Pattern Review: Jalie drop pocket cardigan

I love layering pieces and this is a great one. I (Major Moma) first heard about the Drop Pocket Cardigan at on the blog Baste and Gather.  I thought it would be a good addition to my girl's wardrobe and something I can sew over and over again.

source

Pattern Source:  Jalie is a Canadian pattern company that sells both paper and pdf patterns.  

Sizes available:  One of the best aspects of Jalie patterns is the size range.  This pattern runs from girls to plus sized women ... 27 sizes in all.  How is that for a pattern for all of your girls?

Special materials required: The drop pocket cardigan is designed for knit fabrics and has a slim fit on the arm so you cannot deviate from using a knit.  Also, the front is doubled up so you should probably veer away from anything too bulky.  Jalie recommends knit with 40% stretch across the grain and 20% in the length.

Skill level required:  The construction of the front was not obvious to me and I had to read the instructions a couple of time.  So, I would not recommend this pattern to beginners.  But, once I started putting it together, it was a quick sew and I did not make any mistakes.  So it is not too advanced.

Good:  My tween loves the length and the deep pockets.  It is a comfy and stylish layering piece.

Bad:  The instructions have limited illustrations and so it is imperative that you read the instructions before you start and then as you go.

Overall pattern rating:  I would give this pattern 3 and 1/2 bolts.  It would be higher if the instructions were a little better.

Hibernis - Pattern Review

I (Stacy) have been lucky enough to test a few patterns for Sofilantjes in the last few months.  Anne is great to work with and has produced some very nice, and unique, patterns.  I love it when pattern makers move beyond the t-shirt and basic hoodie.

Here is a review of the Hibernis tunic by Sofilantjes.

Name of the pattern: Hibernis Top

Pattern Source: Sofilantes, pattern is in Dutch and English, it is layered and includes a copy shop copy for large format printing.

Sizes available: 12M- 14

Special materials required: Knit about 1.5 yds, snaps or buttons

Skill level required: Experienced beginner

How you came to choose the pattern: I volunteered to pattern test it

Did you deviate from the pattern?  No

Good:

I love this unique top!  She didn't have to make many adjustments to this one, and it was pretty well fitting from the start.  

The cowl is detachable and not a part of the shirt.  The tabs on the shoulders keep it in place.  The pockets can be placed in whatever direction you may choose.  This is a great cut, and it looked so cute on all of the testers’ girls.  I did the pockets different that the pictures, and put the small one in front and large one in back.  It gives access to the small one and the lines on the front look better with both pockets showing.

The front panel would be great for a panel fabric.  I added HTV to one of the tops for my daughter.  I went with a 10W and 12L measurement on this, and it ended up a little longer than I think it was supposed to be.  I like how it worked as a tunic, but measure the length to make sure it will be the length you want.

Issues:

The cowl is complicated to put together if you are not used to a bagged type of sewing.  There is a link to a Youtube video, so definitely watch that if you need help.

Overall pattern rating:

Mimi Revisited

Over a year ago we were apart of the Mimi Dress Tour for Filles a Maman.  Well, in order to bring a little variety to my daughter's back to school wardrobe I decided to break out that pattern.

Last time, Sally sewed up a beautiful white short sleeve version.  This time I sewed up a long sleeve version.  My daughter is thin so I made the width to her measurements.  Next time I will not slim it down so that it is not so fitted.

My daughter says it is very comfortable and she loves the way it turned out with the fabric she chose on fabric.com.

I think it was definitely a good call to break out a pattern that had been in storage.

Pattern Review: Cascade Jacket

My daughter loves to wear a hoodie or other type of comfy jacket during the winter.  It is part of her standard winter uniform.  And I like the idea of them because in the spring they can be a light jacket.  So when JoAnns had their big door buster sales during the holidays on fleece, I bought a bunch thinking I would use it for her.  My first use was grabbing a pattern I bought for me.  See, she is nearly as tall as me now so I am starting to reach for the XXS in women's sizes.  Are there any of you guys doing the same?  

Name of the pattern:  I chose the Cascade Jacket by Peek-a-Boo Patterns.  It is a high collar, in-seam welt pockets, princess side seams, and a zip-up front.

I screwed up the pockets by not paying attention so I just made a standard welt.

Pattern Source:  Peek-a-Boo Patterns (affiliate link) is a shop that sells both pdf patterns and fabric.

Sizes available:  This is a women's not a child pattern.  So it will work for the larger tweens.  It comes in the sizes XXS to XXXL (00-24) but makes it nice for tweens, is that it also has a cutting line for petite, regular or tall.  I used the XXS, petite size and it fit my 5'2" daughter quite well.

Special materials required:  It is a fleece jacket so you will want some sort of fleece or sweatshirt material.  You also need a separating sport zipper and two regular zippers for the pockets.

Skill level required:  The pattern has more pieces than most hoodies but the instructions are straight forward and really quite simple.  I would classify it as an advanced beginner project.  I got ahead of myself and did not stop to read some instructions while I was sewing the side panels and as a result, I messed up the pockets.  The pocket openings are in the side seam between the front and side front panel.  This is really a great construction technique because you get a welt pocket affect without the work of a welt pocket.  It really keeps it beginner friendly.  BUT, since I skipped that step and serged the seam, I just went ahead and made welt pockets.

How you came to choose the pattern:  I bought this pattern when it first came out last year for myself, but just as my daughter has started to steal my shoes, she is now growing into my sewing patterns.  (But not really ... there is NO way I would fit in an XXS.)

Good:  Without raising the difficulty of the sewing, there are great details to this jacket.  I loved the zipper guard and the flat pockets.  It even reminded you to make a little hanging loop at the neckline. The panels give it a nice shape and give opportunities to color block.  I got this fleece in the remnant section and thus was able to use those panels to make two remnants work for one great jacket.

Bad:  Nothing.  I thoroughly loved sewing this jacket and Abi has been wearing it at least three days a week.  WIN!

Overall pattern rating:  I give this pattern a 5 bolt rating.  

Pattern Review: Simplicity 1251

Simplicity patterns were on sale at my local big box fabric store and I had my tween with me so as I perused the fabric aisles, I told her she could go through the Simplicity pattern book and pick out any that interested her.  Simplicity 1251 was one of the ones she chose.

Name of the pattern:  It has the creative name of  "Misses' Knit Dress, Tunic and Top".  It is a cute, elfish looking hoodie that comes in various lengths.  This is a women's pattern but it comes in very small sizes.  I made a size 6 going off the waist measurement of my daughter (23 inches).

Pattern Source:  Simplicity patterns can be found at almost any fabric store or on their website.

Sizes available:  As I said, it is a women's pattern and it comes in sizes 4 thru 20 though the paper pattern divides the smallest sizes in one envelope and the larger sizes in another.

Special materials required:  The dress calls for stretch knits only.  I used a fleece with a light stretch to it.  The fleece was on a steep discount, so that worked out great.  The pattern comes with templates for applique; if you choose to do the applique, you will need scrap fabric of your choosing.  Instead of the applique, we chose to use machine embroidery.  With the pixie shaped hood, I thought that would be very cute.

This is a simple pull-over garment, so no zippers, buttons, or other closures are needed.

The pattern called for a 'lettuce edge' which was completely explained in the supplemental instructions.

Skill level required:  I found the pattern to be very easy.  There were good diagrams and the construction was quite basic.  The hood had a neat shape and was assembled a little different than your standard hood but it was still super easy.

Good:  This was an easy and fun pattern that gave a more grown-up look to a fairy tale inspired outfit.

Bad: Nothing.  The pattern was well written and the end product very cute.

Overall pattern rating:  I give this pattern our highest score, 5 bolts.  I don't do this often for the big pattern companies but I think their women's patterns are better than the children patterns.  I think this particular look is great for an older tween.

  

Pattern Review: Ottobre hoodie - Issue 1/14

Today we have a guest post from Kristi who blogs over at Kopykat & Kidz.  Her blog covers sewing for both kids and adults and various craft projects. She has a fun casual style that is certainly worth checking out.

Thank you Kristi for giving us another option for the ever popular hoodie!

Name of the pattern:

The pattern I’m using for this review is the Zip Up hooded fleece jacket.

Pattern Source:

This pattern is from the sewing pattern magazine, Ottobre, issue 1/14.

Sizes available:

Ottobre is a European magazine so it is published with European sizing.  This threw me for a loop when I first started sewing from it because using my kid’s measurements to figure out sizing put them all over the place.  Then I found out that the sizes roughly equate to their height in centimeters.  This made my life much easier!  The pattern comes in sizes 128 – 170 cm.  Abby is about a size 10/12 and I sewed up a 140cm based on her height and it fits her perfectly.  If I would have sewn her pants I might have based the size on her waist measurement and added length.

inside view

Special materials required:

The only special material I needed was a separating zipper, however if you want to make it just like the pattern you also need two zippers for the pockets, two grommets (and a little bit of interfacing) and flat cotton cord.  I don’t know if it’s a special material, but I did use a size 14 stretch/knit needle for sewing as well.

Skill level required:

I think this is probably an intermediate pattern to sew up.  The thing that makes it lean more toward intermediate is the zipper installation and the fact that Ottobre is catering to people who already know how to sew.  What I mean is that there are no pictures of the construction.  If you have sewed up a hoodie before you will not have any problems following Ottobre instructions.  Also the princess seams in the front and back mean that you are sewing curves together instead of straight lines which can be a little trickier.

back inside view

How you came to choose the pattern:

In the case of this garment the fabric came first.  Abby and I were at JoAnn getting some microfleece for a coat for me (I finally got it sew and you can see us pictured in our hoodies.  Mine is also Ottobre Women’s, issue 5/14, very similar but with no hood.  The sizing women starts at a European 34 which is about a U.S. size 4.  This could also be a great option for the older tween/teen) and she found this light blue microfleece.  Since I love to sew for my kids and she did need another hoodie for fall we bought some.  Then we talked about hoodies and I decided to make this one.  I love the princess seaming it has.  I think it elevates the regular boxy hoodie to a slimmer fit one for tween/teen girls.