Jalie 3462 : Cora leggings

These leggings have no fit adjustments.....Seriously - no adjustments!! They would have to be the best fitting leggings I've ever made and I didn't have to mess around with them at all. I'm in love <3

So, the pattern - it has great seam lines and is perfect for colour blocking. It has a built in pocket that's easily enough to hold an iPhone 6. The waistband is nice and wide and is reinforced with elastic. They have a gusset and the inner seamlines wrap more towards the front so you don't get chaffing from the seams.

I did shorten them, I wear 3/4 leggings in winter and summer so didn't see the point in making them full length. I will be making the shorts later for wearing underneath dresses to banish the dreaded chub-rub.

Pattern details;
Size CC
Shortened by 7-8"

Fabric details;
Front fabric is from Rathdowne - its a Seafolly stretch lycra that was meant to be for swimwear. Its thin but opaque enough you don't get show through.
The back fabric is a black matt lycra from GJ Discount fabrics.

The stretch really does matter in these pants - they have a lot of negative ease and rely on having a 4-way stretch for size and comfort.

I used the lightening bolt stitch on my crotch seams (I'm always terrified of it splitting open at the gym!) and then overlocked all the other seams. I'm trying to get over my coverstitch issues and so used it as decorative stitching on the back seams and for hemming.

 

Not much more to say - there will be many more pairs sewn by me and I am on the lookout for the brightest, craziest lycra I can find!

Jalie 2445: Fleece trackpants

Not very glamorous or very exciting but you cannot beat a comfy warm pair of fleece trackpants when the weather is getting colder. I wore them all day today (excuse the wrinkles and bits of thread all over them!) and they were the ultimate comfy trackie dacks.

I have an old pair of Bonds trackpants that I use for painting now but they are a very similar pant so I copied the pockets from them. They are an inseam pocket with the back fleece and the front a thinner interlock to cut down on bulk and they have the top of the pockets sewn into the waistband.

I should have interfaced the pocket opening because they really started to stretch/stand out out so I unpicked some of the topstitching and threaded through elastic and restitched the ends. It makes them look a bit buckled when lying flat but make them sit nice and flat against my legs when I'm wearing them.

The pattern says to use self fabric for the waistband but again I copied my old Bonds ones and used ribbing, left off the tie and added elastic.

I got the fleece from Lincraft (they had a big fleece sale this week). I've never gotten fleece from there before so I'm not sure how it will wear but I figure fleece is pretty indestructible.

I went up a size or two because the fleece isn't overly stretchy and cut a sz EE. I used my pants block to adjust them, I had to increase the back rise but that was it on the back pattern piece and the front had some added to the sides and the waistband sides raised up too plus I had to scoop out the crotch more. The original fit was exactly the same as my old Bonds ones but they always drove me nuts because of how low they were! They are a pretty wide, straight leg pant not really what I'd class as a yoga pant but maybe if you made them from a stretchier fabric they would be.

The pattern is OOP now, but you can get it as a download from here

Jalie 2908: Shorts

So you may be thinking you have seen these before, same fabric, same notions and pattern! A couple of changes though, wider leg pattern and the waistband. I've had a lot of trouble with my pants waistbands stretching out while wearing and have tried stay tape but that can make the pants a bit too tight to sit in comfortably.

So these pants have elastic in the waistband, very similar to this tutorial by Debbie Cook which she credits back to Sandra Betzina. I changed it slightly by making the pants to fit my waist when I'm sitting down and adding the elastic to fit when I'm standing up. So when I'm wearing them they have a mostly smooth waistband that stretches a couple of inches when I sit down (which is great if your waist measurement changes by about 3" when you sit down like mine does!)

The only elastic I had in a similar width was about 1/2" thinner than the waistband so I'm not sure how it will wash, it might need to be tacked down to stop it rolling. But I can say they fit really nice, snug when standing and comfy when sitting (compared to using stay tape which can dig in a bit sometimes).

I wore them all day today (which is why they were so wrinkly in the pics, sorry!), and while the legs stretched out a lot the waistband stayed fine. I did find that the elastic in the waist did hoick the back up a bit though so I really need to lower the back crotch by a little bit and lower the front waistband by about 1cm next time but I want to wear these around for a while first and see how they go.

My blog is going to be a bit light on the garment sewing for the next month or so, I have a baby quilt I need to sew, finish the Mario QAL quilt, make a Karate belt display quilt (which I still have to think about) and a Xmas quilt before Christmas!! So my poor V8333 jacket and the Colette Macaroon that I've half muslined up is going to have to wait.

Jalie 2908: Blue denim

This is the second time I've made this pattern (first is here).
So, I used my pants block and cut pretty much a sz DD, grading in at the waist. I changed the waistband, making it double the height and curved and used a stretch denim I had in my stash.
They've already stretched out a lot from wearing them for these photos, they went from nearly too tight to falling off me! They really need to be taken in a lot now and they have a lot of bunching/excess fabric on the back of the legs. I haven't had that happen before and I'm not really sure how to fix it, or honestly if I can be bothered to. I know nearly everyone loves this pattern but for whatever reason I've not had a great run with it - I've never worn the first pair I made and I don't know that I'll wear these either unless I get excited and unpick them.....

On the positive side, I really like the construction method especially the waistband and zipper method and I like how they look like a real pair of jeans with the yoke and pocket style.



I used a polkadot stretch poplin for the facings.


The pants block doesn't seem to translate as easily into tight pants, I think if I was going to sew them a lot I'd make another seperate block but I do prefer my wider leg pants which work well with it. A lot of pants sewing seems to come down to the type of material you use and how much stretch is in it which is something I'm still learning how to allow for.