Jalie Eleonore and Yoko, a match made in heaven!

So, y'all probably have noticed by now that I'm a bit of a Jalie fangirl. I sew their patterns a lot for everyone in my family, and I have always been happy with my results.

So, when Jalie released the Yoko top for FREE, naturally I was quick to download it!! And then I sat on it, because I just haven't had the time to sew that I wish I had.

But then I made a pair of Eleonores in basic black, because everyone needs black pants, right? I've made quite a few pairs of these (see here), so I won't go into great detail about them, but I did do a few fun things...

Rainbow metallic unicorn and dragon pockets were a must! I love fun back pockets, even on "basic" black pants.

I also added real pockets to the front. The pattern is drafted with a faux pocket, which is kind of a pain to sew, and also irritates me every time I try to put my hand in it. Now they are real pockets! Jalie offers an add-on to the pattern, if you want your own front pockets. I drafted them myself though.

But this blog post is about the Yoko! Did I mention it's a free pattern?! Go download it! It's a basic loose fitting tee with a dropped shoulder, long sleeves and a turtleneck. It's a super quick sew!

I made mine out a a nice, slinky ITY jersey. I love how it flows when I wear it! I've seen it made out of pretty much every knit imaginable, and it always looks awesome.

I did make on wee alteration to mine - I just can't leave well enough alone. Since I was planning to wear it with skinny jeans, I wanted more of a tunic look, so I added 2 inches to the length in front and 4 inches in back. When I sewed the side seams, I left the last couple of inches open as a vent. The top is loose enough that I don't need it for ease, but I like the look.

You can see it here as well. Another feature I love about this top is the sleeve. It's nice and long, but snug enough that I can push it up to get a 3/4 sleeve look as well.

I may have started out to sew basic pants, but I don't think I ended up with anything basic at all! I love this outfit, and feel like a total rock star in it!

McCalls 6794 top and some Eleonore jeans

I love a quick knit top, which is probably why my dresser is full of them, but there is just something a little classier about a top made from a woven fabric. It stops being "just a tee shirt" and, even in a casual, easy wearing style, becomes something a little nicer.

This top is McCalls 6794, which is sadly now OOP. When I bought the pattern, I was so excited about it, but something kept getting in the way of sewing it. I'm glad I finally did. It's darn cute and comfortable!

I made view C, which the model on the envelope is wearing. It features a high-low hemline, cut on, dropped sleeves and a bias faced neckline. The pattern utilizes a contrast fabric for the midriff panel and ties, but I thought there was enough going on with my print and used self fabric.

From the back, you can see the hemline a little better. The fitting in this top is all achieved by the waist tie and the front gathering. It's got a LOT of ease - I sewed 2 sizes smaller than called for by my measurements and made no alterations for my full bust. There's plenty of room for the girls in all that gathering.

My fabric is a polyester charmeuse that has been in my stash long enough that I've forgotten its origins. I likely bought it intending to use it for lining, as I rarely use poly charmeuse for garments, but it does have an excellent drape for this top, and gathers well without adding bulk. For this top, you definitely need a lightweight fabric with plenty of drape! Rayon challis, silk charmeuse or chiffon, or even a lightweight voile would work well.

So, I finished my top, so proud of myself for having used both stash fabric and pattern, and realized that I didn't have anything to wear it with. This shape doesn't really work with my flared jeans and all my skinny jeans were printed or bright colors.

So, I whipped out my trusty Jalie Eleonore pattern and some Ralph Lauren denim I got at Mood a couple of years ago and made some skinny jeans.

I won't talk more about the Eleonores - I love this pattern and I've made it several times - but I am glad this top pushed me to finally make a pair in regular denim. I mean, as regular as I ever get, you know. The denim is shot with gold threads... Because that's how I roll.

Jalie Eleonore, with sparkles

Well, the inevitable fall weather has finally hit us here in Eastern Tennessee, and fortunately I had an outfit all ready for Myra! She's been agitating for a pair of jeans "but fancy like yours, not from the store" for a while. And really, how can I refuse a request like that?!

Of course, the fancy part of her descriptor meant she wanted embroidery and sparkles. As you wish.

Myra prefers her jeans with a slim leg, so I went with the Jalie Eleonore pull on jeans. The pattern is great and given that the pants don't have zipper or buttons, they're a quick sew. Which is a good thing, as my sewing time has been pretty sporadic lately.

I made the same alteration for Myra that I did for myself. In the interest of booty coverage, I raised the back waist 3/4 of an inch (by increasing the height of the yoke at CB). I also shortened the elastic piece in the back waistband and stretched it as I basted it in. This pulls in the back waistband to cover Myra's backside.

For the embroidery on the front, I did a flourish with stars. I used a new-to-me applique technique that uses Glitter Flake heat transfer vinyl in the place of fabric. The big benefit of this method is that the HTV doesn't have to be cut away during the applique process - it rips away! Super fast and easy! And glitter-tastic, so Myra is definitely a fan!

The back pockets are embellished with purple unicorns, tiny glitter stars and swooshes. I used the rip-away applique method again here and it was amazing. I'd never have been able to applique those tiny stars with fabric. The trimming would have been too tedious.

As a finishing touch, I embellished a RTW sweatshirt with a dark purple glitter flake unicorn, to coordinate with her back pocket design. She was pretty thrilled with her new outfit, and declared that I am the best mom ever. So that was a win all around.

Back in the Saddle

So, December kinda sucked sewing-wise. Then there was Christmas. And I had a new Bernina 880 under the tree!! She does everything!

Isn't she pretty? I've named her Vera. So, between getting a new machine and Jungle January, my mojo went through the roof. In fact, I have two new garments to show you today! Yay!

Let's start out in the Jungle. I had two pieces of silver foil snakeprint stretch bottom weight fabric. Because it's my stash and I can do what I want. So, I went with this stretch corduroy with abstract splashes of silver throughout the snake print. I wanted to start off with a pattern I was comfortable with, since I am still getting used to Vera.

The pants are the Jalie Eleonore, which I have made before here and here. This corduroy has slightly less stretch than is ideal for the pattern, so I kind of have to wiggle into them, but they feel awesome on. I did the full jeans style topstitching, but between the busy print and the nap of the corduroy, the stitches disappear. Still, it was great practice and I'm very comfortable with Vera now.

For the top, I decided I wanted to try out something new. My wardrobe is a bit light on tunic type tops, which I think go well with skinny pants. So, I went with the relatively recently released Butterick 6248. 

My problem with most tunic styles is that they lack bust shaping, so they end up looking like maternity tops on my full bust. This top has princess seaming, so it curves nicely over the bust and nips in slightly at the waist. Size-wise, I sewed my typical combo of Big 4 sizes, and you can see that it still has a significant amount of design ease. 

Also, POCKETS!! Just a little kangaroo pocket, but it's the perfect size for a set of keys or my iPhone. My fabric is a very stretchy ITY, so I stabilized the pocket openings with some fusi-knit interfacing. It keeps them from gaping open.

My favorite feature is the back, and wouldn't you know it, I got no pictures of it!! I have forgotten how to blog... You can sort of see in this side view that the back dips low and is very full. All that fullness is courtesy of a big triangular godet at center back. 

Here is the fashion drawing from the Butterick website. Surprisingly, it really does look like that! I love the fullness and swingy-ness it gives the top, without adding volume in front.

I'm very pleased with my first outfit of 2016. Here's to an awesome, sew-full year!!

Jalie Eleonore pants, take 2

I knew once I had made and worn my first pair of Eleonore pants that I would need another pair.

They are comfortable to wear and still feel put together, since they have all the typical jeans detailing.

Even a back yoke and pockets big enough for my phone!

My first pair was such a crazy print, I have a hard time wearing them often, so this time I went with a nice, basic red. Red skinnies are so useful! They can be a nice neutral with a print or work well as a pop of color with other neutrals.

The fabric for these is a Dockers brand stretch twill from fabric.com. It's pretty much the ideal fabric for this pattern, as it has enough stretch to go on easily but plenty of recovery so the seat and knees don't bag.

I did the topstiching in an upholstery weight thread in a matching color, as I felt that would give it more options as far as mixing and matching. I like the way it looks in person, but it does get a bit lost in photos.

I'm so glad I jumped on this pattern, With my sewing time being as limited as it has been lately, this is the perfect solution. They take about half the time as a full on pair of jeans, but fill the same wardrobe hole.

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.