Today is the beginning of a week long blog tour to celebrate one of my favorite PDF pattern companies: Jalie Patterns.  Auschick Sews and I are your hosts and we decided this tour would be the perfect opportunity to sew BASICS.

The Basically Jalie Blog Tour starts today and features 22 bloggers from February 6-12th, has a Rafflecopter prize and a sew-along component! The sew-along means that YOU can sew basics using Jalie Patterns and enter to win some amazing prizes from our sponsors!

**Be sure to read through to the end of the post to find the blog tour schedule and links to each blog post on the tour, and then enter the Rafflecopter giveaway from our generous sponsors!

Since moving to upstate New York USA, I am often COLD.  I find myself wearing long johns under my pants, wool socks, and boots indoors.  I was so excited that my fabric sponsor for this project, Discovery Trekking Outfitters, had dozens of cold weather fabrics to choose from!

DISCOVERY TREKKING OUTFITTERS — HIGHLY TECHNICAL FABRICS

If you’ve never heard of Discovery Trekking Specialty Fabrics, you are missing out. This company, based out of BC, Canada carries the types of textiles you might find in clothing from your favorite outdoor clothing stores like: Patagonia, Nike, Northface and Lululemon. (In case you are wondering, they DO ship worldwide.)  DTO has many Polartec fabrics including: Goretex (think water repellant AND breathable), PowerWool (think warm and wicking properties) and ThermoShell (fleecy warm fluffy goodness) just to name a few.  They have plenty of fabrics for warm weather, too…I’m just stuck on all the cold weather ones because it’s winter.  Can you blame me?!  Anyway, if you want to learn more about the fabrics you carry, check out their collection of live Facebook videos from their warehouse.  They are fascinating and very informative!

The fabric I chose for my project is Navy Polartec Wind Pro FR (fire retardant). This is an advanced fleece developed to resist cold but has one tightly knit side to block the wind. The outer side of the fabric also repels water and is very breathable, making it extremely comfortable AND warm. This fabric is very stretchy across the grain (about 60%).  It’s fire retardant, so no need to worry if you find yourself near a camp fire.

Wind Pro FR is made from polyester.  What surprised me when the fabric arrived, is how much the fabric felt like COTTON on the smooth side.  It is super soft, and washes up beautifully!

Modifying the Eleonore Stretch Jeans Pattern to work with Wind Pro FR

I was in desperate need of some warm Wind Pro pants I could wear with anything.  The Eleonore Stretch Jeans seemed like a good choice, but call for around 25% stretch across the grain.  Could I modify the pattern to work with my fabric?

Since the fabric has a lot of loft (it’s thick) I didn’t want to completely size down.  I decided to reduce the side seams on the inner and outer legs by one size and left everything else the same.  (If you want a form-fitting fit, to just go ahead and size the whole pattern down…these ended up a bit baggy.) I used the skinny leg mod on the Jalie blog to reduce the ease for a straighter, slimmer leg.

I knew that the pocket add on for the Eleonores could add too much bulk. I decided to draft my own patch pockets.  It’s really easy! My pocket lining is a thin bamboo lycra that sewed into my pants very easily. Whenever I add patch pockets made of knit fabric, I stabilize the pocket opening with clear elastic.  This helps the pocket opening keep it’s shape so it can lie flat against my hips.

I omitted the faux fly (again, too much bulk for this fabric!). The waistband was modified slightly — I probably removed 3″ in length but I didn’t measure.  I did sew in the waistband elastic, as instructed in the pattern.

I loved using a reverse coverstitch for this project!

HOW THEY TURNED OUT

So…as you can see it’s definitely a BASIC and it’s definitely not the item of clothing thing that I would be excited to post on social media.  But guys…this is probably my favorite sewing project this winter! These pants are INSANELY comfortable…just super warm without being *icky* warm.  They are breathable and soft and these pants are MINE and I’m probably going to wear them all of February and March and I’ll probably only take them off to wash them.  Sometimes, lol.

There is something funky going on at the front crotch.  I’m wondering if I should have sized down a full size after all.  I don’t remember this problem when I was wearing these with long johns yesterday.

The pants are a little on the short side (with shoes) but a friend of mine called that ‘workout length’ and I agree. Perfecto!

SPEND TIME MAKING BASICS!

I know that you want to sew the FUN things: for me that would be colorful dresses and knit tops in bright colors.  If you make most of your clothing like I do, take the time to make basics once in a while!  I get more excited about sewing dessert, but I’m gonna need to pair dessert with basics and my basics will get worn 3x as much as the other stuff.

A big thank you to Discovery Trekking for sponsoring the fabric for this project!

Please visit all of the other blogs on the tour and don’t forget the Rafflecopter giveaway below AND the sew-along. We are so excited to see the Jalie basics you sew up!

 

 

GIVEAWAY!

Are there some Jalie patterns you’ve been itching to get? Now’s your chance to WIN YOUR JALIE WISHLIST! Head over to Jalie’s website, create an account, add your favorite patterns to your wishlist, and complete the rafflecopter form below (patterns must be added by February 12, 2019 11:59pm EST to be eligible). Incomplete entries will be eligible for fabric prizes only.

For extra entries, join our Jalie sewalong! Make a Jalie “basic” between January 28 and February 12 and share it on Instagram with hashtag #basicallyjalie and/or in the Basically Jalie Album in the Sewing with Jalie Facebook group.

We are so grateful to our generous sponsors who have teamed up to provide the following prizes (please stop by their shops and show them some love!):

Grand Prize (Worldwide)
Win Your Jalie Wishlist – Up to $100 CAD in patterns!
Discovery Trekking Outfitters – One (1) x 50 USD gift card
D&H Fabrics co. – One (1) x $50 USD gift card

Sewalong Prize (Continental USA only)
Win Your Jalie Wishlist – Up to $25 CAD in patterns!
The Sewciety – One (1) Subscription box (value: $48 USD)
Simply By Ti – One (1) x $20 USD gift card

Sewalong Prize (Worldwide, excluding Continental USA)
Win Your Jalie Wishlist – Up to $25 CAD in patterns!
PatternReview.com – One (1) x $30 USD gift card
Discovery Trekking Outfitters – One (1) x 50 USD gift card

(Note: gift cards exclude shipping unless otherwise stated on sponsor website)

Enter the Sweepstakes Here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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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