hate that and it happens on almost all my swimsuits. This one is really comfortable and stays in place! Oh, and the side ties are optional but very cute.

The top is very supportive and I could totally run, play volleyball, or swim with no worries about things moving around too much.

Whoa, baby got back. “36-24-36? Only if she 5’3”.” Those are kind of my measurements in a nutshell except I’m 25 instead of 24. And I have the booty to go with the words from that song.

I’ll be making more of these in the future. They are super cute and very comfortable. And I love the fabric. I may make another top to go with it too. Or a rash guard. I think I could get the front and back of the new cropped Jalie Valerie out of the fishy fabric. The sleeves would have to be something different because I definitely don’t have that much fabric left over.

On the Jalie FB page, someone had the problem with the facing peeking out at the CF. Mine does that when it is laying on the floor like this, but not when it is on. I think the CF ruching helps with that. 

I will have to modify the back a little next time. I need it to be slightly smaller on the underbust band. I am limited here by the back panels. Next time, on this triangle-looking piece, I’ll make it so the “leg” of the triangle ends closer to the side seams. That way, I can snug it up a little tighter on the underbust band. Other than that, the fit is GREAT!

Another Jalie winner!!