Jalie 3896: Émilie Top

A few quick photos before it snows again!

Background

Jalie 3896 is a square shaped funnel neck top with fitted sleeves. This is a free pattern, available for download from the Jalie website. This is a very quick and technically simple project – with minimal distractions you can download, print, assemble, cut, sew, and finish this top all in one evening!

Jalie patterns include a very wide range of sizes, with a lot of the patterns going from children to plus size. This pattern is also set up with the sizes as layers, so when you print it out you can print ONLY the size(s) you want. I love this feature! You just go to the left sidebar, click on the Layers icon, and then click on the eyes of all the sizes you don’t need. I wish every pattern download had this feature.

For many years now I favored more streamlined looks, with a lot of waist emphasis. I loved knee-length wrap and A-line dresses, bootcut pants with fitted tops that hit just below mid hip length, fitted jackets, etc. After 35 I gained a small amount of weight, but still kept my small waist and flat belly and only had to make minor adjustments in woven clothing styles (basically tracing halfway between my original size and the next size up). In fact I hardly sewed for several years because I was perfectly happy with my wardrobe and saw no need to change things. When you sew your own clothes they last a long time! But right now with pregnancy rapidly changing my body I have to start going in a different direction. My flat belly, defined waist, and modest bust are pretty much gone at this point and out of sheer necessity (rather than personal preference) I’m looking towards slim leg pants and the oversized/boxy shirts, dresses, and jackets that are so popular right now…you know, stuff that is comfortable and will still fit in a month. It feels very strange. I haven’t had to do a wardrobe change this significant since I was about 22 and going from college student to working a full-time white collar professional job.

That being said, while it is fine for casual loungewear I don’t love this look and won’t make it again. I think this would work better on someone smaller busted (never thought I’d say those words) and has a more straight up and down figure. There’s a reason why they picked kids and a very slim woman for their pattern envelope models! But it was very quick to make and in the meantime provides me something to wear for when I go for afternoon walks with my husband (which I am finally physically capable of again, yay!)

Fit

I started with a size W, which corresponds to my current 38″ bust measurement. From here I:

• Added 4″ width to the hip. Even though this is a very roomy style, my thin, clingy knit made me want to err on the side of caution.
• Lengthened 1.5″ at the hem
• Added 1/2″ length to the sleeves. After making it up I saw it wasn’t necessary. The sleeves as drafted are definitely on the long side! Plus I’m still used to sewing my old size where everything was drafted shorter, plus this fabric is stretchier than what the pattern was drafted for so that alone adds some extra length.

I would say if you make this, consider sizing down, especially if you use a stretchier knit.

Materials

The fabric I used was a very lightweight poly sweater knit I purchased back in late 2020 from Fabric Mart Fabrics. I believe I originally bought this to make a wrap dress, but when I got it I felt like it was too lightweight and stretchy for this project. I set it aside, figuring I would eventually find a suitable project. Despite being polyester it is soft and isn’t prone to static (my two major complaints about a lot of polyester knits). It is also surprisingly cozy considering how thin it is.

Construction

I made this entirely on my serger, then followed up with hemming on my coverstitch machine. Everything went together smoothly! Jalie has technical drawings as well as written instructions to guide you along. This is a great project for a beginner.