Jalie 4347 Denyse Shorts

Pattern Description

The Jalie Denyse is a pull-on wide leg pants pattern for non-stretch woven fabrics. It comes in shorts, cropped, and full leg lengths. (Note that for cropped and full length you need to extend the length yourself. Jalie has a table of measurements for guidance on how much to extend it.) There’s back patch pockets and front inseam pockets. The elastic waist is cut slightly narrower than the hip, which helps reduce bulk at the waist.

My shirt is the Jalie Tina.

Fabric and Materials

I used a lightweight Robert Kaufman cotton twill from Fabric Mart. Unfortunately I don’t appear to have taken a screenshot when I purchased it, but it is lightweight and could almost be used for a heavier weight shirt.

I am not entirely sure where I got the 2” elastic. It may be an old Fashion Sewing Supply purchase. If not Fashion Sewing Supply then Wawak or Mandala Crafts on Amazon.

Alterations

I started with a size CC, which is slightly larger than my current hip measurement. My fabric has zero stretch/give and I’ve had some weight gain lately (the relentless demands of caring for my young and wild son and elderly stroke victim father this year is taking its toll on me) so I felt like it was better to just size up.

I added a total of 2.5” to the center back height, tapering to nothing at the center front. Technically I could have probably gotten away with just 1.5″, but I prefer my back waist to be higher than the front because I want to be fully covered when sitting or bending over.

Since my waist is smaller than my hip size I used the size Z elastic measurement.

Construction

These went together pretty quickly. I was able to get them cut and sewn and finished in about 3-3.5 hours.

I liked the construction for the waist. You see one side seam normally, but leave a one inch opening when sewing the front and back waistbands together at the other side seam. Fold and press the seam allowance for the lower edge in place. Then attach the waistband to then pants with the right side of the waistband facing the wrong side of the pants. Then you press, flip it over, and sew that edge you folded over earlier to the right side of the pants. It gives a very neat finish from the right side while fully containing the wrong side.

Conclusion

I find these shorts much more comfortable for my pear shaped figure than the Jalie 3243. My fabric has no give to it and I didn’t feel uncomfortable at all in them during the day, not even when I was squatting and sitting on the ground outside today assembling my son’s new sandbox. The wide elastic waistband is very comfortable to wear, and the 6″ inseam length of my size CC makes me feel comfortable with the amount of coverage provided. (For this reason I think it would make a really good woven shorts pattern for little kids as well as adults.) The only thing is that due to the elasticized waist combined with my “bubble butt” and narrower waist, particularly in the back, the back pockets tend to gape. This isn’t a dealbreaker for me because my shirt covers it, but something I thought I should mention as a caution to anyone with a shape like me that is considering making these.

Burda 6/2024 #110: Jersey Dress

My first Burda pattern in a really long time.

Pattern Background

Burda 6/2024 #110 is a shirt dress drafted for 2-way (as opposed to 4-way) lower stretch knits. It has short sleeves and an A-line knee length skirt.

Fabric and Materials

I used a 100% cotton jersey from Gorgeous Fabrics. It is mislabeled on the website as a stretchy rayon/lycra jersey so when I purchased it last month I had an entirely different project in mind for it. After getting it and seeing how it had just the slight mechanical stretch of a 100% cotton jersey I decided to pivot to this pattern.

The interfacing was black Pro-Sheer Elegance from the now defunct Fashion Sewing Supply. For this pattern you interface the collar, tie band, and front plackets so you want to pick something with a soft, flexible hand.

The buttons are pink 18L shirt buttons from WAWAK.

Fit and Sizing

This pattern is available in sizes 36-46. I started with a size 44 and made the following alterations:

Added 5” width to the hips
Changed the sleeves from short sleeve to cap sleeve length, using my Jalie Tina pattern as a guide. I find the diagonal angle created by the shorter cap sleeve more flattering than the longer short sleeves included in the pattern.

Construction

Even though it wasn’t what I expected, this cotton jersey was wonderful to work with and thus construction was a breeze.

I sewed most of this on my Juki TL-2010Q. Since it is a knit I decided to forgo serging the seam allowances. I switched to my Janome 6500P for the buttonholes and used the knit buttonhole style:

For the sleeve and skirt hem I used my Janome Coverpro 2000CPX.

Before sewing the collar I trimmed a generous 1/8” from the shorter side edges of the under collar to encourage the collar to roll better.

I used 1/4” instead of 5/8” seam allowances for the belt. I prefer the slightly width slightly wider.

Burda has you use thread loops to hold the belt in place. For now I decided to just go without. The “grab” of the cotton jersey seems to keep it in place well enough.

Conclusion

This is a great pattern if you want something that is more structured than a t-shirt dress but still easy to care for (no ironing necessary!) If I was still working in an office I’d be making up a ton of these.

Jalie 4132: Martin Boxer Shorts

Made these for my son last night.

Pattern Background

The Jalie Martin pattern is for men’s loungewear pants and boxer shorts. It is drafted for wovens and features a faux fly with an optional decorative button, elastic waist, and a back panel instead of a center back seam. There’s also an optional back patch pocket.

Size and Alterations

The size range goes from 2T all the way to 2X. If you pay a little bit extra you can get up to a 5X for the PDF version.

I cut a size F, which is equivalent to a 2T. The only alteration I made was adding 1/2” height to the center back. It turns out it wasn’t necessary.

The fit ended up being very similar to that shown on the Jalie models.

Fabric and Materials

I used a very lightweight 100% Robert Kaufman shirting purchased from Fabric Matt a few months ago. The elastic was from Mandala Crafts on Amazon. The button

Construction

The instructions are pretty good. This really does go together quickly and easily. I think it would be a nice project for someone who wants to try something more complex than your average pull on pants, without having to deal with zippers or pockets (aside from the optional back pocket.

I did find that I needed to snug up the waist elastic another inch.

Conclusion

I made these for my son, who is turning three years old in a few weeks. We’ve been working on potty training the past year. He’s pretty flawless when commando but struggles when he’s wearing briefs (probably because they feel too much like a diaper). These allow him to wear actual underwear without feeling snug, and as a result he’s much better at letting me know when he needs to go. He has also started trying to dress/undress himself. As a result I consider this pattern a worthy investment, especially since it seems like regular cotton woven boxer shorts for toddlers aren’t easy to find. I have no idea what his preferences will be when he’s older, but for now he seems pretty happy with these!

He’s worn these under the Jalie 3243 pull-on shorts and Jalie Henri shorts, and they fit fine under them, with no peeking out at the hem.

Another Jalie 2019 Galaxie Supernova Tote Bag

Inside card pocket, hidden inside the inner zippered pockets.

Inside organizer pockets. Easily holds a 16 oz Thermoflask bottle along with a full package of baby wipes.

Previous Jalie 2019

I really like my original Jalie 2019 bag, but during regular use I’ve found that it is just too small for my current lifestyle. I often had to leave the top unzipped because after adding a water bottle, snacks for my son, extra clothes and cloth diapers, etc I just didn’t have enough room. So this time I decided to make the larger size.

Materials

I used a 100% cotton sateen jacquard I had in my stash, purchased about eight years ago from Sawyer Brook. I had no idea at the time that this would eventually be used for a bag!

I used a white Robert Kaufman 100% cotton shirting fabric purchased a month or two ago from Fabric Mart for the lining.

Because I wanted this bag to have more structure I interfaced the bottom with Boscal single sided fusible foam and the sides with the Pellon single sided fusible foam. The only reason why I used two brands is because I didn’t have enough of the Bosal to cut the entire amount I needed for this bag. After working with both I prefer the Boscal. It is slightly firmer and in my opinion the fusing is better.

Thread was Gutermann Mara 70 from WAWAK. The zippers were from Amazon, as was the keychain leash snap.

Construction

This was constructed entirely on my Juki TL-2010Q. I did use my Janome MyLock 204D serger to finish the inside edges of the pockets because this fabric likes to fray.

Since I already made this bag before construction was a lot easier. I added the inside hidden pockets to both inside and outside pockets. I think the instructions have you do just one outside hidden pocket but it doesn’t take much longer to do both. I also made sure to pay attention to the photos so that this time all the zippers (minus the top main zipper) all face in the same direction. Since this fabric was thinner and more flexible than my interfaced denim I also found it possible this time to do the fabric zipper pull and fold over the top part of the handles in the final step.

This time I left a huge opening at the bottom of the lining this time for turning out the bag. I think I only sewed the first inch or so for each side. As a result I had no issues at all turning out the bag, despite the foam interfacing. It was easy to turn under the seam allowances and sew it shut on my machine instead of slip-stitching by hand.

Conclusion

This size, while pretty enormous for everyday use, fits my lifestyle much better. It is easier to find stuff inside. I also LOVE the keychain leash. I feel like I’m constantly misplacing my keys (because my son loves playing with them so I feel the need to always hide them) and this one feature has made my life soooo much easier.

I will say my one complaint is that the handles could be longer. I think they’re the same length for both sizes and because this bag comes up higher due to its bigger size, it is harder to sling it over my shoulder when I’m out and about.

A Jalie Bikini: 3351 Swim Shorts and 4136 Crossover Top

Pattern Background

Jalie 3351

This pattern can be used for either running or swim shorts. It has a wide waistband, side panel pockets, and built in briefs.

Per Jalie, the waistband hits around the navel for kids, a few inches below the navel for teen and smaller adult sizes, and got up around the navel again for the larger adult sizes.

The size range goes from F (2T) all the way to FF (women’s size 22/ euro 52).

This pattern is out of print now so it is only available as a PDF.

Jalie 4136

This fully lined bikini pattern has both a scoop neck and crossover versions for the top. The bikini bottoms include both a lower rise version and higher waisted versions, one of which has a self fabric tie detail.

Size range goes from 2T to 2X. Like with a lot of the newer Jalie pattern releases there’s also a PDF only version that goes from 2T to 5X, and a plus size version for 1X-5X.

Fit and Alterations

Jalie 3351 Shorts

Per my hip measurement I made a size CC. The ease was perfect.

I added 2.5” of height to the center back seam, tapering to nothing at the center front. I also added 3/8” width to the front inseam for my fuller thighs. When I was adding the elastic I sized down a couple of sizes per the elastic cutting length chart. They feel snug and secure without digging in.

After making a test version I lowered the rise 1”. They sat at the navel and just seemed too big and matronly when worn with a bikini top. They would have been fine if worn with a rashguard top or tshirt.

Jalie 4136 Bikini Top

I made a size Y. I sized down to a W for the band. I compared my underbust measurement to the size chart and W was the closest matching measurement, so that’s what I cut.

Fabric and Materials

I used a Lycra purchase from the Elingeria sometime back in 2012 (yes it has been sitting in my stash all this time). I didn’t have quite enough (these were scraps from another project from long ago) so I cut the side panel, waistband facing, and brief from a white swimwear fabric I found on Amazon. I should have read the description better because it’s kind of shimmery and I prefer matte fabrics for swimwear, but so little of it peeks out that it doesn’t really matter.

The lining for the crotch was a swimwear lining recently purchased on sale from Emma One Sock.

The 3/8” braided elastic was from the Amazon seller Mandala Crafts.

For the bikini top I used a swimwear lining fabric from Payless Fabrics on Amazon.

Construction

Jalie 3351 Shorts

The instructions are excellent and I had no issues. I really like how the waistband is constructed. The facing is cut shorter than the outside waistband, which causes the seam where the elastic, outer waistband, and waistband facing meet to be folded entirely to the inside. This completely eliminates bulk at the upper edge of the waistband, and if you’re using a different fabric for the waistband facing it won’t show through at all.

I will say that my life was made significantly easier when turning up those hems for the pockets and hems by using Design One fusible stay tape. This tape is exactly 3/8” wide so if you apply it directly along the edge you get a nice guide for folding the hem before removing the paper. I just doubled it up to make it 3/4” wide for the front and back shorts hem. It not only made turning up the hem far easier on this slippery synthetic fabric, but also made cover stitching way easier. The final result still maintained its stretch. 10/10 recommend!

Jalie 4136 Bikini Top

Like with the shorts, the instructions were excellent. I particularly liked the band construction. You zigzag the elastic to one edge, fold the other edge of the fabric up around the elastic snugly, zigzag again, trim, and then sew it directly to the rest of the top. Very neat and completely eliminates the elastic rolling inside during wear or laundering.

Conclusion

I’m extremely happy with the shorts. They fit and feel great! I wanted something I could confidently wear to the beach while playing with my little boy and these are perfect for that. Unlike with a skirt they won’t ride up in the water, and you get plenty of coverage if you’re self conscious about your lower half (which I definitely am post baby). The brief is full coverage and stays in place really well.

The bikini top feels secure and comfortable to wear. I think I am a 36C now (not sure since I haven’t worn a proper underwired bra in years now) and I feel like it gives good support. I have plans to make it as a bra top as well, because my toddler still nurses on occasion and the crossover styling makes that very convenient. (Jalie actually has a post on converting this pattern to an unlined bra top, though I would likely do a lined version for extra support.)