Jalie 3349–Gymnastics Leotard

You guys know I love me a good leotard pattern. And, of course, Jalie is my most favorite pattern ever. Like ever. I think they design EXACTLY for my body. It’s weird how well they fit. Anyway, what’s in the cat is in the kitten, and my twins are built a lot like me. They have their mother’s swayback and her loooong torso.

 

I decided to make the View A which is the plain front and back to test the fit. I ended up making a size L (size 8) for them and added two inches of length to the body of the leotard. Yes, I know, TWO INCHES.

 

And I would say they need all two inches!! I extended the arms to the size M because they are long and lean.

 

The fit is spot-on. I love, love, love the long sleeves. I also love the fit around the legs.

 

For the back, a split back and swayback adjustment would fit her better. They are just like me. Although, I wonder if I could just take out a horizontal 1/2” and ease in the front? I think that might work too. Even with that slight pooling, I think the fit is great.

 

She loves it and that is all that matters. This is a fantastic base pattern. Think of all the things you could do to this basic shape. There were many, many cartwheels during this photoshoot, but being that these were taken inside, things were way too dark.

 

Here’s the other view. I want to do this one next. I love the high v on the twist top. This is actually listed as a ballet pattern, but it’s awesome as a gymnastics leotard. Oh, I forgot to tell you that the full front is lined.

Love it!!! Another Jalie winner (how many times have I written those words on my blog, I wonder)!!!!

I have a fun Ottobre dress to show you next.

Another Pair of Eleonore Pants!

See? Look how excited I am!! This is my fourth (??) pair of these and I love them, love them, love them. I think I truly could live in the Jalie Eleonore Jean, the Jalie Dolman Top, and one of their cardigans (either this one, this one, or this one). I could make a whole mix and match wardrobe from just those patterns. That purple top is a Jalie Dolman top; I blogged about it here.

 

What can I tell you about these? Let’s see, the denim baaaaarely has enough stretch for this pattern. Getting them on makes me shimmy, but once they are on, they are comfortable. I did have to let the knees out on these pants after I made them because this denim is stiff. Like coated, stiff. This is denim I bought to make jeans with, forever ago. Like really, YEARS. AGO. It literally does seem coated with something that makes it slick and stiff. They are a chocolate brown and I think they will go with everything.

 

You can see there are lots of leg wrinkles near my knees. I think it’s mostly because it is so stiff. I’m hoping they soften up with repeated washings.

 

I did my double topstitching (front fly, inner legs, pockets, etc.) with my coverstitch machine. It’s just regular serger thread. The pockets, bar tacks, and hem are using white Gutterman upholstery thread and a topstitching needle.

Another versatile pair of jeans. I love this pattern!!!! I love them in this color too!!

Jalie 2975 - Favorite Hoodie Ever!

How freaking cute is this hoodie? I love it!!! I see many more of them in my future. I’ll definitely be making these for the Little People in my life too. I already have a request for a color blocked one. WITH a hood. These people are so particular. Sheesh.

 

I know the lighting and focus aren’t the greatest. I’m working inside with bad lighting. There are a couple things I really love about this hoodie. One is the sleeve length. I hate it when jackets are too short and when you move your arms, your poor little wrists freeze. Not so in this jacket. The arms are nice and long. Second, I love how it grazes the hips and is a bit longer. Third, I love the welt pockets. The directions made it really easy. And fourth, I love, love, love the collar/hoodie itself.

 

Ignore my Resting Bitch Face. My children are “helping” me in these photos and apparently I wasn’t happy with someone. I love how the collar stands up even when the hood is down. Super cozy on a chilly neck.

 

I made my normal Jalie size of S. I added an inch above the bust like I do for almost all patterns. The fabric is a PolarTec PowerStretch fleece. It’s water and wind resistant and plush on the inside. I forgot to take a picture of the inside. Oops!

 

The hood is shaped with several pieces, so it fits the head really well.

 

More Resting Bitch Face. Happy little photo bombers.

 

I’ve had this jacket done for weeks but only just photographed it. I wear it constantly inside. I get chilled easily and this is the perfect throw-on jacket for inside or to run outside and check for chicken eggs (we get three a day now! I think one is a dud? She’s never laid anything!). I love all the topstitching and the seaming; great details that make it look very high end.

 

I made this as part of the Jalie Hoodie Sew Along. I finished it way ahead of the deadline because I don’t like to start multiple projects and I like to finish my tasks quickly (I’m a total list-checker-offer).

 

Next up? Another pair of Eleonore Pants and an Ottobre.

Burda Challenge for October - 10-2015 #110

Yes, I’m late. Again. I actually had this done over a week ago but the darkness outside and my busy schedule has kept me from taking photos. I present to you . . . Burda 10-2015 #110. This is a cut-on cowl-neck top with released darts and cowl-neck extensions that create a back V.

 

Here you can see the released darts really well. There are two on the front and two on the back. There are also two normal bust darts at the sides. You can barely see them here with this print.

 

The cowl neck actually extends and forms this v-neck.

 

We interrupt this photo shoot to bring you reality. Indoor photo shoots like this always end up like this. Little people get all frisky and try to “help”.

 

These photos are done with my entry light on and a big lamp on in my living room. Then, they are heavily edited so they aren’t a dark mess. I’m shooting with an ISO of 6400 people, work with me. I wish I had beautiful light and pretty backdrops, but alas, I take what I can get.

 

Me: Hey Honey, is the back all straight? Is it getting hung up on my butt?
Honey: *snap, snap* No babe, it looks just fine. *snap, snap*
Me: What about the neck? Everything looks good?
Honey: Yea, it looks great. *snap, snap, snap*

 

Well, the back does lie straight and all is good when it isn’t tucked into the shirt. *sigh*

 

All in all, I think it’s a little meh. I don’t love the fabric. It’s a thin cotton with not much stretch. It does drape well though. This pattern can be used with a woven or knit. They suggest a zipper on all versions. I opted to not put a zipper in it. I’ve lost a few pounds recently, but this pattern seems to run a bit large. I made a straight 34 and it is pretty loose on me. I would love to try the dress length version of this pattern in a wool flannel.

 

Next up: I have a Jalie that’s been done for weeks! I’ve finally gotten it photographs. I’m telling you, this daylight from only 9am to 5pm business makes it hard to take pictures! It’s dark when I go to work and twilight when I drive home. Oh, and I have a fun surprise to show you next week!

Jalie 3243 Kids’ Pull-on Pants

This pattern is a staple in my sewing queue. I’ve it used for summer shorts for myself, pajama pants for my kids, and rainproof/windproof pants. It’s great. My son, who seems to be hitting some sort of growth spurt, is steadily growing out of all his pairs of pajama pants. He lives in these things while at home so I made him another couple pairs.

 

Behold: Condiment Man. I took him to the fabric store with me and he picked these prints out. It is so hard to find flannel in boy colors/designs. There are four billion unicorns and baby designs, but only about five boy prints.

 

I used the size M (kids’ size 9) and added two inches at the knee. He’s 11, but very thin. These will be too long for approximately four days. Then they will probably be too short.

 

Oh, the shame. *hangs head* Curse the mother that forgets about directional prints! Although I justified it to myself that there wasn’t enough fabric to cut it any other way.

 

Photo bomb attempted. And denied.

 

I did something different this time with the waistband casing. I hate making a waist casing, feeding the elastic through, and sewing the remaining opening. Instead, I took a page out of the Cora Legging pattern and sewed the elastic onto the attached facing. Then I flipped the facing the the inside and coverstitched from the outside.

 

I made this second pair too. I didn’t even realize I had cut the front (yes, the FRONT) upside down until I looked closely at it. I don’t think anyone will be looking that closely.

 

See? The damn animals are upside down!

 

I’m working on my October Burda Challenge and I still have a Jalie Hoodie to show you too!

Ottobre 06-2015 #31 and #32 Pajamas (and my new binder!!)

So, I bought a binder so I just HAD to make something that needed binding. Right?? You know exactly what I mean, people. So, to get to know my new little friend a little better, I made three pajamas for the Little People. This pajama pattern in this newest edition of Ottobre comes in a huge range of sizes. I made one size 116 (the one modeled by the diva) and two size 128s (lengthened to a size 134).

 

These are all made out of cotton knits from the National City Swap Meet. I love that place.

 

This is the best I could get for standing still pictures. Use your imagination. I’m amazed at how well her sunglasses match the knit ribbing and the aqua in the pajamas.

 

I’ll talk about the binding in detail below. This has a bound neckline and bound sleeve hems. There are supposed to be buttons on the faux hem but I liked this better. I like the mix of the prints on the front and back.

 

This is one of the larger version. This cotton knit is so soft and cozy. The Twin Girl Things will love it.

 

Look at this awesome knit binding!!!

 

My bad, I sort of suck at this. I need to baste EVERY TIME. I keep thinking I’ll just wing it.

 

Again, I thought the flowers would be more fun.

 

Another set for the second twinny. This time I actually used buttons.

 

I think the binder may be my new friend.

 

 

Okay, here’s my super snazzy set-up for my binder. It’s too low so it’s at an angle and tilting back. My super-wonderful husband took measurements today to make me a real table. So, to do this I just some of winged it. I knew (sort of) what this whole set-up was supposed to look like and I just put it together until it looked like it would work.

 

Strangely, it worked perfectly the first time I used it. It took a bit of fiddling to get the needles in the right spot, but it’s pretty freaking amazing. I am sticking with actual knit binding right now since I think it’s “grabbier” and easy to use than slick knit fabric. I will experiment with those things after I feel comfortable using this.

 

My second attempt. I ended up using the same thread and binding for all three of these pajamas. I figured why mess up a good thing. This aqua knit binding is from Fabric Mart. I have it in red, green, and this aqua. The dark blue above is from JoAnn’s and it seems to work well too.

 

The only time it actually didn’t work was when I was sewing the bottom hem on one of the sleeves. I blinked and everything went to hell in a hand basket. I don’t know exactly what went wrong. I cut another sleeve and it did fine the second time around. 

 

 

I did practice quite a bit before attempting a real project with this binder. I’m super pleased with the results. I will be getting another one in a bigger size. This is the 3/8”  (finished size) industrial binder.