Jalie's 3906 Tania knit jacket pattern

I have decided lately I am a third garment person. 

This is a pretty complex theory but basically here it is.

If you wear separates, say a top and bottom, you look about 100% more put together if you have a third garment, some kind of jacket or cardigan etc. on top. Of course this doesn't work in tropical conditions but third garments of various weights are pretty useful.

The problem of course is finding jacket type things that are comfortable. Knit jackets work, but really how many patterns for those, apart from mini tight jackets that really don't function usefully as third garments, are there out there?

For this reason I was particularly excited when I saw that a knit jacket was in the new Jalie line-up.

That jacket is the Tania and here is the line drawing with the pattern pieces:

A couple of things really struck me about this pattern. 

First it has one of those sneaky cleaver Jalie pocket details, not dissimilar to the Helene, mirrored with some pieced/angled seams in the back that would be great for colour blocking.

I also notice right away that the collar was meant to be worn up, pretty sharp actually, but new to me until the same day the pattern came out my niece walked into the house with a knit jacket with exactly this same collar detail - and I realized this was what all the cool kids were wearing.

I was also interested, based on my new thing about making Jalies in different but closely related sizes for different looks, to see that Jalie suggested sewing this jacket up to your usual bust/chest measurement for a casual jacket, but making it by matching your upper bust to the pattern size for something more fitted.

For the version here, because I was going for the most widely useful jacket, I made it in the version with more ease, in my usual bust measurement pattern size.

A note too on the fabric.

About a year ago I was at a wedding in Washington DC and we had one of those lulls while they took pictures. Faced with a couple of hours, and knowing I wasn't that far away from G Street Fabrics, I ran over in my heels (OK not exactly ran) and got some weird but interesting fabric. 

This one was a knit navy like a crepe with some cotton grey single knit bonded to it. A cool fabric but I had no idea what I was ever going to do with it. You can see the reverse side of the fabric and the interior construction details here:

For this project it was perfect. I knew I had a good reason for leaving that wedding, and I was even back for the food.

This pattern was a breeze to sew. I think it hits that sweet spot between being really comfortable but tailored-ish enough to wear somewhere you wanted to feel sort of efficient at. Like a work, or some place where the other folks are organized.

For the record I put this together with my all time favourite shell Jalie 2682 and a Lisette skirt 3883 . I make that skirt flatter my not flat stomach body by sewing it not in the negative ease intended, but in a size in which the hip measurement is 2" larger than my own, giving me the 2" ease I am more comfortable with.

I am pretty much sure this is going to become my go-to jacket pattern for quite some time now. 

I am going to try it next in the upper bust measurement size and see how that goes, maybe in a white for summer, and if it looks too much like a lab coat I will just give it to my daughter who always needs lab coats.

Genius ideas: Jalie's new Lisette skirt and Mimosa Tee shirt

Yes I have been sewing my brains out and have a lot to show you this week. 

Today I would like to talk about the Lisette skirt and Mimosa T-shirts from Jalie. 

Let's discuss.

First the Lisette skirt:

This is a pattern for a variety of pull-on knit skirts. The versions with the angled seams are interesting and would probably be quite flattering particularly on boxy bottoms like mine as they would provide some illusion of hourglassness that is not really there. However for my first time out I decided to make the plainer version with the interesting waistline/yoke because it was the higher waisted option.I was interested in the dropped waistline at the front.

I thought this detail would be particularly comfortable (less cutting in when you sit down) and I was right.

I need to mention, and you need to know, that this is a negative ease skirt, fine in a knit, I used a nice ponte, and it will fit right close on your body. This is fine for many of us, but if the idea of something that fitted scares you off you might want to measure the pattern and go up a few sizes for a profile you might be more comfortable in.

I have to say that I do this a lot with my Jalie patterns - I trace off sometimes 2-3 sizes and use them for different fabrics or looks accordingly. 

For instance I use a size smaller than I measure in the Jalie pull-on pants when I want to use a knit, my exact size for a stretch woven, and a size larger for real woven like a linen. Having such a fine graduation in sizes in among the 26 allows me to do this.

For this version of the Lisette I actually made it to size, that meant negative ease and I feel somewhat like I am wearing Spanx in it (I am a woman of a certain age  with a body that got me this far) which is why I made the Mimosa T-shirt to go with the skirt since the Mimosa ends well after the stomach evidence.

The waistband on the Lisette is very much like a yoga waistband, a wide shaped knit band with narrow elastic encased along the top - comfort without much slippage.

Here is a shot of the front of the waistline with the interesting slope:

I was so taken with this waistband that I detoured in my pattern testing and made a maternity version for my daughter-in-law. She wanted a longer skirt so I actually added a centre back seam and a walking slit and for her I added the elastic insert in the back but left it out of the front to make it less constricting on her belly.

She tells me it is very comfortable and just got back from wearing it around a trip to Sweden:

 See how versatile this pattern is?

Now back to the original, my own, teamed up with the Mimosa.

 I see a few horizontal lines in these shots, this skirt actually came right out of my own suitcase. Although my own trip was to Winnipeg not Sweden ...

Now on to the Mimosa Tee, here are the line drawings:

These tees are a real departure from Jalie's line of fairly fitted T- shirts and sort of something I had been looking for to fill a gap in my own closet. I like to float over my belly but am getting tired of all the triangle shaped top patterns I have and this seems to be a bit of a solution. There are several interesting variations (I am happy to see a looser body but with not sloppy sleeves) but of course I made the one with the ties on the sleeves because how could I not?

The particular fabric I was working with was a very buttery rayon knit with terrific drape ( I think the softness of the fabric shows in the bottom of the neckline and if I was thinking I might have added some fusible knit interfacing to the band to counteract this, but I am not at all bothered I didn't do this actually) and I made it in my bust size, a 38, but will probably trace another one with in my high bust size, 35, for some slightly heavier but still drapey knit I have next time. It will be interesting to see how that works, slightly closer to the body particularly around my shoulders.

More and more I am using these Jalie patterns to customize my own looks. I can see this one extended into a dress and even into a night gown. I have some linen knit that I think I will make the long sleeved version in as sort of a pullover (might go up a size so I can wear it over a shirt) and I am definitely going to finally make myself a decent white T shirt with this pattern to wear with jeans.

You never know.