You know by now that I’m a Jalie fan. It all began with my first pair of Eleonore’s that I whipped up in a hurry to go with a top I needed to photograph. Those fit so well and sewing went so smoothly that it was love at first sight.
Fast forward a bit, and I’ve sewn all variety of Jalie patterns – leotards, accessories, blouses, and a cardigan. So when Natasha of Auschick and Stephanie of The Petite Sewist began organizing a pattern tour featuring Jalie patterns, I knew I wanted to join.
The tour is all about basics, so I figured why not start at the beginning and make a pair of Eleonore’s for my older daughter, Arden. The Eleonore’s cover girl’s and women’s sizes 2 through 22.
I’ve been meaning to make them for her for a while now, and even had some bright pink stretch denim in mind for them. With my studio currently crammed into our tiny one-car garage, I wasn’t able to dig out that fabric. Instead, I found this great moss green brushed stretch twill from Cali Fabrics that I had leftover from a pair of pants I made for myself. I literally used every available inch of my remnant – phew! This color is out of stock, but a dark brown is available.
The top is a slightly modified Jalie classic – #3245 raglan shirts and racerback tank. It’s so vintage it doesn’t even have a name to accompany the pattern number! This pattern is for girls 12M through women size 22. It features a basic raglan or racerback in top or tunic lengths. The raglan comes with half sleeves, but I lengthened this to long sleeves for Arden so she can wear this now.
For the pants I took the opportunity to get a pair of great fitting pull on jeans for Arden, who we affectionately call “Baby Giraffe”. She’s a size 7 through the hips, but a 12 inseam. I used the layers function to print both K and P sizes and then lengthened the legs to the P. The silhouette tapers to the knee and then straightens through the hem, so I moved the knee point down to the P.
I could have accomplished the same thing by slashing and spreading above and below the marked knee, but I think the first way was quicker. As it turns out I could have gone an inch or so shorter, but for the first time in a while Arden has pants that aren’t awkward crops. Now that I have her custom size worked out, I can crank out several pairs for her – truly the definition of a basic!
I am planning to do some hand embroidery on the pockets – maybe I’ll pick up the design of one of the flowers from the shirt.
The fabric for the top is from Jumping June Textiles and it is amazing. The designer is Ernst Textil, but sadly this is out of stock. It worked perfectly with the green in the pants (kinda glad I couldn’t find that pink now!) and the graphics are gorgeous. Arden does have very square shoulders, so next time I’ll make a little adjustment to give those a little more space. I used the length from the P size blended with her K width so it’s long enough through the torso for her.
I braved the garage and pulled out my coverstitch for the hems on the shirt. This look is accomplished by sewing two passes to get the reverse coverstitch you see and also the functional cover of the hem inside.
Arden is feeling her zen and connection to the Earth with her nature-inspired Jalie basics!
There’s more to the tour than all of us sharing our awesome basics – but be sure to check all of the posts to see the great variety being shared:
Wednesday, Feb 6 – The Petite Sewist | auschick sews | Replicate then Deviate | Deepika Blogs
Thursday, Feb 7 – Sew What Yvette | Sew Cucio | Shalini’s Sewing Space | Curtiepie | A Jennuine Life
Friday, Feb 8 – SeamsLikeStyle | It’s Liesel | SewSophieLynn | Danvillegirl Sewing Diary | Skirt Fixation
Monday, Feb 11 – The Crafting Fiend | Sprouting JubeJube | its sew colorful | Diskordia’s Curvy Sewing
Tuesday, Feb 12 – All Things Katy! | BigFlyNotions | needle and the belle | Zoopolis
The real kicker for this tour is the…
GIVEAWAY!
Are there some Jalie patterns you’ve been itching to get? Now’s your chance to WIN YOUR JALIE WISHLIST! Head over to Jalie’s website, create an account, add your favorite patterns to your wishlist, and complete the rafflecopter form below (patterns must be added by February 12, 2019 11:59pm EST to be eligible). Incomplete entries will be eligible for fabric prizes only.
For extra entries, join our Jalie sewalong! Make a Jalie “basic” between January 28 and February 12 and share it on Instagram with hashtag #basicallyjalie and/or in the Basically Jalie Album in the Sewing with Jalie Facebook group.
We are so grateful to our generous sponsors who have teamed up to provide the following prizes:
Grand Prize (Worldwide)
Win Your Jalie Wishlist – Up to $100 CAD in patterns!
Discovery Trekking Outfitters – One (1) x 50 USD gift card
D&H Fabrics co. – One (1) x $50 USD gift card
Sewalong Prize (Continental USA only)
Win Your Jalie Wishlist – Up to $25 CAD in patterns!
The Sewciety – One (1) Subscription box (value: $48 USD)
Simply By Ti – One (1) x $20 USD gift card
Sewalong Prize (Worldwide, excluding Continental USA)
Win Your Jalie Wishlist – Up to $25 CAD in patterns!
PatternReview.com – One (1) x $30 USD gift card
Discovery Trekking Outfitters – One (1) x 50 USD gift card
(Note: gift cards exclude shipping unless otherwise stated on sponsor website)
OH MY GOSH!!! ADORABLE! I have the raglan pattern (but haven’t made it yet) but not the Eleonore. My mother in law has the Eleonore pattern and made the best looking stretch denim pull on pants ever. I feel far too intimidated to do it. Your makes are awesome.
Eleonore’s are such a great “first time” jean-style pant. The fly is fake, and even the front pockets are faux unless you use the free pocket template. I fully intended to make front pockets for these per Arden’s request, but I literally didn’t have enough of the twill to do it.
This top is beautiful and those pants!!! They must be so soft and cozy. My daughter has finally started agreeing that she likes wearing her eleonors, so I need to go and batch out a bunch for her too before she grows out of the pattern size I’ve traced!
Oh, and I love the coverstitching! I never considered doing it this way – usually when I do reverse, I just have the 2 or 3 rows of stitching on the back, but that’s a good idea to overlap them.
I love a good pull on pant that looks like real pants haha! And I like how you did the reverse coverstitch, really ingenious.
Wow, I really love the fabrics you used!!
Loved reading your post! This outfit has me getting nostalgic from when I interned at a Botanic Garden. Thanks for participating in the tour!
Love this outfit so much! I would totally wear it! Great fit with those pants!
Love this whole outfit, lucky lady!
Great to see how versatile the 3245 pattern is. Totally different from what I sewed up for this tour. Pants always scare me a little, but yours look awesome!
she looks great!
I’m dying over that top fabric- beautiful choice! And I think you’ve convinced me that I NEED the Eleonore’s for my girls too. Such a cute outfit!
Congratulations from all of the gals at Discovery Trekking Outfitters specialty fabrics! My “littles” now work for me…I miss the days of sewing for girls. (still sew for them as adults of course!) Love your creations! Leslie
What a great outfit! Arden looks very happy in it
Very cute outfit!
Great pattern. suits really well to her. the fabric you used is also amazing.. good job!
Lovely outfit. I can’t wait to make some Eleanor’s for my daughters and myself.
gorgeous outfit! love the green and the floral!