Jalie 4239: Zip Front Hoodie

I was interested in making myself a relaxed fitting zip front hoodie with pockets that would be more suitable for layering than my beloved Ottobre hoodie.

Background

This is a zip front hoodie in two lengths: hip and mid thigh. There is a front waist seam with front angled pockets. Ribbing is used for the cuffs and hem band.

Materials

I used a 100% cotton 230 gsm weight red sweatshirt fleece from Nature’s Fabrics I got on sale sometime during the last few months. It was wonderful to sew and is wonderful to wear!

The ribbing is a 230 gsm weight ribbing from Frollein S. Unfortunately she shut down her fabric store right after my purchase, which is too bad because I had just discovered the store and she had such wonderful stuff!

The zipper is a #5 molded plastic YKK zipper from WAWAK. I used these zipper stops from a kit I got from Amazon to shorten it.

Fit/Alterations

As usual per Jalie the sizing is pretty inclusive and goes from 2T to 2X (womens size 24). Per my measurements I cut a size Y (40” bust) for the top and tapered out to a BB (47” hip) for the bottom. I would say it is a more relaxed fit but not baggy. In my photo I’m layering a slim fitted tee under a long sleeve fitted merino wool top under it, and it feels like it has the perfect amount of ease for this.

My waist is a size W (31.5”) so just for the back I tapered to the size W cutting line, just for a tiny bit of extra shaping.

I feel like the sleeves run a bit short for Jalie and added an inch to the length. I also added 3/4” with to the sleeves at the bicep/elbow (pretty normal for me no matter what the pattern brand).

It was tricky figuring out how to add the extra with at the hem for the front, so below are my altered pieces in case if you also need to alter from waist to hip and having a hard time envisioning what to do. I went from a Y at the waist seam to a BB at the bottom of the hem.

Here’s the lower front once altered. The right shows the original Y cutting line drawn in, tapering out to BB.

This is the front inset panel. Again, the right side shows the original Y cutting line drawn in. (The left is just me drawing in the stitching line when trying to figure out how to add the extra amount.)

Here’s the pocket piece. You can once again see the original cutting line drawn on the right. The pocket piece is actually the same for all adult sizes, but since I was going between sizes I needed to add extra room on the right. (Once worn I also found the pocket piece too narrow for my taste, so for next time I widened it 2”, that’s the middle alteration. That’s what is going on in the middle of the piece.

Construction

As usual with the newer Jalie patterns, I found the instructions were excellent (and I believe a video tutorial is also on their website). The hardest part is probably Step 10, getting the inset lined up with the lower front (since the pockets are tacked together at the very top and very bottom of the slash.)

I think in the future I would consider adding in a zipper to the front pockets, just for some extra security while at the playground.

I found the finishing where the hood attaches to the zipper very neatly done.

I do recommend tracing piece C1/C2 lower front and lower back) twice. One to attach to the upper back piece, and one so you can avoid having to take the extra step to cut the piece off indicated by the instructions in Step 5 after cutting the entire hoodie. Just eliminates more room for error.

Conclusion

A great hoodie pattern, especially for layering! It is perfect for my casual stay at home mom to a toddler life. I do recommend checking the width of the front pockets though because they seem on the narrow side, and while they work fine for hand warming I would like the ability to more securely store my keys, phone, etc when out and about. As you can see below there’s plenty of room to extend the width towards the center front.

Ottobre 1/2024 #2: Velour Bear Hoodie and #3: Velour Pants

This was unfortunately the best photo I could get of him wearing the set…he’s not the most cooperative child and would not stand still while facing me.

I have been wanting to make this for my son since I first saw it when the issue came out nearly two years ago. About two months ago I finally got around to it.

Pattern Background

The velour hoodie has a half zip front with a bear face applique. The bear has little ear and paw pieces that are sewn in. Sizes are European 62-92.

The slim leg pants have an elastic waist and front pockets. They come in sizes 62-92. Velour is recommended for them as well, though I think they’d be great out of a jeggings denim or stretchy French terry.

My son is currently a 92 so this fall was my last chance to make it before he grew out of it forever!

Fit/Alterations

For the hoodie I added a total of 2” width to the bottom at the hem. For the pants I added 1/2” to the center back crotch curve at the top. These alterations are mostly because he wears cloth diapers and needs extra room there.

Materials

I used cotton velour knits from Nature’s Fabrics for the hoodie, bear face, and both pairs of pants. For the face and lining of the ears and paws I used single knit cotton jersey, also from Nature’s Fabrics. I’m not entirely sure where I got the ribbing for the cuffs, hem band, and hood binding…it was probably also from Nature’s Fabrics but Fabric Mart is another possibility.

For the applique stitching I used Simthread embroidery thread from Amazon. If you buy this thread, make sure you check off the coupon to save yourself $7!

The zipper is a #3 molded plastic YKK zipper from WAWAK.

Construction

I have almost no experience with applique, and found the bear face finicky and time-consuming. Ottobre has you iron fusible knit backing to a piece of single knit and then cut out the eye, eyebrows, and mouth/nose pieces from that. I also added an iron-on tear-away stabilizer to the back of the brown bear head before doing the applique. The pieces are extremely tiny and very tricky to place and stitch, especially since velour isn’t the easiest fabric to transfer markings to nor to applique. My applique work is not perfect (as I mentioned before I have pretty much no experience with applique and velour can be tricky for fine work) but hey, it’s for a kid that will outgrow it sooner rather than later.

The good news is that once you’ve done the face applique and little ears and paws, the hardest part of the hoodie is over. I did find the instructions for the zipper a little confusing, but basically you take a piece of velour, fold it over, and place the raw edge at the bottom of the zipper and the folded section facing up towards the zipper pull. This is what it looks like when finished:

The pants are super simple. I did most of it on my sewing machine, just using the serger to finish the edges and to attach the waistband. Before sewing the waistband in place I ran a three step zigzag along the inside upper edge to make sure the elastic wouldn’t roll during washing:

Conclusion

My son has gotten a lot of wear out of both his hoodie and pants. Velour is great for hoodies and pants – it is breathable, durable, easy to wash, and very easy to layer due to the smooth backing.

Jalie 3675: Charlie Bomber Jacket

One of my favorite projects for my son this fall.

Pattern Background

Jalie 3675 is a simple unlined bomber jacket meant for stable knits or stretch wovens. It has a zip front opening, front welt pockets, and a little fabric tab where the hem band meets the zipper. It comes in sizes 2T (21″ chest, European 92) all the way to European size 52 (50″ bust). I was looking to make a fall jacket for my two year old son now that temperatures around here have officially left summer territory, and thought it was a perfect fit for the fabric I had recently purchased. Normally I love using Ottobre patterns for my son’s wardrobe, but with the tariff chaos they aren’t currently shipping to the US so I had to look elsewhere.

Materials

The main fabric is a quilted poly/cotton/lycra blend quilted knit from Jumping June Textiles. As soon as I saw this online I had to get it. It is definitely one of the most expensive fabrics I’ve purchased, but since toddler clothing has minimal yardage requirements it made the purchase less painful. I also have enough left over for a vest or colorblocked future jacket for him.

If you purchase this knit make sure to serge or bind the edges because it loves to shed.

The rib is a coordinating heavy rib knit, also from Jumping June Textiles.

The zipper is a navy blue #3 molded plastic zipper from WAWAK. I needed to shorten it to 12″ and didn’t have any #3 zipper stops in stock, so I borrowed a couple of stops from an old zipper in my stash.

The thread is Gutermann Mara 70. Normally I prefer Mara 100 or 120 weight for garments, but I couldn’t really find a good thread match for this fabric (it is like a saturated mustard color with orange/brown tones in it) and already had this in my stash, so I decided to just go with it. Luckily the thick knit was able to hold up to the heavier weight thread (and the topstitching does look nicer due to the loft of the fabric).

Fit/Alterations

My son is currently a size 92 in Ottobre. I hardly ever buy RTW clothes for him anymore, but when I do it seems right now he’s typically closer to a 3T than a 2T. Even though size 92 in Ottobre fits him pretty generously I decided to size up to the 3T in this pattern (Euro size 98) because I wanted him to be able to easily layer and hopefully get a year of use out of it. You can see it is a bit big on him right now but not overly so.

Since I wanted to easily layer this over some of his sweatshirts I removed some of the shaping from the sleeve, turning it into a straight line from the armpit to the hem instead of curving in around the elbow slightly as drafted. I’m not sure this was actually necessary but hey, the room is there if we need it. I also added a total of 2″ to the hem width because my son wears cloth diapers and that often means shirt hems too snug and tend to ride up.

Construction

This is one of the newer Jalie patterns. The instructions are very clear compared to some of their older patterns. I hadn’t done a single welt pocket in a while and had no problem following Jalie’s instructions (which include illustrations for each step as well as written instructions in both English and French). There’s also a video tutorial on the website. IMO Jalie has put a lot of effort into making their patterns more accessible in both expanded size offerings and more thorough instructions. I am not super dependent on instructions but as I spend most of my days sleep deprived and/or distracted by toddler antics I appreciate the extra hand holding.

I did use a narrow, dense zigzag stitch to reinforce the pocket openings. This wasn’t in the Jalie instructions but Ottobre often recommends it.

Conclusion

This is a great jacket pattern for the whole family. Instructions are clear and the drafting is well done. He wore it for the first time today when we went to see Grandma and Grandpa and refused to take it off the entire time we were there!

The Green Pepper 557: Infant, Toddler, and Youth Snuggle Booties

Pattern Background

The Green Pepper 557 is a pattern for lined booties/slippers for babies, toddlers, and older children. 1/8” elastic shock cord and a spring cord lock ensure they stay snug on feet.

This pattern is available as both a paper pattern and PDF download from The Green Pepper’s website. Since I wanted to make this in a hurry I used the PDF version. (I don’t mind downloads when they’re for small projects such as this one.)

Pattern Sizing

This will fit babies through children’s size 6 shoe. There’s a graphic within the pattern sheet you measure you child’s foot against. My son measured just above the largest infant size (approximately 18-24 months) but below the smallest toddler size. Due to the fabrics I used (a heavier corduroy and a heavy cotton sherpa fleece) I ended up sizing up to toddler size 7. If I had used a lightweight fleece and thin exterior fabric the largest infant size probably would have worked.

Materials

My goal with this pattern was to create a warm, washable indoor winter slipper of natural, breathable fabrics. It seems difficult to find slippers for little ones that don’t use polyester fleece. It was mandatory that they stay on securely, but I didn’t want a Velcro closure because I find it’s too easy for him to undo and gets messy over time. It was also important to that they have a very grippy sole because my son runs around full speed on hardwood and LVP floors.

For the main fabric I used a sturdy 100% corduroy from Fabric Mart.

For the lining I used a heavy 100% cotton sherpa fleece from Nature’s Fabrics.

For the soles I used Dritz anti-skid gripper fabric. (FYI – one package of this fabric is enough for three toddler size bootie soles.) I wanted to add some extra durability so I fused some low loft fusible fleece to the wrong side of the gripper fabric to help reinforce it and give a little more padding. I didn’t go with a higher loft because I felt like the thick fleece lining combined with a higher loft fleece might make things too unstable when he’s running at top speed.

I didn’t have any 1/2” grosgrain ribbon in stock to create the elastic casing, so I subbed in 5/8” satin ribbon from my stash.

The cord lock is from Amazon. The 1/8” elastic shock cord is from WAWAK. I highly suggested using an elasticized cord instead of a regular non-stretch cording in order to make them quicker to get in and off.

Construction

The instructions included with the pattern are clear and straightforward, and include illustrations as well as text. You make this entirely on a sewing machine (no serger needed). My only struggle was sewing the Sherpa fleece lining because the bulk and loft of the pile made it difficult to see the edge of the fabric. If I had used a micro fleece as suggested in the instructions it would have been much easier, especially when it came time to attach the lining to the main fabric of the shoe.

I did find the elastic measurement for the bootie too long by about 3” or so. I think the instructions assume you will be using a cord lock with one hole, not two, so they have you loop off some and tie it into a knot. My cord stops have two holes so I didn’t need to do this.

Conclusion

My son was so excited when he saw his new slippers! (He always gets excited when he sees a new piece of clothing I’ve made for him, somehow he knows it’s made just for him so I guess it makes him feel very special.) He immediately insisted on wearing them and started running and stomping around the house with them. I’m pleased to report the gripper fabric works really well. He had no issues whatsoever with slipping despite all of his running around. Despite it being a warmer fall day he insisted on wearing them for hours! I plan on making another pair for him to keep in my diaper bag for when we go visiting other people’s homes in the winter.

This is a great pattern for baby showers and Christmas gifts because as I mentioned before, it seems like most commercial booties/slippers for babies and small children use polyester fleece for the lining. With this pattern you can make something much more special than what you would find in a store.

Ottobre 3/2012 #2 (Infant/Toddler Sleeveless Shirt) and Ottobre 3/2023 #5 (Infant/Toddler Bermuda Shorts)

Hello summer!

Background

Ottobre 3/2012 #2 is a sleeveless knit shirt with a neckline and armholes finished with rib knit. Two snaps at the left shoulder help with dressing. It is drafted for sizes 50-86.

Ottobre 3/2023 #5 knit shorts are hemmed just below the knee, with a hem finished with rib knit. The side seam has a decorative stripe made out of rib knit. The waist is elastic, with a decorative drawstring at the center front. It is drafted for sizes 62-98.

Materials

For the top I used a cotton/lycra jersey from Nature’s Fabrics. I had it leftover from another project and it was just enough to squeeze this shirt out of it.

The shorts were made out of a cotton velour, also from Nature’s Fabrics. I really liked using this fabric for his shorts. It is durable, soft, and washes well.

The snaps are from KAM Snaps. The rib knit is from Fabric Mart. The grommets for the drawstring (not shown) are #00 metal grommets from WAWAK. The 3/8” wide cotton drawstring tape is from Amazon. The 1” elastic for the shorts waist is also from Amazon.

Fit

I used a size 86 for both shirt and pants.

For the shirt I added about 2” width to the hem at the hip. My son wears cloth diapers and I find that adding some width helps it not ride up as much over the bulk.

For the shorts I added 1/2” height to the center back seam.

Construction

I found I needed to mark where the binding went at the bottom of the armholes of the shirt, because otherwise it is hard to see exactly where the bottom of the armhole is when you’re binding it and you may end up halfway down the side seam! Otherwise it was a straightforward process constructing the shirt.

For the shorts, a Clover bias tape maker to make the binding for the side seams made the process go much easier. No having to manually turn under the edges, just run it through the tape maker and then sew it onto the front before stitching the side seams together.

For both projects I used a 5/8” finished width single fold binder for my cover stitch machine to attach the ribbing to the fabric. I found the velour was too fussy when it came time to stitch the elastic casing for the waist with my cover stitch machine (so many skipped stitches) so I ended up using a zigzag stitch on my regular sewing machine for that.