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.

Rescuing an orphan

My Rambo skirt is one of my favorite makes. It's fun. It fits well. It's easy to wear. It should be a favorite in my closet, but unfortunately it isn't. The body suit I made to wear with it is lovely and comfortable, but suffers from requiring specialty underwear, due to the low back. The color scheme of the skirt is unusual in my wardrobe, and I just didn't have another top that looks good with the skirt.

Fortunately, I did have a remnant of the ITY I used to make the original bodysuit. It was a smallish piece - long but skinny. And I didn't have enough for mess ups.

I decided to use Ottobre 02/2009-5, which I have made before here. I knew this pattern was a winner, and even if it wasn't perfect with the skirt, I would still wear it a lot.

Fortunately, it turned out to work well with the skirt, so it's a win all around!

I'm particularly pleased with the sleeve this time! The rayon jersey I used to make this top last time was quite limp, so while the sleeves are attractive, they don't really flutter. In this ITY, the sleeves are much more full and graceful. It's a winner!

Comino Cap with a Sewcialist twist

Well, May was awesome productivity-wise and my mojo returned to me, but then school let out for the summer. Finding time to sew has been challenging, but I managed to distract Myra with my Barbies long enough to crank out this Comino Cap top.

I love this pattern. It's a super quick sew, fit's well and looks great on. Perfect for a precious fabric that I only had a yard of.

Here's a back view, for a better look at the print, which is Sew in Love by Lillestoff. It is vintage sewing machines!!! Surrounding the machine motifs are tiny curliques, topped with scissors and surrounded by red hearts. I love this fabric. As of this moment, there is still some in stock here at Kitschy Coo's fabric shop.

Since the print features little red hearts throughout, I decided to match them with red neck and sleeve bands. To make the red pop a bit more, I made my bands 1/8 wider than the pattern calls for, simply by sewing the neckline and sleeves at 1/4 inch SA rather than 3/8. Wider bands say more casual to me, and I wanted this to be a wear every day sort of top. Because SEWING MACHINES! I will wear it every day...

Taking pics in the summer is tricky too. I have helpers.... Good thing they are cute!

Me Made May 2015

I  mentioned at the beginning of May that I had decided to participate in Me Made May this year. Since wearing handmade clothing isn't much of a challenge for me, I decided to go a step further. I pledged to wear only me made clothing (other than bras) and to not repeat an outfit for the entire month. I am happy to say that I managed the feat with a few favorites to spare!

I posted an outfit photo on Instagram every day (I'm sure my followers are tired of that!), and collected them all in this flipagram. If you'd rather not watch the video, I also made a collage.

My biggest reason for participating in Me Made May this year was in hopes of boosting my sadly flagging mojo, and I'm happy to say it worked! If you've been hanging around here much lately you've probably noticed that I have blogged more than twice as much this month as I have been doing all year. I've been really enjoying sewing new things and am feeling  much more inspired, so yay for Me Made May!!

Burda June 2015 dress

In January I decided I had missed my Burda magazine long enough, and decided to renew my subscription after a 3 year lapse. After 6 months I finally found something that I HAD to sew.

In fact, I was flipping through the magazine when it arrived, and Mitch looked over my shoulder and said, "That dress is so you!" so I had to make it.

He's right, of course. It is very me! Comfy knit, with cute details and a swingy skirt is definitely my style all summer long.

The pattern is from the current (June 2015) issue of Burda Magazine. It is number 120, which includes both a top and dress version of the style and is made up in both knit and woven fabrics. Very versatile!

The pattern itself is really interesting, It only has one main pattern piece for the dress! Which made it manageable to trace on the crazy pattern sheets. There are no shoulder seams, only side seams and a center back seam.

There is minimal shaping at the side seams, so most of the shape of the dress comes from the front tie. There is a casing which is stitched onto the front of the dress just under the bust. A self fabric tie is called for by the pattern, but I used wide grosgrain ribbon instead.

In back, the neckline forms a pretty V that echos the front. I raised it about an inch, but as drafted it is actually pretty modest. I did take in the center back seam as there was no shaping back there and it looked very sack-like without some curves.

I also elected to bind the neckline and armholes with my coverstitch, rather than do a bias tape finish as the pattern called for. I like the bright white contrast there, and with my binder on the coverstitch machine it was super easy. Since there isn't a seam at center front, I darted the binding there to form the V. One thing I would change for the future would be to raise the armhole. It gapes open a bit too low, as you can see from this pic.

I also added pockets, of course, I regretted it at first, since they gaped a bit and made my hips look huge, but once I took in the center back, that tamed the pockets and they lie nicely now. I cannot wear a dress without pockets so I'm glad they worked out!

While there are a few minor things I would change should I make this again, I am really quite pleased with my first Burda make in several years. Maybe I'll tackle that pattern sheet again! Once I've recovered from this time...