Jalie's Eleonore Jeans

Pattern Review weekend is nearly here! Eeeek! As it is my first time going, I'm feeling pretty excited about spending a weekend with other people who are as obsessed by sewing as I am... and I'm sure my non-sewing friends will be glad for a break :)

As part of #PRW2016 the communal pattern chosen was the Jalie Eleonore pull-on jean. Since it was easily available in pdf form, I quickly bought it and went shopping. The other element of this group project was to make these jeans in red. So when I found a cotton/linen/spandex mix on the sale table (for $3/m!) I bought it.

Then I washed it, and found out why it was on the sale table...it bled and bled. 8 washes later, I said good enough, and will just wash these alone by hand every time I need to in future! Other than that, the fabric is great - nice stretch and a nice linen-y feel.

this is such a weird angle! I don't know how my leg seems to have folded like a paper doll...

This pattern is really straightforward. Easy to trace out - I used size X for the body, and then curved into a smaller W at the waist -- my inseam is so short it ended up at size P! But it was easy to adjust. You might note that these pants relaxed a little since I sewed them, and now I think I might have to hem them up by another 3/4" or so...maybe I will.

The pockets were interesting - I tried out a few of my Janome's decorative stitches for the first time. I went with the starburst stitch, even if it doesn't stand out much due to the matching thread. That's okay because no-one's going to get a look look at them anyhow...except for you and the internet. I had to topstitch a double line as I was too far from the edge the first go- in this case it is great that the thread blends in.

These were really comfy to wear, and they are really fun, too. Eye-searing red for the win! I would never have tried a pair of pants if not for the impetus of PR Weekend to influence my pattern purchase. And I certainly wouldn't have chosen tomato red for my first try :)

But I love them and I see how I will get a lot of wear out of these. I am going to make others in other colours -- I can't wear RTW capris in the summer as the length of them makes them look more like flood pants on me, so now I have the power to make some of my own! Not too bad for my first try at wearable-in-public pants. I'll wear them in public -- with long shirts but still. A change for me!

random shoe shot