I’ve been laying low and working on my mental and physical health but it’s about time I posted my review.
Jalie 4672 Tina Essential Tees
My Measurements at the time: Bust 40.5”, Waist 37”, Hip 47”
Size Used: Y for bust and waist, and BB for hip. This is a common sizing in all patterns I sew as I am pear shaped. I choose View A – short sleeve and scoop neck. There are so many options in this one pattern! Necklines: Crew, Scoop, V-neck, and Mock neck. Sleeves: Cap, short, and long. Plus, Jalie also recently released an add on for making this pattern into a dress with options for A-line or flared bottom and mid-thigh, above-knee, or maxi length with pockets! I can’t wait to make those versions! What a great amount of options for one pattern! Not to mention that it comes in an array of sizes from Toddler 2T to Plus Size 5x (max bust 64” and hip 61”). There are also video tutorials to help in sewing this pattern.
Fabric Used: 60” wide, 1 yard + 30 inches of heathered double brushed poly knit. Stretch percentages: 65% width and 65% height. “Fabric Merchants Double Brushed Jersey Knit Red Two Tone. Contents 96% Polyester/4% Lycra Spandex). I had 27 inches left over after cutting. So, I used about 1 and 1/8 yards. The pattern calls for 1.25 for my size and I think that is perfect!
Alterations: ½” forward shoulder adjustment. I do this with every top I make. 1” bicep adjustment to sleeve width (slash and spread to add 1” to the width of the bicep), this is super common for me in most sleeves as I have big biceps (and not the athletic type LOL).
Instructions: no issues. I like the direct to the point instructions and the accompanying photos. These do not hold your hand, but they are perfectly enough instruction. Pattern Pieces: No issues. All notches and marks matched up for me.
I must say, I love the “cut 2 sleeves” and not cut 2 on fold!! I also loved the finished measurement chart. On the finished measurement, the description on top says the pattern has negative ease and should be considerably smaller than the body measurements. However, I did not find this to be true. I actually liked the ease in the shirt. It is not skin tight and not too loose, just right.
Personal preference is that I sew the neckband before sewing the size seams, and that I pre-press the hems up on sleeves and bodice before sewing the side seams while they are still flat. But I don’t feel the instructions on the pattern are wrong in any way, it is just a personal preference.
I like the length of the top. I think it hits at a perfect spot. I like the length of the sleeves. I wasn’t expecting such nice ease to be honest, because Jalie’s similar T-shirt pattern, 2805, is quite a bit tighter (I have sewn 2805 a few times, I show 7 times on my 2805 label on my old blog but I counted 11+ when I searched for it. It used to be my go-to for rash guards for Miss K as well as a nice tee). So I love that I with this tee I can suck in or push out my thyroid, menopause belly and it still looks good. I gave a photo example below, lol. There’s also nice length when lifting arms to not show stomach.
Summary: Fabric measurements are perfect. All pieces and notches match up. I would and will definitely wear this tee in all 3 views. It matches the size measurement chart perfectly so that I don’t have to bump up a size. I like the ease and it is not too form fitting. I think it is a great layering piece or a great tee to wear on its own.
Size Sewn: shoulders and neck at size green, the rest straight size Yellow
Started and finished Sewing: 11/12 & 11/13/2022
Adjustments:
I made 1/2-inch forward shoulder adjustment
Low neck option
Double tier option
Short sleeve option – green size for sleeve cap and top grading to yellow at bicep
I used Fold Over Elastic to strengthen the gathers like I always do
Fabric: Black Double Brushed Poly Elephants I’ve been saving in my stash for a long time. I squeaked this dress out of 1 & 7/8 yards. I have 3 yards total of this fabric and I bought it sometime from Knitpop. Probably around $6/yard so total for this dress= $11.25
Thoughts: Likes: the seam allowances and hem allowances are marked on the pattern itself. I love that. The instructions are easy to follow as well.
I tried two methods to gather just to see if one was faster/easier. I first gathered by doing a zigzag over a string and then pulling the string to gather – I do not like this method at all. It doesn’t look clean and it just takes too much work for me to bother. I then did what I always do, I basted 2 lines and then pulled them to gather – much faster for me and ends up with even gathers – I much prefer this method. Then I like to serge fold over elastic at the waist. It helps the gathers retain their shape and the FOE is soft so it doesn't irritate my skin the way elastic does. There is a picture of this near the end of my Boundless Dress post from 2018. I felt like there were not many gathers on the top tier and overall I wish the tiers had more gathers. The hem calls for ½” allowance and I feel that is just too short for a dress. I prefer a nice thick 1” hem or at least a ¾” hem otherwise my fabric likes to flip there.
After sewing the dress up it was WAY to wide at the bust and side to waist. I didn’t like it and it felt frumpy. So, I took off fabric from armpit to hip. I started at 0” armpit then to 1.75” at bust to 1” at waist and then 0” by hip on both sides. This means I took a total of 5.5 to 6” off the bodice. However, now it looks so much better, and I love the dress. I guess I should have sewn a green size for the bodice. I love the look and feel of the dress. It is comfortable and fun. I would make it again if I remembered to size down the bodice to size green and leave the rest in size yellow.
left is before taking off excess, right is much better.
Bicep elastic called for 12.75” and I used 14.5” because my biceps are bigger.
Guessed at neck elastic (read below why) and used 24”
Fabric: This dress took 3.5-3.75 yards. I used this aqua floral Double Brushed Poly that I have been saving for something fun. I purchased it June 17, 2020 from the now gone fabric. com for $5.38/yard. So dress total= $20.17
Thoughts: The directions on this Burda were…… well, worse than most. The neck just says “use ends of remaining elastic” with no exact measurement. I ended up using 24” of ¼” elastic for neck. I’m not sure what the waist instructions said but I serged it at 6.5 width on my serger, then flipped up the seam allowance and triple zigzag stitched on the elastic. The hem called for 5/8” and I did ¾”.
For fun I calculated what Burda wanted the neck elastic to be (as it said “use ends of remaining elastic”). Sleeve: 12.75 + 12.75, waist 33 = 58.5” of elastic. The entire pattern called for 72.625” of elastic so in essence burda wanted me to use a 14&1/8” neck elastic. That would have choked me completely!
SO to recap for later reference: I used 14.5” elastic on sleeve hems, 34” on waist, and 24” on neck.
It was only after sewing the entire dress and scratching my head at the instructions that I realized Burda wanted me to use a LIGHT DRESS WOVEN fabric…… and here I was using a THICKER KNIT. (Facepalm moment). Now some of the instructions made sense for woven fabric.
I’m not sure how I feel about the dress. It is pretty. I love the fabric and color. But my body shape. Ugh. I can’t handle these changes. My thyroid belly sticks way out in this dress. It didn’t in the double tired one above as much as it does I this one. You can see how much my belly sticks out in the second picture above. The first day I made it I didn’t like it at all. But I think it may grow on me in time. Partly it is my own fault on using the wrong fabric. The gathers are really thick on this dress too because of the knit not woven.
A ton of people have made this dress and every time I saw it I wanted it! There are quite a bit of options that come with the pattern too!
Date Started: 03/23/20 Date Finished: 04/14/20
My Measurements at the time: 39 bust, 33 waist, 45 hip
Size Sewn: Large at bust/waist and 2x at hip
Version: Short sleeve bodice with scoop neck (Style B) – 1/2 circle skirt option. My one and only complaint with this pattern is that it doesn’t give you a HIP measurement – only bust and waist. For someone that is pear shaped that is a huge problem. I can’t pick my bust/waist measurement and just go with it; my hips are much bigger. So I just picked a size 2x and went with it because in most other patterns I am usually 2 hip sizes larger than my waist. Luckily, it worked well. But come on! Put a hip measurement in the pattern!
Alterations: OK I may have one more complaint with the pattern. The sleeves on these measured SO insanely small and tight. I made a size L bodice but after measuring the sleeve I knew I needed a much larger size. I ended up using a size 2X for the sleeve and even then I had to add an additional 1/4” to the sides of the sleeves. I also lowered the sleeve cap by 5/8” – I do not like a tall sleeve cap because it feels restrictive and fits weird on me. I talk a lot about high sleeve caps on my old blog, usually with Burda patterns. I show a great picture on why I adjust this and the before and after difference it makes on this Henley tee post. Anyway, back to the dress.
Fabric: Amazing fabric. It was love at first sight. It is a Double Brushed Poly Jersey Knit Floral Navy/Red Fabric; fiber content is 96% Polyester/4% Lycra Spandex. I purchased it August 2019 from Amazon/fabric.com for $6.38/yard. I used 2 yards for this dress for a total of $12.76
Thoughts: I love it! I love the dress, the fabric, the fit, all of it!! This is the perfect dress for me. I can’t wait to make up a bunch of the different options in the pattern. Bonus is that it feels like secret pajamas when I'm wearing it.
This dress was in my sewing plans for Fall/Winter 2019. I may have sewn it up just a little past winter but that’s ok (I also planned on using a different pattern for this fabric but I’m glad I changed my mind and went with the Miss Ruby Tuesday).
I had originally planned on wearing this dress with my Helen’s Closet Blackwood cardigan but I think the cardigan is too heavy for this dress.
I’ll have to pair the cardigan with something else. I like the dress on its own.
New Look 6301 Wrap Dress, View B
Size: Bodice size 12, hip size 14. This is 1 size down in bust and almost 3 sizes down in hip. I read comments that the dress was large so I sized down and actually did a tissue fitting!
Alterations: The tissue fitting showed me many areas to fix before cutting into my fabric.
I took 1/2” tuck from neckline at the collarbone because of gaping there.
I graded the bottom of the sleeve from a 12 to a 14 to accommodate my larger biceps.
The sleeve cap had a whooping 2.5” of ease… in a knit!! My pet peeve. So I dropped the tall, narrow cap down about an inch – this gave me 1.25” in ease and also made it wider on top – this fits me much better at the shoulder than those tall sleeve caps.
1/2” swayback
1/2” forward shoulder adjustment
1/4” out of CB at neckline to 1/2” out at center back, then to 0” at bottom of bodice. The pattern has an outward curve in the mid back which was completely opposite of what I needed. This alteration straightened out the back and solved that issue.
I cut the ties at the size 20 since many people complained how short they were.
Skirt pieces 7 & 8 are the exact same so I just cut 2 of #7.
I cut two of the front R pieces (#1) and didn’t bother with the front L piece.
Instructions: The instructions were ok. They explained what I needed to do and I had no issues with them. I did sew my dress up a bit different in order – easier in my mind. Pleated fronts, sewed to back at shoulder. Added front binding, sewed in ties to back. Then sewed sleeves in flat, and sewed up sides. I sewed skirts together and then sewed skirt to bodice in the round. It went together fairly quickly.
Fabric: Pattern calls for 2.5 yards fabric for my size. I somehow made this with only 1.5 yards. This fabric was from the Fabric Mart precut sale. I purchased it in Sept 2017 for $3.05 a yard; total $4.58 for this dress. It is listed as 92% Rayon/8% Lycra blend with 4 way stretch. The fabric is heavier than most rayon/lycra I own and so so soft. This fabric cut, sewed, and pressed like a dream.
Thoughts: I really love this dress! I was hoping it would work out since the fabric is super soft. I love the color, the drape, the look. I do find that the dress grows a little during the day and that the heavier fabric doesn’t have as much recovery as I would like. But, those are minor things. If I make the dress again (I already have plans for the tank view) then I want to take another whole inch out of the center back at the neckline – it is still a bit wide in back. I would also shorten the front bindings and make the front cross over tighter – but this may just be the fabric’s problem with the growing/recovery issue.
I think it’s a fantastic “fake” wrap dress pattern. I would recommend it to anyone!
Ottobre 02/2017 #11 – Tee Shirt Dress
Size: 42 for bust/waist to 46 at hip. Also made the sleeve 42 at the cap out to 44 at the hem (to gain some width at the bicep).
Alterations:
1/2” forward shoulder adjustment
Instructions: This is a simple T-shirt dress. I sewed it up without looking at the instructions. I sewed one shoulder, added neck binding, sewed other shoulder. Then I sewed in the sleeves and added binding to the bottoms of them. After this I just sewed up the side seams and hemmed it. It was super fast.
Fabric: 1.75 yards - Bright Turquoise/White 100% Cotton, Plus Sign Design, Interlock Knit – 60W; purchased Sept 2017 for $5.60 total also from Fabric Mart’s precut sale.
Thoughts: I made this for a nightgown, I love it for that purpose. A few days in MeMadeMay I just wore the dress all day. It is soft and comfortable, easy to throw on and go. The interlock is thicker and less stretchy than most knits but it works well in this dress. I have no complaints!
Here’s an updated look at how my Spring/Summer Sewing Plan is going:
sloped 1” out of back neck and tapered to nothing at back hem.
Added 1.25” to back at hip level.
Lowered sleeve cap by 1/2” and added 1/4” to each side of sleeve.
Fabric: 1 yard Jewel Print ITY Knit from Maggy London; 95% polyester, 5% lycra; purchased in Nov 2015 from FabricMart with my Fabricista Challenge winnings. It was free for me but listed at $5/yard.
In January we added this little guy to our family. It’s so fun to watch a puppy learn things.
Jalie 3248 Drop Pocket Cardigan
Size: W graded to an AA at the hip.
Alterations: none
Fabric: 2 yards Black French Terry (506-BLACK) purchased in Aug 2016 for $12.90 from Stylish Fabrics. It’s very soft, not too thick and not too thin.
I love this drop pocket design, plus there are double front pieces so they act as a full facing. There aren’t many seams visible on this cardigan either – just the sides and sleeves.
I've made this cardi 2 other times. Once in a soft, thin Gray knit for me; and another time in a teal knit for Miss K (unblogged at this time). The more times I sew it the easier the instructions become.
If you are following my Sewing with a Plan from Jan to April, these two makes are shown below in my plan. I've now completed 4 of the 9 makes.
