Category: Early Fall sewing

Wardrobe Staple: Knit Tops

I have been working on different wardrobe pieces recently (mostly will a Fall/Winter theme). I realized I needed to, and wanted to, improve my look and style but without changing who I am or what I like to wear. Since I’m at home during the day, I don’t need fancy clothes or the typical work wardrobe. But, I also realized that my usual outfit of jeans and T-shirts (or shorts and T-shirts during the summer) needed some serious updating. So, I decided to sew myself a few pieces to begin. In this blog post I’ll discuss the  two patterns I used for these tops: 1) Vogue 9205 and 2) Patterns for Pirates Women’s Henley PDF.

 

I have a substantial fabric stash that includes a lot of knits, so I was happy to give these patterns a try. The Vogue pattern is basically a classic that includes darts at the neckline and topstitching.

 

 

 

V9205

 

One of the things that I really like about this shirt is the length. It can be tucked in (although made to worn out) but it provides good coverage.

V9205

V9205

As you can see, there are sleeve options with this shirt which is great as I’m trying to prepare some items for Fall weather.

The henley top (it’s a PDF from Patterns for Pirates) I didn’t have but purchased when I saw it. I’ve been looking for a henley-style T-shirt pattern for a while and never found anything that was even close. I came across this pattern (thank you Google) when I threw out some I had for years that were worn so often the edges were all worn out.

Patterns for Pirates Henley - gray

 

 

Patterns for Pirates Henley

The gray was made with a light-weight cotton knit while the others are all ponte knits. I added snaps on the gray shirt but kind of wish I hadn’t. I love the snaps, but I forgot how time-consuming it can be to add snaps when you haven’t done them in a long time. It took me almost as long to get then on as it did for me to actually make the shirt. The placement could have been better also, but so it goes. The blue top has buttons!

This pattern is terrific though. It has sleeve and hem variations as well as a hood and banded waist. This is definitely one that I’ll be making more of.

That’s all for now. I would recommend both of these patterns to anyone out there. They are both terrific!

 

Jalie #3461 Pull-on Jeans!

So, when I saw people raving about this pattern and these jeans, I knew I would have to give them a try. It’s been around 90 degrees here, so making jeans has not been a high priority for me. But now that I feel that Fall is coming, I wanted to get these done. And I am SO glad I did.

I have to say, these jeans are as great as everyone has said they are!


They are very comfortable and are just like jeans, but pull-on. 



I used a stretch twill for these. I used this pair as a wearable muslin since I didn’t know how they would fit. While the pictures look like they are really pulling in the front, they don’t feel that way. You must make sure to use a fabric with the correct amount of stretch as the pattern tells you. I used the measurements on the envelope to determine my size and that’s what I made. I needed less adjustments with these than with regular jeans patterns. The only thing I did was to slightly pull in the elastic in the back in order to eliminate any back gap I might have (as is the case with regular jeans).


While there are no actual front pockets, the back pockets are real. 

This is a pattern I can see making again. I’d like to find a patterned stretch twill or denim for the next pair.