Tuesday, July 14, 2015

Jalie 3461 - the Eleonore pull on pant

I haven't been buying many new patterns lately. My pattern stash is immense and it is starting to feel like I'm never going to make even half of them so getting new patterns seems a bit silly, but when Jalie announced that they were releasing a pull on pant for stretch wovens, I pre-ordered it immediately.
Then I shoved everything I should be making to the back of the queue and got up early a few mornings to sew them up. Sewing in the summer is challenging for me, but I really wanted these pants. So, here we are - Jalie 3461, the Eleonore pull on pant!
I did make a few changes right out of the gate. First off, Jalie calls these a low rise pant. 10 years and 3 kids ago I wore low rise pants, but that ship has sailed. I pulled out my trusty Jalie jeans pattern and compared the two. Based on that comparison, I raised the rise 2 inches. Since the waistband of the pull on pant pattern is wider than the jeans pattern, the end result is a pretty high waist, so keep that in mind if you are making rise alterations. The waistband is wide!
For the crotch curve, I just copied the alterations I used on the Jalie jeans. It worked well and I'm happy with the fit there. As for the legs, the pants are meant to be semi fitted, so since I wanted a more skinny type pant, I slimmed the legs down two sizes below the hip, then had to remove an additional 3 inches from the ankle, tapering up to the fullest part of the calf.
They're super comfortable and so quick to sew up! I'll definitely be making them again, and again and again!
Once final caution for the curvy girl, the pattern instructs you to use elastic to stabilize the waistband. The length of elastic you use is the same as the length of the waistband pattern piece, but if you have a small waist and fuller hips and backside, you will want your waistband to be snug in the back so that the pants pull in to the back waist. In order to do this myself, I simply measured my elastic on my own waist, then used the full length of the front waistband pattern piece and the remainder for the back piece. That meant that the elastic was significantly shorter in the back and had to be stretched to fit. As a result, my pants fit snugly in the back and don't slide down and gape.