This make is in association with the Sewisfaction Blogger Team. The fabric for this post was kindly supplied by Sewisfaction.

The Eleonore Pull-On Jeans

I have a little bit of a confession to make. I have been sewing for nearly 10 years now, and I could count on one hand the number of trousers I have made! I think the fitting issue has always scared me just a little bit too much. But this year’s Me Made May challenge made me realise how I really ought to get over my fear and try and add some trousers to my handmade wardrobe. Enter the Eleonore Pull-On Jeans from Jalie Patterns.

I had seen these jeans popping up numerous times on Instagram and always wanted to give them a go. They are nearly identical in style to a pull-on jean/jegging that H&M do which I pretty much live in (I own 3 colours ways), so I thought it would be amazing to be able to recreate them.

Fitting

I decided it would probably be wise to sew up a toile first, in order to tackle the dreaded trouser fitting issue, so that’s what I did. They came together really quickly and I have to say, the toile fitted nearly perfectly on the first go! But I did have some horizontal lines under my bum and I felt the crotch was a little high as well. With a little bit of searching (namely this post on the Closet Case Patterns blog – so helpful!) I decided I needed to do a low bum adjustment (lol, not a surprise!) and scoop out the seat curve slightly. So I made sure to do that on the final garment.

Another issue I had was with the fit on the legs. I felt they were a bit too loose. I also had a lot of wrinkles behind my knees (which I can’t find any fitting guidance to at all). To be honest, I think this is the style of the jeans. They are definitely a straight cut, rather than skinny. I did go back and forward about keeping them straight, but apparently I just love my skinny jeans! So I tapered them in to be totally form-fitting. This also helped with the knee wrinkling a little bit.

The fit around the hips and waist is spot on! Honestly, I am absolutely delighted with the fit. The waistband comes up slightly higher than I thought they would, which is actually great because it holds in my ‘muffin top’ (for want of a better expression)! They still sit slightly below the bellybutton.

Construction

The Eleonore pull-on jeans are constructed pretty similarly to regular jeans, with copious amounts of topstitching (I just used my regular thread though). The main difference is that the pockets and fly are all faux, and of course the waistband is elastic. The faux fly is very easy but there is a little bit of tricky sewing getting the faux pocket pieces in. It’s not particularly difficult, it just requires slow and careful sewing (and I may have been holding my breath while doing so…). But oh my goodness, it is so satisfying once it’s done! Saying that, you can actually buy an ‘add on’ pattern piece for real front pockets. I think I will go ahead and get it because I will definitely be making this pattern again and it would be nice to have real pockets.

The way the waistband is constructed was really interesting. The elastic is sewn on to the lower half of the waistband piece with a zig-zag stitch, without being stretched. The upper part of the waistband is then folded over the elastic (thus encasing it) and this is the outer side. So the elastic is totally secure and there is absolutely no chance of it flipping over (one of my pet-peeves when it comes to elasticated waistbands). And the stitching is on the inside, leaving the outside beautifully smooth.

That may have been as clear as mud, sorry! It’s quite hard to explain. But one of the best things about this pattern, is there is a free video tutorial for the entire construction on YouTube! I pretty much followed along with the video and paid no attention to the written instructions which came with the pattern (they are actually quite sparse).

Turquoise Fabric Of Dreams

I made up the final Eleonore jeans in the most amazing turquoise stretch twill from Sewisfaction. It’s hard for the camera to do this fabric justice. In these photos, and on the Sewisfaction shop page, the fabric comes across more as a bright light blue, but there is definitely a tiny bit of green to it to tip it into the turquoise category. It is 20% stretch, which is what the Eleonore pattern requires.

The fabric sewed up really well and was a dream to work with. It does fray a bit, so having an overlocker was a god-send (I think all twill fabric frays though). Having worn my jeans out and about for a day, they have stretched a bit, so it might be a good idea to maybe make your jeans (or whatever you are sewing up) just a touch tighter to compensate for this. A run through the wash though and I’m pretty sure they will be back to their original fit.

The Low Down

I am completely and utterly head over heels in love with my new bright turquoise jeans! The only problem now is that I don’t actually have very many things in my wardrobe that coordinates with them. Not to worry, I picked up these two beauties from Sewisfacion which both pair really well and I plan on whipping up a couple of tops (I see they are both out of stock now, but I also have this fab parrot fabric which goes perfectly too!)

As for the Eleanore pattern? I see myself going on a little bit of jeans-making binge soon! I’ve already pulled out a couple of stretch cottons and denims from my stash and they’ll be heading for the pre-wash soon!!