Another Jalie 2805 Dress

Yes, *hangs head* I made another one. I should be working on my February Burda Challenge. But, what am I working on instead? Another easy t-shirt dress. Shoot me.


But, isn’t it fun? Doesn’t it make you want to dance and run around with wild abandon????? I love this fabric. This is another FunkiFabrics fabric (yes, I got it for free).


Since we are going to Mexico again, I figured I needed a couple of very easy, non-wrinkle dresses for wandering around. And this just seems like the perfect Mexico print!!!


Don’t hit me! I promise to work on the February Burda Challenge tomorrow!


I just love this and it will go equally well with flats for comfortable wandering. Did you notice I cut about 5” off my hair? It was becoming an unruly beast.


I can not tell you how much I love this fabric from FunkiFabrics. Yes, they gave it to me for a review, but really, I love it. It’s a dream to sew, the recovery is excellent, the colors are vivid as hell, it’s thick enough to cover any lump and bump, and it makes smashing dresses. You can tell I cut the collar just a smidge too small for my neck opening. It’s pulling just a little bit. You can’t tell when it’s on the bod.


Let’s see . . . what did I change about the original pattern . . . I lowered the neckline by about a cm. I made this dress version a little more fitted by taking it in at the waist and hip area. Oh, and this was a *doh* moment for me, I hemmed the cap sleeves before attaching them to the dress. You know how cap sleeves have that teeny, tiny little hem allowance under your arm? Well, I hemmed the sleeves first, then sewed the sleeves on the dress. Such a no-brainer, but SO MUCH EASIER than trying to do the hem once the sleeve dress is already sewn together! This fabric coverstitches easily too. All in all, it took me maybe an hour to cut and sew (the pattern is already traced and altered).

Maybe my favorite one-hour dress ever! I could even wear it to school with tights, boots, and a cardigan.

Ottobre 01-2014 #19–Raglan Sweatshirt

Another kid project. I know, I know! I have started my February Burda. I have it all traced out already. But, who can resist these super easy projects?

 

Ms. Princess loves it and wants to wear it all the time now.

 

You’re lucky I got a few non-fuzzy photos. She’s a moving, posing diva.

 

This is just a basic raglan-sleeve sweatshirt pattern. I made this in size 110 and pinched out about 1/4” for the CF and CB seam. It seems to fit well although the arms are a smidge long. In a week, I’m sure they will be too short. Kids grow too fast!

 

I used fusible webbing to attach the star to the front. I sewed around the edges so it would not pull up, and because I like the look of it. I really like this bright pop of color on the front. I got this idea here from Boden.

 

The only thing I will change in the future is to make the waistband one piece. They use two pieces sewn together so there are seams at the side seams of the waistband. Next time, I’ll just cut it on the fold and use a single piece.

Another great basic pattern from Ottobre. I will probably add flatlocking to the seam next time. It’s such an easy way to amp up the design.

Ottobre 01-2015 #16 Jersey Dress

Here’s my first pattern from the new Ottobre Kids’ magazine. I made design #16 which is a basic, loose t-shirt dress. This dress is showcased in the magazine quite a few times showing how you can cut up the bodice to change the look. I decided to make it simple this time. I made a size 110 and folded out about 1/4” at CB and CF before cutting. I should have added length back to the arms.

 

I used a beefy cotton knit for the dress and a thinner cotton knit for the sleeves and pockets.

 

She loves it, of course.

 

I like the length with leggings. She has quite a few pairs of leggings now, and I don’t really like it when she wears shorter tops with them. This goes with them marvelously.

 

The pockets are a nice touch.

 

I used green picot elastic for the neck opening. I like how it looks, but should have made it a bit bigger so there are fewer gathers. I measured and cut the elastic, sewed together the elastic at CB, marked the quarters on elastic and shirt, serge the elastic to neck opening, fold elastic to inside, and coverstitch. You can see when she is wearing it above that it pulls a little bit. I cut elastic at 85% of the true measurement. Next time, maybe I’ll do 90%.

 

This is what it looks like from the inside. 

 

 

I have one more kid thing to show you. I’ve started on my February Burda Challenge already. Well, I’ve traced it, does that count???? There are so many of you out there that are participating on the Burda Challenge!! Keep it up!!

Ottobre Magazine

So I’ve gotten a few questions lately about Ottobre and how it compares with other companies when it comes to kids’ clothing. Here’s my two cents and I’m getting no kickbacks from anyone. I love Burdastyle Magazine for me. I don’t really love it for kid’s clothing. I maybe have never made a single thing for my kids from my Burda magazines. Not that I can remember, anyway.

Ottobre magazine ends up being a little less than $20 per magazine. I only have a few of them for kid’s designs. I also have a couple for adult clothing, but they don’t fit me as well as Burda, so I’m sticking with Burda. Personally, I think the Ottobre magazines are a great deal for kids’ clothing. Yes, I could Frankenpattern something together and make it work, but like I said in this post, I lack creative juices. I can make anything, just not make it look great. Ottobre has really cute design details and they usually show many versions of the same pattern. My last two magazines were 01-2014 and 01-2015.  I don’t have a subscription and I buy them individually.

 

Here’s a little picture summary for you. Already made. You haven’t seen all of these yet. I need to take some photos and make some princesses smile before that happens.

 

Will make for sure. The white numbers are the pattern number and the black numbers are the size range. I have one in the 110 size, two in the 122 range, and one in the 134 range. The dots are the difficulty rating.

 

This is from the newest magazine. I just got it two days ago. What I also love about Ottobre is that they have sizes for that tricky “tween” size range. 

 

I do really think that Ottobre is a great deal if you are sewing kids clothing. Yes, you still have to trace them out, but they are easier that Burda patterns.

Here you can peruse all the magazines and all the line drawings for each issue.

I’m slowly working on a few simple projects right now. I’ve been really into making kids’ clothes lately and have a few things to show you!

Jalie 2805 T-Shirt Dress

I guess I didn’t have this pattern out of my head yet. I made three of these t-shirts a couple of weeks ago (#1, #2, and #3), and I used the same pattern to make a cute, casual t-shirt dress. For this dress, I used the left-most version of the pattern and extended the length by 10”. I lowered the neck by about an inch. It’s a really simple dress to make and I might make a couple more.

 

Lovely pasty Alaskan skin. This is a thin cotton knit. You can’t really tell, but the stripes are distressed looking and uneven. I bought this fabric at the Swap Meet in National City.

 

It’s loose and casual. We are again headed to a warm climate for Spring Break (sqqqquuuuuuuuuueeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!) and I need a few things I can just throw on and go.

 

My little photo bomber was home sick today. She woke me up about 4am puking her guts out. I called in and got a sub, Sick Girl slept for a few hours, and seemed fine. I was a bit irritated that she seemed to be fine when I took the day off work. Then she puked about three minutes after this picture, and then I felt horrible for being irritated. She’s asleep again right now. Poor little thing.

 

She said that “Kitty” was being the photo bomber. Naughty Kitty!

 

More on our trip later. I may have to make another bathing suit. This is the one I made last year when we went to Mexico.

 

Burda Challenge Update: I’m starting to see lots of January Burdas popping up!! Check out Nancy’s top. I love the colors and drape of her top. I also love this top from the Burda 2015 magazine. And here’s another cute top. This is one I’ve made before. Just so you know, I’m not planning on linking to every single garment made by you guys. There are just too many and you guys are too prolific. It’s just fun to see what we are all making.

Ottobre 01-2014 #20 Relaxed Fit Sweatpants

I love Ottobre magazines for their kids’ clothing. I love all the little touches and the cute details. I loved these pants in the magazine. I’m not loving them on my daughter. It may just be that I’ve been around too many kids with poopy diapers, but these look like a kid that has a full diaper. And ewww, that’s not my thing.

 

They are cute, I guess. I spent a load of time on them. There is a LOT of coverstitching-as-decoration on these.

 

See? All I can see are poopy diapers.

 

She likes them, and they are really comfortable. She can wear them at home, just not out. I won’t allow that madness. She loves the pink topstitching, and the multiple floral prints. I used a gray sweatshirt material, a floral rib knit, and a beefy cotton knit for the knee section.

 

See? Very cute. On the floor. I do love this way of doing pockets though.

 

I used the wrong side of my three-thread coverstitch for the pockets and the other decorative stitching.

 

Here I started using the two-thread coverstitch, because the three-thread coverstitch kept breaking one thread. It was annoying.

 

Here you can see the correct side on the inside of the pants, and the “wrong” side on the outside. These have elastic in the waistband and also velvet ribbon.

 

For these, I made a size 110 and it’s about perfect. The girl measures 109cm, so I’d say the sizing is pretty spot on!

Jalie 2805 and Burda Leggings (01-2011-130)

I told you guys I’ve been making Jalie t-shirts! We’ll talk about that in a minute. First let’s talk about these freaking awesome running tights. How much fun are these? I made them with fabric from FunkiFabrics. This is the Prism pattern and I think I’m in love. I went running with my girl friends this morning and they all want a pair. I told them that, sadly, I don’t really sew for others (I’m a selfish sewer like that). FunkiFabrics gifted me this fabric in exchange for a little exposure and review. People, I always tell you the truth, fear not. Even if I’m given fabric, I’ll tell you straight up whether I really like it or not. This fabric? Love. It’s four-way stretch, sturdy, and thick enough to cover lumps and bumps. It’s 80% polyester and 20% elastic. And it makes me do ballet. This is fabric made to order. When I received my fabric, my name and order number were printed along the side, along with the fabric. I have a couple other prints too. You’ll be seeing those soon.

 

I used a leggings pattern from Burda. These are Burda 01-2011 #130. They are dead easy. Just one pattern piece, cut twice. I did do a couple of modifications though. The rise is really high. I ended up cutting off 4.5” at CF tapering to 4” at CB. Then, I added a folded waistband that added 2” to the front and back. So, I guess, I could have cut off two inches and done the fold-down waistband and been done. I like the yoga-type waistband instead.

 

Here you can sort of see where they hit me and the waistband. I didn’t take a picture of the front with my shirt up. Doh! I ran 5 miles in these this morning. I have a thin pair of long underwear on under these. It’s chilly (maybe 30?) so alone, these would not have been enough to keep me warm. I made these in size 36, which is one size larger than normal. I knew I would be wearing these over other tights.

 

Here’s the Prism fabric. Rad, huh? They have over 1500 prints to choose from. They are a little pricey and they are in the UK, so I’m sure shipping would be high. But, if you want a pair of awesome running tights, they might be the right retailer for you. But again, how fun are these tights?

 

This top is another Jalie 2805. Same size, same everything. This only thing I did differently this time is to add cuffs and collar from a sweater knit remnant I had in my stash. Oh, and I added this two-thread flatlocking to the arm. My new serger is delish.

 

I know I’m all crazy about Jalie, but here’s why. This is all the sleeve and neck options for Jalie 2805. And it has kid sizes and adult sizes all in the same envelope. I’ll never need to buy a t-shirt pattern again!!!