Sweet Pea Embroidery Designs Jack-o-lantern Pumpkin Trick or Treat Basket

The Jack-o-lantern trick or treat basket from Sweet Pea Embroidery features a “trick” as well as “treat” face, embroidered stem, and embroidered free motion quilting style back and sides. There’s three different sizes: 5×7” hoop, 6×10” hoop, and 7×12” hoop. Since I’m working with an ancient Janome 300e embroidery machine I went with the 5×7” hoop size.

This is the first design I’ve purchased from Sweet Pea Embroidery Designs, and I found it well digitized. Normally I hunt for what I need on Etsy, which is kind of like playing Russian roulette for the home machine embroiderer.

Materials

Most of my materials for this were from Amazon:

The orange fabric for the pumpkin was quilting cotton from my mom’s stash, as was the black cotton for the straps.

The gray dot on black quilting cotton I used for the pumpkin face was a Fabric Mart purchase from 10-15 years ago.

The interfacing for the upper edge of the lining was Profuse Flexible from Wawak.

The batting for the stem was needlepunch from The Green Pepper.

I used an extra-long KAM snap in Spring Green for the stem snap.

For the strap, instead of interfacing I used a scrap of bagmaking foam I had leftover from a previous project.

Construction

The embroidery alone took at least four hours, between getting everything hooped and cutting the applique and doing all of the stitching. I also use my machine on the slowest speed because it is old and I know the thread I’m using isn’t premium quality.

I had an issue with the stem at first, turns out I accidentally did something to the file when I opened it in Ink/Stitch and then some of the satin stitch for the outside of the stem got misaligned. Once I downloaded a fresh copy and put it on my flash card it worked perfectly. Once it was done I found it easiest to throw the stem pieces into a fine mesh lingerie bag into the regular laundry to get rid of the water soluble stabilizer. (I did prewash all of my fabric before starting this project.)

This is the first time I’ve ever done an applique embroidery design. Even while using applique scissors I found it really challenging to do the trimming on the pumpkin face because of the loft from the foam and rigidity of having to work within the hoop, and as a result some of the pumpkin face is messier than I would like. I did try to use HeatnBond Lite for the “trick” (aka scary) pumpkin face and found it did help control the fraying, though I still had an issue getting the trimming close enough in some spots. That being said, this is also my first in the hoop embroidery design and I LOVE how you can get such precise results with far less effort than it would take on an ordinary sewing machine. I just wish I could upgrade to a newer machine with a bigger hoop!

I wanted the strap to have quilting texture like the rest of the bag, so I topstitched 1/8″ rows down the entire strap with Gutermann Mara 100.

The instructions were okay. I wasn’t fond of how they have you do 5/8″ seam allowances. (You trim the pieces 1/2″ away from the stitching line, and then are told to stitch just inside of that, which ends up making it a 5/8″ seam allowance). They should have been only 1/4″ to 3/8″ to make handling things easier. I really didn’t enjoy the part where you had to sew the outer bag pieces together – so stiff and bulky, and fat seam allowances make it even harder to get accuracy.

Not sure what happened but my bag lining ended up being a little bit too big. For a project like this for a kid it doesn’t matter but I would have preferred it to fit a little more snugly.

When it came to edgestitching the upper edge I realized I didn’t have a single spool of orange thread in stock. (I just never sew with orange.) So I ended up switching from my Juki TL-2010Q to my Janome 6500P so I could use the triple straight stitch and regular embroidery thread.

Conclusion

This was certainly a labor of love, but my three year old son LOVES it. He’s obsessed with bags and baskets in general, so to have something like this is really exciting for him. I was afraid it would be too small for him but it is actually a good size for him. We are practicing his “trick or treat” so he’s ready for Halloween!

Jalie 3886 Julia Bralette and Panties

The underbust darts provide a decent amount of shaping

Pattern Background

The Julia bralette has a separate bottom band, underbust darts for shaping, and racerback straps with optional strap adjusters.

The panty has no side seams. Instead the side seams are slanted and shifted forward, giving a crossover look. The back is full coverage and both high and lower rise options are in the envelope.

The pattern also gives the option of a loose fitting camisole top with an integrated bra. I have not tried this version at this point.

Fabric and Notions

The print fabric is a cotton/lycra jersey from Fashion Fabrics Club, cut from the scraps of a Jalie Tina t-shirt. The black cotton/lycra jersey was a recent purchase from Fabric Mart.

The ring used to connect the back straps was a 1/2” metal bra strap ring I found in my stash, purchased years ago from Sew Sassy. The 3/8” bra strap slides were also purchased years ago from Sew Sassy.

The 3/4” fold over elastic is from Wawak. The bottom band elastic was purchased from a seller on Amazon.

Fit and Alterations

I made a size Y for the bralette, easing it into a size W band.

I made a size CC for the panty and added 2.5” of height to the center back, tapering to nothing at the center front. I also added 5/8” with to the back leg curve:

Construction

The top is a bit more involved than the Jalie Barbara, but it is still a pretty quick make. One thing I found a little odd is that the bottom band elastic is sewn at the bottom of the folded edge of the band, so with the 3/4” width it ends up being about halfway instead of being the full height of the band. That being said, it does stay in place pretty well during wear. I found the bottom band elastic was the perfect fit based on my underbust and didn’t need to be snugged up at all, and in fact could have even been a bit looser. Just be careful when sewing the underbust darts because if you don’t taper them enough you’ll get a rather unattractive bump. Definitely recommend using your regular sewing machine with a straight stitch instead of a serger for this part.

The panty leg elastic requires some pinning before sewing because they don’t give a marking chart for where to start stretching it. You just go by feel when pinning it. Make sure you don’t make the zigzag too wide when sewing the fold over elastic to the top of the fabric because otherwise you will get stitching overlap when you sew the back to the front.

Conclusion

I’m much happier with the Jalie Julia than the Jalie Barbara. The underbust dart and separate wider band give more definition and support, and the front gives more coverage than the front of the Barbara. The only thing I would change for next time would be to make it a regular instead of racerback style. This is just personal preference as I find I don’t like the pressure they put on my trapezius muscles.

The panty is honestly the best fitting one I’ve ever sewn. It doesn’t move at all during wear! With the side seam shifted forward it also gives a smoother side seam appearance.

The Julia is overall a much better fit for those with a curvier shape. It isn’t going to give the shaping of a regular bra, but on me it gives better definition and stays in place better than the Barbara and the panty gives full secure coverage without digging in or pinching.

Jalie 4452 Barbara Underwear Set

First version
Second version with wider band elastic
View C

Pattern Background

The Jalie Barbara underwear set is drafted for knits with at least 50% stretch in both directions. The bralette is super basic, with the neck and upper edge finished with fold over elastic that also forms the straps. The panty has four different leg options as well as options for both high waist and lower rise.

Fabric and Notions

I used a cotton/lycra jersey from Fashion Fabrics Club for both version, which were the scraps from some Jalie Tina t-shirts. I used solid cotton/lycra jersey fabrics I had in my stash for the crotch lining and bra lining.

The 3/4” fold over elastic is from Wawak. 3/4” is my favorite width for fold over elastic because it is still fairly narrow while being a bit easier to work with than the more common 5/8” width. I find the Wawak elastic has good recovery and stretch. If you don’t like the shiny side just flip it over and use the matte side like I did.

For stabilizing the straps I used 1/4” clear elastic from Mandala Crafts on Amazon. Be aware that this particular clear elastic is thicker, stronger, and less stretchy and other clear elastics I’ve purchased before.

Fit and Alterations

Bralette

I went with a size Y based on my bust measurement. I cut the elastic per the measurement of my underbust which is waist size W and then stretch it to fit when attaching it to the bra fabric. I suggest doing this if you don’t fall perfectly within the Jalie size chart.

The straps on my first version needed to be 1” longer. I think it is because my clear elastic is less stretchy.

For my second version I used 3/4” wide elastic and added 3/4” to the bottom of the band to account for the wider elastic.

Panty

I made the high waist with the View C leg cut. I started with a CC, which was based on my hip measurement. I initially added 1” to the upper edge of the back, tapering to nothing at the front. It really wasn’t enough. In an effort to balance it I ended up going back and trimmed the waistline down 1” at the center front and 1/2” at the side seam, tapering to nothing at the center back. I should have just added my normal 2.5” of height at the center back to start.

I didn’t realize when I bought this pattern that the legs aren’t finished with elastic. They’re just turned up and hemmed in place. I trimmed away 3/8” from the legs and applied fold over elastic that was cut about an inch shorter than the measured edge of the leg opening. I ended up unpicking it and removed another 3” from the leg elastic length because they kept riding up so badly.

Construction

This is one of the newer Jalie patterns so the instructions were clear with good illustrations. The straps have integrated clear elastic sew into the straps which helps give more support and stability. I do recommend making the elastic just a bit longer and extending it about an inch into the underarm section instead of ending it directly above the fabric, as this will give a little bit more strength to this area.

Conclusion

The Good

It is economical on fabric. I had 1/2 yard left over after making a Tina t-shirt with these fabrics and I was easily able to cut both the bra and panties from it.

I also like how they drafted the crotch lining to be smaller than the crotch piece, for reduced bulk when turning the hem. That’s something I don’t think I’ve seen another pattern designer do before, and I will definitely do this for my next Ottobre hipster panties, or any other panty pattern that has an enclosed elastic rather than fold over elastic finish as I’m not keen on how bulky a double layer makes the crotch once the elastic is turned under.

I think this is a great pattern for those new to sewing underwear and working with fold over elastic. The seaming is minimal and the instructions are clear and lay everything out. It goes together really, really quickly.

The Bad

My complaints are mostly about the fit. Despite the various size models shown wearing it, the bralette is really not the best if you’re above a B cup. The 3/8” bottom band elastic just feels too narrow and I found it odd they didn’t make the bottom band elastic wider for the larger sizes. It ends up riding up during wear. That being said, while the 3/4” wide elastic on my second version helped it still creeps up in the front during the day and almost feels like I’d need to do a 1/4” to 3/8” full bust adjustment to get a better fit.

A lot of the shelf bras out there have some sort of gathering or dart under the bust to help give more definition and this has absolutely nothing. The result is comfortable to wear but gives a more compressed look and tends to creep up a little during wear. I assumed that Jalie did some sort of extra drafting for the larger sizes (even if it is just something like allowing for a wider elastic) and I’m surprised they didn’t for this pattern. But at the same time if they had some sort of underbust shaping it would require adding a separate band of some sort to sew the shaping unit instead of being able to just turn under with elastic. I’m thinking of experimenting with adding some gathering at the side seam with clear elastic. I’ve seen pattern designers do this for t-shirts for fuller busts.

The panty leg cut just doesn’t work well on me. I chose View C which appeared to be the more brief-like cut and it still felt too cheeky. Snugging up the elastic helped but they still ride up unless I’m wearing them under yoga pants. Overall I feel like this drafting is better for someone with a flatter butt. Not even smaller, but just flatter in shape.

Overall I think this pattern is best for rectangular shapes that aren’t very curvy. I don’t necessarily mean slimmer, I mean proportionally a B cup or smaller with a flatter butt and a more rectangular body shape. I also think the fully lined bralette would also make a nice no-fuss swimwear top for girls and preteens as well as smaller busted adult women that don’t like thicker straps.

Style Arc Ash Kids Anorak

French seam inside the hood. Hood edge is a double folded hem (my choice)
Bundled away
Inside of front pocket
Front pocket

Pattern Background

The Ash anorak, available in kids sizes 2-8, is an unlined anorak with a snap front placket and zippered self storage pocket.

Size and Fit

My son is closer to a 2 in width (if not a bit smaller) but 3 in height. I made a 3. I feel like it’s a good fit, especially once I add layers when the weather starts to cool next month.

I made no alterations. Now that he’s out of diapers he doesn’t need the extra hip room.

Fabric and Notions

I used a 100% nylon gingham print raincoating from the outlet section of Gorgeous Fabrics. It was only $9.60 for a two yard piece. You need something lightweight and thin or else the self storage pocket won’t work.

I interfaced the welts for the front placket and front pocket using Heat N Bond fusible tricot interfacing from Wawak. I don’t particularly love this interfacing (the non-fusible side feels so plasticky to me) but it is good for lightweight, stable fabrics that just need a bit of reinforcement.

Snaps are from KAM.

The zipper is a #4.5 handbag zipper from Amazon. It is one of those that come on a roll that you cut to length and then add the zipper pull to.

Construction

Ever work on a project that just seemed to fight you every inch of the way? That was this project for me. I stayed up way too late both nights I worked on it because I refused to be defeated. Ironic, because I specifically chose this pattern over the Jalie Maxime jacket thinking the Style Arc Ash would be a quicker, easier sew. I had spent several hours last weekend fixing my 10 year old Rowena steam generator iron so my available sewing time was less than I had initially planned.

This fabric was awful to work with. Very difficult to mark (and finally the chalk I used ended up being hard to remove), very difficult to fuse anything to, horrible to press, and completely unforgiving when sewing. It reminded me of how I hate working with waterproof/water resistant fabrics. There’s some puckering around where the hood attaches to the body and after carefully unpicking and re-sewing some sections I decided to just let other imperfect sections go. After all, it is an anorak for a three year old, not a wedding dress.

As noted on the Style Arc website, this is an archive pattern so instructions are minimal. This wasn’t a huge issue for me, but I do recommend either printing out the instructions on a color printer or viewing the instructions directly on an electronic device. I printed this out on a black and white laser printer. Which is normally fine, except the illustrations for the zippered pocket in the front were nearly impossible to decipher correctly because the colors in the diagram for the zipper and the welt were so similar when printed out in grayscale.

After too much time spent both trying to transfer the markings, fuse the pocket welt, and get the zipper pull onto the zipper, I realized that I had messed up along the way. When faced with the prospect of unpicking and trying to redo this work I decided it was better to just chuck the front piece and recut the front and pocket welt and try again. (I had plenty of fabric to left over to recut.) Even so, the fabric was just irritating to work with and my welt is still far from perfect because I couldn’t get the nice fine marking lines I needed. (The key to good welt pockets is precision in both marking and sewing.) I spent an embarrassing amount of time trying to get it right and in the end it still isn’t great.

I messed up again when doing the front neck placket. I didn’t sew the hood to the rest of the jacket when I was supposed to, instead realizing my mistake only after I had the front placket done and edges finished with serging and topstitched in place. I realized that the hood would look sloppy when attached to the body if I serged the seam like I did for the inner seams, so I made a self fabric binding, sewed it to the seam, and then topstitched it down. Similar to how you would do the neck binding of a hoodie. Even though it technically isn’t correct and adds some stiffness, I think it looks good and functions well enough.

Of course right after I added the last snap at the top I noticed I had not lined it up correctly when marking, so it’s a bit uneven when snapped. I was so over this project by the time I finished I just sighed and shrugged it off because it’s just a play jacket for a three year old.

I still have some confusion about the cuffs. Even if you turn back a double hem to make a casing for the cuff elastic, it is still far too wide for the 1/4” elastic noted in the supply list. It seems like it should be for 3/8” or even 1/2” elastic, depending on how you chose to sew the casing. (I would probably try 3/8” first because I edgestitched the upper edge of the casing to make things stay in place better when sewing the bottom of the casing.) Not sure if this is a mistake or if this is some sort of design choice but I’m thinking of redoing just this tiny section with wider elastic because I just know that elastic is going to roll and twist, plus the gathering doesn’t sit quite right.

I didn’t have a reversible zipper pull on hand, let alone one that would match my green zipper. So I used one of the normal handbag ones that came with the zipper coil. It makes zipping and unzipping the anorak into its pouch slower and more difficult, but not impossible. I added a self fabric zipper pull to help make it a bit easier. Instead of sewing right sides together then turning it out I folded it like binding and then edgestitched where the folded over edges meet. I should have done this for the pouch loop too, it’s much faster than turning that tiny piece out.

Conclusion

Even though my workmanship on this particular garment isn’t the best and I struggled more than I should have, I do think this is a valuable piece to have in my son’s wardrobe. It is loose fitting enough to wear over a sweatshirt in the fall and the fact that it folds into its own little pouch makes it easy to have on hand in my giant bag for sudden rainstorms. I really how the front pocket is fully functional for storage (he likes to pick up rocks and store them in his pockets when he plays outside) as well as for storing the actual anorak itself. Plus I think he’s really cute in it!

While I struggled more than I should have, I don’t feel there is something innately wrong with this pattern. It was more my inability to mark this fabric with the precision I needed, and the fabric just being rather inflexible and unforgiving.

Some Tips for Knits

Below are some tools and techniques I’ve used over the years for getting more professional results or just making things easier on myself when sewing with knits.

Design Plus Stabilizer Tapes

These are some of my most-used notions for knits.

I hate using clear elastic. I am not sure if it is my machine or just me, but seems like it always wants to wander off in one direction, with the fabric wanting to go in the other. There’s also the fact that I’ve had issues with the longevity (I have had it fall apart when stretched after a few years in my stash.) The superfine straight tape is 3/8” wide and great for stabilizing shoulder seams. It is very very lightweight and thin, with a bit of give to it. Since it is fused to the fabric before sewing it gives you so much more control. There’s also a superfine bias version, but I find the straight is just more useful.

The Ultra Soft double sided tape is also 3/8” wide and awesome for holding seam allowances in place. You first fuse it with the paper against the iron and fusible against the fabric, then carefully peel off the paper, stick the fabric to it with your fingers, and then fuse it again with your iron. The paper makes a great guide when folding over 3/8” hems, like for the Jalie swim shorts. I’ve also used it for folding over and holding the edges of wrap dress skirts in place before stitching. It works well on both natural and synthetic fabrics and is so lightweight won’t affect the stretch much.

Elmer’s Washable School Glue

When I need to hold something in place without using pins, like a pocket flap or patch pocket, I sometimes use tiny bit of Elmer’s Washable School Glue on the seam allowance. It is cheap, easy to find, and will wash out when you launder your garment. Just make sure to be careful to use a tiny amount because otherwise it will soak through the fabric and make a mess. Sometimes using a paint brush can help control the application.

I’ve also used glue sticks. I find they don’t give quite the precision of the tip of a bottle of glue, but they dry a lot faster.

Press Hem Allowances Before Sewing Seams

Pattern instructions will tell you to press hem allowances in place after sewing the seam. I often press them in place before. I don’t actually stitch the hem yet, I just press up the hem allowance and then proceed with sewing the seam. After sew the seam I will sometimes give a little touch up again to the folded edge with the iron before hemming. I like doing this because it’s often easier and faster to work with a flat piece of fabric instead of turning up, measuring, and pressing it in the round after it’s sewn. Spraying Best Press while turning up and pressing the hem often helps the fold stay crisp.

Hem From the Inside

You do not need a machine with a free arm if you’re hemming small openings, like those on leggings and children’s shirts. I just turn the garment inside out and then work from the inside.

For very tiny openings like the sleeves on baby clothes, turn up the allowance and hem it before stitching the seam. Then take it to your regular sewing machine and tack the seam allowance in place with a straight stitch for about half an inch. They do this all the time with RTW – just check out a bound neckline edge around the shoulder seam sometime.

Taming Knit Edges that Like to Roll

When working with cotton/lycra jerseys and other knits that like to roll, I often use Best Press. Just lightly mist and then apply dry heat with your iron. In addition to helping the edges stay flat it also has the advantage of making sure any pressed edges stay crisp, and also gives a little body for extra stability during cover stitching.

Use a Regular Sewing Machine for Tricky Parts Before Serging

I do this a lot for things that require a lot of precision, like attaching the band to a V neckline at the center front, or making sure the edges stay lined up when sewing a seam that has been hemmed first. I don’t do the entire seam, just the first inch or so of those very specific sections. You can see below how I stitched an inch or so with darker thread outside of the V on my latest Jalie Tina before using the serger. If I had just done it with the serger it would have almost certainly shifted and I wouldn’t have gotten a nicely centered and crisp V shape. I just use a regular length stitch and not a long basting stitch because sometimes (like below) I don’t quite hit the seam allowance accurately during serging.

Awls

Awls are great to have in the sewing room. I use mine all the time for feeding a strip of binding into a binding attachment, pulling the threads to the front before cutting when ending a coverstitch in the round, or manipulating fabric under a serger presser foot. I also find them useful for things like lining up the center front seam of a V neckline band with the center front of the shirt because they’re sturdier and easier to hold than a pin, but will still poke through the fabric enough so you can see what you’re doing.

Compensating Feet

I find I get a much better finish when I sew down neckline bands with a 1/8” compensating foot on my Juki than I do with a guide foot on my regular machine. Compensating feet have a spring and one section of the foot higher than the other, so I find it stays in place better than a guide foot.

The only downside is that I’m not sure compensating feet are available for domestic machines.

Clear Feet and the Adjustable Seam Guide

I’ve been significantly happier with the results from my Janome Coverpro 2000CPX since switching from the standard metal to clear foot with guide and using the adjustable seam guide. If I remember correctly the clear foot with the guide was about the same price as the regular clear foot without the guide. The guide is removable so there’s really no advantage to the regular clear foot. Just leave off the guide during ordinary hemming and put it back on when you want the guide for something like topstitching a sweatshirt neck band in place.