Wool Knits and Jalie Patterns

So back in November (maybe?) when FabricMartFabrics.com had their big sale on wool knits, I bought ....and astonishing amount of yardage from them.  Which I then proceeded to make woolen warm clothes for the whole family.  I got a combination of jerseys, interlocks, and ponte knits, all of them almost 100% wool.  A little itchy, like all wools but the most cozy merinos, but for $8-$12 a yard, who's complaining?

I used mostly Jalie patterns, as I am in love with their fit and all those sizes. One of the first Jalie patterns I ever bought was 2328, their men's thermal underwear pattern. I've used it countless times for either my husband or one of my three boys.  I've got the paper pattern which is no longer available. It's still available off the Jalie website as a download, however.

Here it is in a heathered gray wool ponte knit.  I used the three yards I bought of this fabric for a pair of leggings for me, one for DD, and one for DIL as well as this pair of thermal pants for one of my sons.

I also made a whole lot of shirts for my sons and husband using Jalie 2918. No pics of those, but there's only so much to see.  It's a t-shirt. Nuff said.

For DIL, I made this matching set of leggings and Jalie 2806 the gathered scoop neck top.  I made a whole lot of these for myself a couple of years ago.  These are made of wool/lycra jersey in a gorgeous periwinkle.  Not my color, but it looks fabulous on her.  The leggings I made from a pattern copied from a pair of leggings she already has that she likes the fit.

Apologies for the crummy pictures.  Laying things out on the floor is not my preferred way of displaying my creations, but it's snowing and blowing outside and kinda dim and dreary inside.

All in all, since November, I made alot of tops and pants for all the members of the family.  Good thing, too, 'cuz it's been coooold this year.

Woo Hoo! New Jalie 3350 Swimsuit

Doggone it! This thing is so cute.  Even in the lousy picture with terrible lighting it looks cute.  Okay the hot pink flowers accented with the black probably contributes to its cuteness, but really, I give alot of credit to the pattern.

This is the View A front with the View B back.  That front sweetheart neckline is so prettily shaped and the construction method is easy and straightforward. 

I made this for Daughter using the size that corresponded to her girth measurement, so it turned out to be a little looser in the chest than ideal since she's pretty tall in proportion to her other measurements.  It's no where near a problem, but I'll probably slim down the next one just a tiny bit.  I thought the leg openings wouldn't fit since the elastic is only a teeny bit shorter than them, but that too was no problem.  Fit perfectly.

I used a swimsuit fabric that was covered in dusty pink flowers (that I never liked) for the lining and I lined the back as well as the front.

All in all, from tracing to final stitch was about 3 hours.  Awesome.

Mother/Daughter Swimsuit Set

I made this Jalie swimsuit pattern a couple of years ago and I found at the time that I had used the wrong size for both Daughter and myself.  Neither suit was unwearable, but both were just a little too short in the torso.  So I decided to revisit it to get the sizing right with a pattern that I'm already familiar with before I launched into the more (to me, anyway) complicated new swimsuit pattern. 

The flowered fabric I got from Fabric.com last year and the purple came from JoAnn's.  I ended up lining mine with what was left of the purple since I personally prefer my swimsuit to be on the heavier side and the cost of the lining fabric is the same as the cost of the fashion fabric.  I also hate sewing that slippery, slinky lining fabric.  Win, win.

At any rate, they both fit perfectly.  And I didn't really intend to make matching swimsuits, it just sort of turned out that way.  I have pink, purple, and orange fabrics for swimsuits.  Daughter chose the purple.  Okay.  I don't look good in pink, and I'm saving the orange for my swimsuit from the new Jalie pattern, which means I ended up with purple, too.  And as you can see, they're not exactly alike.  Well, except the backs are identical.

So, now it's time for the new Jalie swimsuit pattern.  Daughter wants one view and I want the other, so I've got my work cut out for me.  I think I'll make Daughter's first, since she probably needs a second suit more than I do

Summer Sewing Begun at Last!

Here's my first bit of summer sewing: Daughter's new bathing suit. She's tried it on and is super happy with it.

The pattern is Jalie 3134 Racerback Swimsuit from the set of patterns that was put out in October 2011.  I've made it before for both myself and for Daughter, but since I wasn't quite satisfied with the fit either time, I wanted to try it again.  This one is absolutely perfect.  And went together from start to finish in about 3 hours.

Remember, it's important to choose the size from the girth measurement.  Anything else is kind of iffy.

Next up is a swimsuit for me.  I traced out the pattern for my size last night at the same time I traced out Daughter's, so it's just a matter of laying out the fabric, cutting the pieces, and stitching my little heart out.

After that, I have Jalie's new swimsuit pattern to try out.  Daughter wants the View A with the B back.  I want the View B with the A back.  And it'll be nice for us both to have a second suit to wear for a change.

 

Fitted Blouse with North American Smocking

I started working on this shirt on the opening day of the Fitted Blouse Contest on PatternReview.com and I finished on Saturday.  That means it took me 22 days from beginning to end. Not bad.  Not bad at all.  And I am oh, so pleased with the North American Smocking effect on the midriff.

The fabric is a medium wright stretch linen from Fabric.com.  The pattern is Jalie 2322 Women's Shirt.  Essentially, I eliminated all but the horizontal bust dart, and instead used the smocking to shape the waist.  The side seams are slightly curved for added shaping.  I added about 3 inches of length so the shirt would be too short after the smocking ate up its requisite 20%.  And I added a bit of length to the sleeves as well.  I've made this shirt before with the same fabric in reversed colors and I found that it shrank quite a bit with successive washings.  The closures are cap anorak snaps in antique bronze.

I saw this smocking technique for the first time on the Lilacs and Lace blog.  Laura Mae used it to make an evening bag, and I thought it was just amazing.  I was stunned by how beautiful, useful, and simple this technique could be.  I did a small trial sample with a scrap piece of shirting that was lying around.  I intentionally chose stripes so I could see just how the fabric was being manipulated.  Genius.  Absolute genius!  The tutorial for this can be found at Le blog de Gédane in both English and French, but the pictures are pretty self-explanatory.

What I learned from this is that there is an approximate 20% loss in both width and height of the smocked area.  But here's the cool part:  the smocked area is elastic!  Obviously, you don't get the full width or height at maximum stretch, but you get some.  And of course if you pull too hard, you'll snap the stitches that make the whole thing work.  But it still has some mechanical stretch.

What to do with this marvelous discovery?  Obviously, it was time to make a shirt.

I started by cutting the fronts and stitching the horizontal bust darts.  Then I marked the wrong sides with the grid and lines for stitching the smocking.  I left about 1/2 inch unsmocked for the side seam (this pattern uses 1/4 inch seam allowances) and enough room at center front for the front facings.

I actually removed the front self facings.  As you will see, the smocking is going to gather along the center front.  Separate facings were necessary to handle all that gathering.

Here it is partially complete.  It takes a few rows to see the basket weave begin to form, but once it does, it is so exciting.

The front is complete.

Now on to the back.  You can see in this picture how the smocked area appears recessed in relation to the rest of the fabric.

 Inside the shirt you can see the bajillion little hand stitches I took to make this thing work.  I haven't decided what to do with the thread tails yet.  Next time I do this I'm going to secure each fold with a lockstitch.  That'll get rid of all the thread tails and work just as well as long as I leave enough thread between each stitch to allow for the mechanical stretch.  These knots are simple square knots that have then been secured with Aleen's Jewel-It embellishing glue.  It's intended for glueing rhinestones and such to fabric, but I find it just makes a good glue.  I like to use the Aleen's because it's not scratchy at all and has a lot of flexibility.

After all this it was typical shirt assembly.  Had a bit of trouble with the stretch linen in the collar and cuffs, but just the normal stuff you'd expect with a stretch woven.

I like how well the shirt goes with my cargo pants of last year.

The areas of smocking meet at the side seams for a continuous band of smocking all around the waist.

I could've hoped for a slightly better transition between the two pieces at the side seams, but hey! for an experiment I think this is pretty good.

If that bit of extra length in the sleeves doesn't shrink out, I'm going to smock a few basket weave bands on the sleeves, too.  But I'm virtually certain the dreaded shrinking will occur.

North American Smocking -- A Quick Sneak Peek

So, here's a bit of a preview of the Fitted Blouse with North American Smocking.  The fabric is a medium weight stretch linen with woven pinstripes with the opposite color scheme of the fabric pictured -- it's the dark tan with lighter pinstripes.

 The pattern is Jalie's Women's Shirt.  This is truly a great pattern and I wear the linen shirt I made back in the fall all the time.

The significance of this project is that I eliminated all the vertical darts (but kept the horizontal bust dart) and replaced them with a band of North American Smocking, which gives the fabric a basket weave texture.  The technique is surprisingly simple once you know how, but the proper execution takes some practice.  I can tell which of the three pieces I did first, since the longer I worked at it, the better I got at making the folds turn out exactly the way I wanted them to.

Here's a peek at the shirt back smocking. Isn't this absolutely awesome?  Pics of the finished shirt to come.

Quilting Sabbatical -- Cause We Need Some Clothes!

Much as I've been enjoying my quilting journey, I've got to move on for a while and get some clothes made -- before we're all stuck in that famous condition:  I've nothing to wear, dahling!!

Raven in the Window is nearly finished -- I completed the quilting last night so all that's left is the binding.  I'll get you all some pics in the next couple of days.

This weekend, I'm going to try to get some clothes made.  Daughter needs two or three dresses and Youngest Son could use a couple of button down shirts.  I've already got the fabric -- it just needs to be washed, dried, and ironed and it's ready to go.

Daughter already got a new dress this week.  The pattern is my self drafted knit wrap dress.  The fabric a lovely drapey charcoal rayon/cotton interlock with dusty pink roses on it.  A very pretty fabric that works well with the pattern.

I'm going to try and make her another this weekend using this Kaufman jersey.

 And perhaps a second one using one (or more!) of the organic cotton wovens I've gotten in the last few months.

For Youngest Son, I have a yummy royal blue broadcloth that's going to make a handsome shirt that will go nicely with his wool suiting vest.  He likes to be well-dressed, and who can blame him?  Jalie Men's Shirt Pattern will do nicely for that.  I'll have to trace out a new size since I know he's grown alot since the last time I used it.

For me, well I can start on my Jalie Women's shirt for the PR contest as of Saturday.  I think I'm going to use a tan pin striped stretch linen.  Oddly enough, it's the negative of the fabric I used for my last PR contest.  Instead of light tan with darker tan pinstripes, it is the darker tan with light tan pinstripes.

So, wish me luck!  As always, I've got lots of plans, and sometimes I even get it all to work.

Twinkle Toes and Tshirts

Here's the wool socks and the fleece slippers, elegant aren't they?  They both have gotten a workout already.  Daughter wears the slippers every single day.  She's definitely going to need one or two new pair before this New England winter is over.

And Youngest Son's long sleeved tshirts are finally finished, too.  It's so hard to make interesting clothes for boys.  There just isn't that much variation in boys' clothing.  The pattern for all of these is Jalie 2918 Men's Tshirts.  A very nice, well-drafted pattern.  I used a size slightly bigger than his measurements, so a little room to grow.  I like the length on these.  Kid's shirts always seem to be too short for Youngest Son, but this pattern fits fantastic.

All the seams are serged, and the hems, sleeve hems, and necklines have all been coverstitched.  This is the technique I've been using to make t-shirts from time immemorial and I rarely have any trouble with it.  Occasionally one of the children will pull too hard on the hems or neck opening and pop the coverstitching.  It's pretty rare, so I haven't bothered to change the way I do things.  I guess if I really wanted to make them last, I'd put wooly nylon in the loopers.

This one on the left is a chocolate cotton/lycra -- probably from Fabric.com -- with organic cotton ribbing -- definitely from Fabric.com -- for the neckline.









The one on the right is brown organic cotton jersey with conventional organic green cotton jersey for the stripe and organic cotton rib knit for the neckline.




Here we have brown organic cotton ribbing and charcoal conventional cotton ribbing.  The color block seams really wanted to ripple on this one, but a session with my iron settled that rebellion.

The one on the left is a plain gray cotton ribbing.








This one on the right is camel and brown organic cotton jersey with brown organic cotton ribbing.








Not very exciting, I know, but sometimes the sewing just isn't that exciting.  I want to make a few Christmas gifts next, so those should be a little more interesting.

Sewing Fly Front Pants -- Love 'Em or Hate 'Em?

I realized that, over my many years of sewing, I haven't made very many fly front pants.  I don't think it's because I hate them, though.  I hadn't given them enough consideration to feel one way or another about them.

Burda 9860

For boys' pants, I've used  Kwik Sew 3399 to make a pair of trousers for my oldest son.  And I used Burda 9860 right around the same time, about 2006. Sadly, the pictures of these are lost, but the links go to the reviews I wrote for them on PatternReview.com.  The Kwik Sew instructions were excellent and I recall referring back to them when I made the Burda pants.  Logical, since Burdas are famous for their rather, um, sparse, instructions. And it was good that I had those Kwik Sew instructions.  Because without them, I probably ouldn't have realized that the Burda pattern had mysteriously omitted the pattern piece for the zipper shield.

Kwik Sew 3399

 I pulled out that Kwik Sew pattern again, and reread the instructions for installing the fly zipper.  They were just as easy as I remembered them to be.  I didn't have any trouble installing it, and these were my very first ones.  Many people have applauded Kwik Sew's instructions, and I think the reputation is well-deserved.

I've only sewn one pair of Men's fly front pants.  It was a Vogue pattern and I truly did hate that pattern.  All the lines seemed to be off somehow, and nothing about it looked right.  It was years ago and so I doubt that pattern is in print anymore.  And I don't remember it's number, anyway.  But absolutely nothing about the fly front sticks in my mind, so I'm going to assume that there was at least  nothing wrong with it.






Women's fly fronts, now that's a little bit of a different story.  My first women's fly front pants were made from a now out-of-print Kwik Sew pattern way back in 2006.  The pictures of these were also lost but you can read the review of the pattern on PatternReview.com if you're interested. 

More recently, I just made Jalie 2908 Stretch Jeans for the Mini Wardrobe contest on Pattern Review.  Jalie's fly front instructions are a little different from Kwik Sew's.  I remember while I was making them that the instructions seemed ever-so-slightly more complicated, but I found that I really liked the technique.  And the fly didn't stand open when I sat down, which I really liked.  To me, it had just one flaw:  the zipper teeth seemed to be positioned way closer to center front than in RTW.  So there's not much more than a quarter inch of fabric covering the teeth, and I didn't like that.  This may not be the pattern.  As I said, I haven't done that many fly fronts, so it might be operator error.  But I like the way RTW conceals the zipper way underneath the outside fly cover.  I resolved to figure out how to do that.  I figured it couldn't possibly be that hard.

Fast forward a couple of weeks.  This morning it was 12F degrees in our little corner of the world.  Brrrrr.  I decided it was a good day to pull out my wool melton trousers.

It wasn't until I had been wearing them half the day that I realized it had just what I was looking for in a fly front.  I was astonished.  Going back to read the original review, I saw that apparently I wasn't impressed with the instructions for the fly front, but I gotta tell ya, I am definitely impressed with the results.  The pattern is New Look 6709, and yes, I'm sorry, it is yet another OOP.  I've been buying patterns for a looooong time.  And I think I've only thrown, given, or sold away less than a dozen in all those years.

So now that I've spent some time considering the issue, do I hate 'em or love 'em? Hmmmm.  I think I like them enough to really work out a technique that works for me.  And then I suspect I'm going to love 'em.  Because I still wear jeans most days of the week and finding my size has been getting harder lately.  Making my own will solve that problem and give me the satisfaction of making even more of my clothes than I already do.

So what about you?  Fly front pants.  Do you love 'em or hate 'em, even if you don't make 'em?

A Week in Plain Sewing

Sometimes you've just got to bite the bullet and do all that sewing you've been putting off because it's boring.  That was last weekend for me.  Several pairs of thermal pants and many, many t-shirts were at the top of the priority list, so I got out my trusty Jalie patterns, a pile of knit fabrics, and my 45mm rotary cutter and got started.

First I cut out thermal pants using Jalie 2328 Mens Thermal Underwear.  I think this is the very first pattern of Jalie's that I ever bought.  Oddly enough, I vaguely remember not liking it at first, but I can't for the life of me imagine why.  I was probably expecting something unrealistic.

In any event, this pattern gets my unqualified approval, regardless of my first impression (thereby proving that first impressions aren't always accurate, right?).  The tops fit well, the pants are well designed.  If you have men who work outside in the wintertime, and your winter is anything like New England's (or worse!) this is a great pattern to have. 

A really long time ago, I worked in a textile factory making, you guessed it, thermal underwear!  A before that I worked in a factory making, you guessed it again, long-sleeved knit shirts!  Um, so I've sewn pieces like these alot.  Like thousands of times.  So I feel like I'm a good judge of this kind of pattern.

I cut out three pair from some nice cotton thermal knit that I found at JoAnn's a few years ago.  Two of them are sewn and the last is waiting patiently to be assembled.

Assembly time: less than one-half hour.

After those, I started working on long sleeved tees for Youngest Son.  For these I chose Jalie 2918 Men's T-Shirts.  I haven't used this pattern at all yet, so I'm walking into unknown territory.  What I do know is that Jalie has been very reliable over the years, so I have no reason to expect disappointment. 

I started with the size that matched his measurements, but Youngest Son has got rather broad shoulders.  Made with a cotton rib knit, it fits in the chest, sleeve length is good, overall length is good, but the shoulders just don't quite fit.  I don't think it's the pattern though.  I think it's going to be a standard alteration on all patterns for Youngest Son.  This first tee is wearable, but it won't be long before he grows out of it.  I love how forgiving knits can be.

Next pattern tracing: Size up by 2 sizes to accommodate the shoulder broadness. 

Should have at least 3 or 4 of these tees finished by the end of the day.

So that's what I've been up to.  I do get tired of sewing practical items sometimes, but I get alot of satisfaction knowing that a great many pieces of my family's clothing have come from my hands.  That makes it all worth it.

Mini Wardrobe -- Finished Contest Entry Safari Style

So here it is:  My finished contest entry.  Safari style extravaganza!  If you're a PatternReview.com member, you can vote for your favorite mini wardrobe.  Check out all the entries.  So many people have done such a fantastic job.  It was a real pleasure to chat with them on the message board for the whole trip.

The tank top is a modified Kwik Sew 2517.  It would have to be -- that pattern is actually a dress.  I've made this tank top lots of times and I really love it.  For this one, I used the original armhole curve, but I've also modified the pattern to make a racerback tank top as well.

The pants are Jalie 2908 stretch jeans.  For these, I added expanding cargo pockets to the back and thighs and narrowed the pants legs so they'll fit smoothly into my boots.  I love these pants.  I wore them all day yesterday and they are oh-so-comfy.

The button down shirt is Jalie 2322 done in a stretch linen.  Also a comfortable fabric.  I wish I'd bought more than just enough for one shirt.

And the vest is Butterick 5616 made in the same stretch sateen as the pants.  With extra pockets.








I am really loving all of these outfits.  Different shoes give a whole different look to them, too.

First Wardrobe Piece -- Jalie 2322 Women's Button Down Shirt

Okay, so I'm a little slow moving on this wardrobe contest thing.  But I am making progress.  Though, I have to confess, I don't think I'm going to get all four pieces done in time for the contest deadline.  Don't get me wrong, I haven't given up hope.  I still intend to keep working away.  I might be able to make it yet.

I do have the first piece done.  It's Jalie 2322.  I've made this pattern once before and I wear that shirt all the time.  This one is also likely to get a workout, because I really like how it turned out.  It's made with a soft stretch linen with an oh-so-subtle pinstripe.  Comfortable because of the design and the stretch of the fabric.  And Jalies fit me so well without having to do any altering, so I can wear it right out of the envelope. 

I love absolutely everything about this pattern.  Starting with the paper it's printed on.  Heavy white paper that's easy to trace and doesn't tear if you look at it too sternly.  The instructions are printed a little inconveniently, but Jalie solved that problem by making pdfs of the instructions in English and French available on their website.

 I very much like the way Jalie does their darts.  Just three dots and a measurement for how far from the edge you should sew for the center dot.  Somehow, when I do darts everybody else's way, no matter how carefully I try to mark them, I always get the alignment messed up somewhere along the line.  I don't have that problem with this method.

I like the folded over self-facings for the front closure as well.  Much nicer than sewing on a separate piece.  And the three layers give you built-in interfacing, too.

All the  pieces fit together like a dream and even the sleeves went in without a sliver of protest.  The curved hem is flattering as is the very subtle waistline shaping.  The collar has a nice shape, too.  Not to big, not too pointy.  I'm really picky about collar shapes and I'm always grumbling about them as I cut them smaller.  This size of this one is just right for my taste.

The only thing I'm on the fence about is the seam allowances.  I'm used to 1/2 or 5/8 inch seam allowances for woven fabrics, and the 3/8 inch seam allowance on this pattern was a little hard to get used to at first.  After working with it, though, I think I might even prefer the smaller seam allowance.  The collar stand was so easy to attach to the shirt, and it might have been part of the reason the sleeves were so easy to install as well.

I just finished the last buttonhole and button placement this morning and I couldn't wait to wear it.  It goes nicely with my favorite forest green Nautica cargo pants.

As for the rest of the wardrobe, the tank top is also nearly done.  I just have to change the threads on the coverstitch machine and topstitch the bindings around the neckline and the armholes.

Half way there.  Too bad I saved the hard parts for last  :o/

Jalie's Anniversary Contest

  This is a nice, simple contest -- just make a Jalie pattern, review it on PatternReview.com, and link to the review on PR's and Jalie's Facebook pages.  Winner is chosen by random drawing.

I love contests.  And I love Jalie Patterns.  So, who in their right mind could resist this one?

I've made lots of the Jalie's, mostly for myself (because their drafting is almost a perfect fit for my figure) but also for the kids and the men in my family.  As a matter of fact, I've got the Men's Shirt and the Men's Trousers in the queue for upcoming projects.

I've done the Men's Shirt already (I'm really going to have to get the Husband to model it), so I know this one's a winner.

And also the Women's Shirt.  As a matter of fact, I'm using this very pattern for my Mini-Wardrobe right this very minute.

Jalie Racerback Swimsuit.  This is a nice swimsuit.  I made one for Daughter as well, but of course our summer was so busy I think we only went swimming a few times.  Sigh.  Perhaps next year.

The Scoopneck Tee was my favorite for a while.  I made these in all kinds of wool jersey and wore them through the winters.  Nice and cozy.

And of course the Sweetheart Top.  Which I have made in more variations than I could possibly remember.









That's just a few of the Jalie's I've made -- and I haven't even made all of the patterns I have.  I love the Jalie patterns for their girls to misses and boy to men sizing.  And I like that they make some of their OOP patterns available for download.  I've only bought one so far, but they work just like any other downloadable pattern.  And the fit of these patterns, at least for me, is almost perfect.

So, yeah.  I'll put a couple of entries in for the Jalie 30th Anniversary Contest.  Because I could definitely use 5 more Jalie patterns.