A Not-So-Basic Dress Using Jalie
Being invited to participate in a Jalie blog tour is like being asked, do you breathe? Will you show us next time you do so? Okay Okay, I have a tendency of being over dramatic, especially when it comes to Jalie patterns. Jokes aside, I am honored to be asked but if you came here looking for a basic, maybe you will be surprised. Truth is, Jalie is part of my “special day” and almost “every other day” life so whenever I am inspired to make anything new I look in my Jalie stash first. Bonus points if it is a pattern I have used before.
Its funny that Jalie’s instagram handle is #jalielife because if you follow my progress on PatternReview, you will notice that Jalie has indeed been a part of my and my daughter’s life for a very long time. Every new activity she has picked up be it gymnastics, or swimming or Halloween costume has been accompanied by an outfit from mom using a Jalie pattern. Last year when I made fitness a part of my life, it was the PIKA top which I wore to my gym with pride!
Sure I can show you all the t-shirts I’ve made using 3352 or even 2806, but if you stick around, I think you will enjoy my latest, most ambitious-to-date project I created using my trusty 2805.
Oh, did I mention that most Jalie patterns come in 22-32 sizes? That means I am able to create matching looks for myself and my daughter effortlessly! Ok back to the current project.
Last year I finally jumped on the Alabama Chanin style hand stitching bandwagon and I have been obsessed ever since. As you know this type of sewing takes months (some even work on a single project for years!) so of course my first few projects were meant for me and you know I picked a Jalie pattern right? I have to show you!
As I would sit in my kitchen making those tiny running stitches, my daughter asked me, mom when are you going to make me something. So I did 🙂
And then I decided to make another one 🙂 The project which I want to talk about today.
Reverse and Negative Reverse Applique Fit-And-Flare dress using the bodice of Jalie 2805.Â
The thing about reverse applique is, that it results in a rather bulky garment if you are embellishing front and back. So I decided to reverse applique only the bodice and do applique on the skirt using the darker fabric. Once I had a plan, I got to work.
I first altered the 2805 pattern to make the bodice. All I did was figure out where I wanted the seam to hit and chop off the excess. I cut out one pair each ( front and back) from the purple and plum cotton jersey. Then I took my stencil and sponge painted the design on the front and back. I drafted a quick half-circle skirt and cut out single layer from the purple jersey. Then I sponge painted the skirt using the stencil insides on the outside of the leaves. Then I cut large sections and pinned them to the skirt pieces and stitched around the edges. When I was done stitching, I simply trimmed the excess resulting in easy applique.
For the bodice I stitched through both layers on the edges and then carefully removed the top layer so the bottom darker layer would show through. Pictures will help explain my process.
When I finished hand stitching all the pieces, it was just a matter of assembling the dress on the serger and bind the neckline using a cretan stitch (also by hand). To stabilize the waist seam I sewed clear elastic.
I am so pleased with how this dress turned out. I gasp every single time she wears it. It is a LABOR of LOVE. Over the last year I have gathered resources for all my hand stitching projects. If you are interested leave a comment below and I will do a follow-up blog post.
Hand stitching came into my life when I was going through a rather stressful time and it is nice to know that when it comes to patterns I have a trusty friend in Jalie patterns which allows me to be creative and not worry about fit or drafting. Go Jalie!
[Please do not use photos of my daughter from my blog for Pinterest or any other site]
If you’d like to see all the looks I have created using Jalie 2805, please check out my reviews on PatternReview.com.
Blogger Lineup
Be sure to visit these talented sewing bloggers during the tour:
Wednesday, Feb 6 – The Petite Sewist | auschick sews | Replicate then Deviate | Deepika Blogs
Thursday, Feb 7 – Sew What Yvette | Sew Cucio | Shalini’s Sewing Space | Curtiepie | A Jennuine Life
Friday, Feb 8 – SeamsLikeStyle | It’s Liesel | SewSophieLynn | Danvillegirl Sewing Diary | Skirt Fixation
Monday, Feb 11 – The Crafting Fiend | Sprouting JubeJube | its sew colorful | Diskordia’s Curvy Sewing
Tuesday, Feb 12 – All Things Katy! | BigFlyNotions | needle and the belle | Zoopolis
Deepika Blogs... 