I can’t do it. Can’t call ’em jeggings. But they’re pull on jeans.
E wears almost only leggings when the weather cools off. The only pants she will wear are skinny jeans. She had a couple pairs but she’s outgrown them. I told her I would make her some new ones. I was going to make the real deal at first but when this Jalie pattern popped up, I knew they were just the ticket.
I took E shopping at Mood for some fabric. She picked two shades of this denim, turquoise and neon coral. (Hopefully, this link doesn’t die too soon. In any case, it’s 75% cotton, 23% polyester, and 2% spandex.) It’s perfect for this pattern. Nice bottom weight, good stretch.
I had a hard time picking a size. E’s hips put her in a G, her waist in an I, and her inseam in a K. And there’s one tiny detail I don’t get about the smaller sizes in Jalie. Looking at a size J, which is supposed to be about 6 years old, there’s a 4″ difference between hips and waist. Is that actually normal for children? Because mine are certainly way more straight up and down than that! Whatever.
The pattern isn’t actually drafted as a truly skinny leg. You have to take it in after the fact. I figured I could take in the hips at the same time as the legs.
I started with a size K to match the inseam and cut out the coral. Once I’d gotten most of it constructed, I put it on E, and pinned her legs to her desired skinniness. (Cue comment from her dad saying he’s jealous that he doesn’t get bespoke jeans.)
I ended up shaving two full inches from the side waist (1 inch on each side) and then another inch from the center back. In retrospect, I think I should have left that center back as is. The jeans are great once they’re on but she has a hard time getting them on and off.
I used a decorative stitch on the back pockets for a touch of fun.
Those size K jeans ended up too long so for the turquoise ones, I went down to a size I with J length (and hemmed those ones a smidge too short…)
I thought I might not need to take in the waist but I did, just a little less. Though again, she does struggle to get them on and off so maybe they needed the extra ease? That or the waistband elastic I used doesn’t stretch enough. She had no issues getting either pair on and off before I added the waistband… The fit is much better under her butt though, isn’t it?
These ones don’t have the decorative stitching but I did do all the topstitching with beastly silver thread!
And that’s it for back to school!
PS: Didn’t I do a rockin’ job with the seam matching? And both jeans have a 2″ hem so I can lengthen them if needed. And please pretend you don’t notice how bubbly the waistband seams are. I swear I pressed them hard. Apparently not hard enough.
Yes, you did do a rocking job with the seam matching! Those turned out really well! A couple of my kids have a large difference between their waist and hips… I think it really depends on the kid!
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Ah, good to know that there are children who aren’t straight up and down! Mine are two little columns. (No more than an inch of difference between chest-waist-hips.)
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