Toddler Jeans

Pattern Overview

Ottobre 4/2022 #1 is a hoodie with raglan sleeves with darts, a front kangaroo pocket, and a close fitting hood with darts. The edge of the hood is finished with ribbing. Ribbing is also used for the cuffs and hem band.

Ottobre 1/2020 #6 is a baby jeans pattern. The edges of the front patch pockets are finished with self fabric bias binding. The waist is encased elastic, so these just pull on.

Fit and Alterations

I made both of these in size 86. When I measured him last month he was 32” tall and 25 pounds. Size 80 is perfect on him right now, but since I’m hoping to use them again in the fall I decided to size up.

I kept the hoodie as is; for the jeans I added knee patches. Up until recently he was a knee walker (and he would ONLY walk on his knees) and as a result half of the pants I made him last fall have holes in the knees now. Now he walks great (on his feet!) but he still does some knee walking and is often on his knees when playing outside, so I’m hoping the patches will help prolong the life of these jeans.

Materials

For the hoodie I used a rayon/lycra French terry purchased years ago from Gorgeous Fabrics. I had originally used this for my first version of my Jalie yoga pants, but unfortunately they haven’t held up well. The fabric is coming apart at some of the seams. I am not sure what’s wrong with it, maybe it’s just old and can’t handle the stress of tightly fitted yoga pants! But it’s perfect for this hoodie since it is so soft and won’t be stretched all the time.

For the hood binding, cuffs, and hem band I used a cotton rib knit from Nature’s Fabrics.

For the jeans I used a lightweight denim from my stash. I have no idea where or when I acquired it. It has a soft, lightweight drape (actually would make a great shirt fabric). The only downside is that the fabric is too soft to hold a rolled up cuff.

Construction

Both of these were pretty straightforward and went together quickly. I will say that for the jeans they have you sew the waistband to the inside first, run the elastic through, then fold the seam allowances over and topstitch in place from the outside. It sounds simple but the elastic makes it fiddly and it was by far the most consuming part of the jeans construction. I would consider just attaching it to the outside first, then topstitch in place from the outside, without folding under the inside seam allowances.

Conclusion

This is a great play outfit for active toddlers!

I use the hoodie all the time now for when we are going out and it’s too warm for his coat but he still needs an additional layer. It fits well over a shirt. I do plan on making him a regular zip hoodie soon but for now this works.

The jeans are working out well too. They’re more durable than his usual sweatpants for playing outside on the ground and being jeans, they go with any shirt in his wardrobe. I would absolutely make the jeans again, but in a stiffer fabric so the rolled up cuff holds better.

Ottobre 5/2012 #13: Women’s T-Shirt

Background

This fitted women’s t-shirt from Ottobre features a gathered scoop neckline and long sleeves. The fit is slightly looser than the other two t-shirt tops in this issue due to the front gathering adding extra ease. It comes in sizes 34-52.

Materials

I used a lightweight, stretchy rayon/lycra jersey purchased a few years ago from Gorgeous Fabrics.

For the neckline gathering I used 1/4” clear elastic I found in my stash.

Fit

I cut a size 44. This was the first of the trio I made. I added about 4” to the hips. After making it I discovered the front upper chest was rather wide, so I narrowed it on subsequent versions.

I also found the length of both the body and sleeves really long. The sleeves were very tight around the elbows. When I went to hem the sleeves I accidentally hemmed the same sleeve twice, which is why I ended up with three quarter length sleeves!

Construction

To gather the neckline you use clear elastic. I actually hate using clear elastic; the ultra thin 1/4” width elastic stretches into a skinny rope that’s almost impossible to stitch and the texture is sticky. I do have a heavier and wider elastic but it was packed away somewhere and I couldn’t find it at the time. (STILL haven’t finished unpacking after over a year!) once you gather the neckline though the rest of the shirt goes together quickly.

The neckline binding length is left up to you; I cut it 85% the length of the measured neckline and that seemed to work well for keeping it stable and snug.

Conclusion

Not sure if I would make this one again. I prefer the snugger fit of the other two tops in this issue. I do think it would make a nice shell for under a blazer though (if I ever wear one again!)

Another Ottobre Women’s Hoodie (Download)

Previous hoodie post

This time I made this hoodie out of a stretch bamboo fleece from Nature’s Fabrics. This fabric is so soft and cozy! The greater stretch is across the length, not the width, so I cut it against instead of with the grain. For the rib knit I used a gray heather bamboo/spandex rib knit which as you can see coordinates perfectly. Overall this is a much softer and stretchier version of my first hoodie.

The zipper is a YKK #5 molded plastic zipper that was in my stash, likely from WAWAK/Cleaner’s Supply. I finished the hoodie neckline seam with twill tape from Amazon.

For this version I also added a hanging loop, as I noticed with my other hoodie that I needed to hang it up more than I anticipated.

Jalie 4457: Roxanne Cargo Sweatpants

Perfect pants for a cold, lazy Sunday!

With my new stretch bamboo fleece Ottobre hoodie

Background

Jalie 4457 is a pattern for sweatpants and shorts that includes side cargo pockets, side inseam pockets, and back patch pockets with flaps. The pants have a wider straight leg. The waist is finished with elastic that is topstitched in place with one or two rows of stitching (this will vary based on the size you make).

The side seam pockets can be made from one piece of jersey with the facing pocket piece self fabric to help reduce bulk. They hang from where the waistband is stitched, thus reducing bunching.

There’s the normal range of Jalie sizes, from 2T to women’s plus size 2X. I think they have an extended size pattern also available on their website that has more plus sizes. You can make these for men too though, especially if you are willing to shorten the back crotch curve for their typically flatter butts.

Materials

Jalie suggests sweatshirt fleece, French terry, and heavier jersey with at least 20% stretch across the grain.

I used a mid weight French terry with a brushed, fleecy back from Fabric Mart with 20% stretch widthwise and 40% stretch along the length. It is sooo soft and has great drape – perfect for the wider legs of this pattern!

Fit and Alterations

Based on my hip size I made a AA. I cut a size Z for the waistband elastic.

I left off the side cargo pockets. Maybe I will add them to summer shorts. I mostly bought this for the cut, not the cargo detail.

For alterations I lengthened the legs 1.25”. I probably only need an inch but I like to allow a little bit of extra fabric for new pants as I have noticed no matter how much I preshrink, as time goes on the length tends to contract. I also added 3” at the center back seam, tapering to nothing at the center front.

The 3” seems like such a dramatic amount of height to add, but a couple of years ago I got some pajama pants from Lands End that fit really well (balanced at the waist, no pulling down in the back when sitting) and when I measured them I discovered it was because the back crotch curve was so much longer/taller than the front. I use these measurements as a guide now for altering pants.

Construction

Jalie has great instructions for this pattern, perhaps even better than some of their old patterns. The pattern sheet is also color coded for the lines rather than the old style pattern sheets which are all black and white, which makes it very easy to trace your size.

The entire pants pattern uses 3/8” seam allowances, not 1/4”. You sew on a regular sewing machine then finish the edges on a serger as you go along. When it comes time to do the waistband casing you finish the edge with a serger then fold it over and stitch in place. This makes for a lot less bulk than folding the edge under. Also, when you make the front side seam pockets you baste them 3.25” (for my size) from the upper waistband raw edge, then trim close to the stitching. This way when you make the waistband casing the raw edges are caught in the seam, but you don’t have any extra bulk.

When I added the back pockets and flaps I used Design Plus fusible web tape to hold everything in place. Highly recommend over pins!

I recommend that after you sew the waistband casing in place and pull through the elastic that you try them on and adjust the gathering before topstitching the elastic in place. The first time I just went ahead after evenly gathering all around and the pockets were gaping with a lot of diagonal pulling towards the front. When I unpicked the topstitching (needed something to do after I couldn’t fall asleep after my son woke up) I adjust the gathers so there was almost none at the front and they were mostly in the back. Much better! The side seams were straight, the pockets flat, and the front was much flatter and more flattering.

Conclusion

Great comfortable sweatpants and shorts pattern for the slightly stretchier heavier knits out there.

Ottobre Women’s Hoodie: PDF Download

The whole outfit for today!

With Ottobre 5/2012 #11 tshirt and Jalie 3022 yoga pants

Background

This downloadable fitted hoodie pattern is available from Ottobre’s Etsy store. It has front kangaroo pockets finished at the opening with rib knit, a full length front zipper, a concealed hood drawstring, and fairly wide rib knit cuffs and front and back hem bands. It comes in sizes 34-52.

Recommended fabrics are knits with 30% stretch.

Materials

I have a gorgeous bamboo fleece from Nature’s Fabrics in my stash I want to use for this pattern, but since I wasn’t sure about the fit or construction I decided to use something less precious for my first version, a cotton/poly sweatshirt fleece from Fabric Mart. It has about 20% mechanical stretch. I would not go below that amount of stretch for this pattern.

For the rib knit I used a pretty beefy rib knit from Jumping June Textiles. It ended up being lighter and paler in color than I had hoped for, but the quality is excellent.

The zipper is a #5 YKK metal zipper from WAWAK. The hood grommets are #00 metal grommets, also from WAWAK. The twill tape used for the drawstring and to finish the seam attaching the hood to the rest of the hoodie is from Amazon.

Fit

I cut a size 44 for most of the hoodie. For the hem band I cut a size 48. The hip of the hoodie where it meets the hem band is around a size 46. The hem band has negative ease so you stretch it to fit the hem of the fleece. I also made the sweatshirt length size 48 so I wouldn’t have to shorten my zipper.

I found the fit was spot on, though a bit on the snug side due to the lower stretch and lack of Lycra in my fabric. The sleeve and hem length were perfect for me. I didn’t know how I’d feel about the wide cuffs (about 3.5” wide) or wide hem (around 4”) but I like them! When I’m working in the kitchen I can just flip up the cuffs instead of pushing them up, and the hem band gives a good fit around my hips.

Construction

Ottobre instructions assume you’re using one of those cover stitch machines that does the faux RTW flatlock stitch. I don’t have one so I serged the edges together and any topstitching was done on my regular sewing machine. The seams were mostly sewn on my serger.

Once again when it came time to sewing on the pockets I used the Design Plus fusible web tape from The Sewing Place. It makes it SO much easier to do any sort of topstitching for tabs, pockets, etc when working with knits.

I should also mention the PDF download layers the pattern pieces onto the paper (much like the pattern sheets do) and no seam allowances are included. I actually prefer this as it’s less sheets to tape together and it forces me to trace onto tracing paper rather than take a shortcut and put the paper pieces directly onto the fabric.