Figure Skating Pattern Review: Jalie 2684

I finished the figure skating dress I've been working on for Ice Girl. It's Jalie pattern #2684 and it looks pretty good. I tell you: I was worried. We've got some bright fabrics working here.

Ice Girl and Ice Coach selected a lycra that's like chrome. I kid you not: you can see a reflection in this stuff. Think aluminum pop can and you'll have it.

They also selected a holographic hot pink, a holographic blue/purple, and a holographic lime green. That's a lot of shine.

I combined the two bodice pieces into one (see photo at left) and then traced out where I wanted the colored pieces to go. You can see where I added extra seam allowances to the pieces. If you've never pieced anything together, realize that when you sew the pieces, it's a good idea to sew a stabilizing straight stitch just inside the seam line and clip the seam allowance to the straight stitch. It makes pinning and sewing so much easier and pucker-free.

Tip: use sew-in stabilizer or sew-in interfacing to trace patterns. The stabilizer or interfacing is pretty see-through and very sturdy. It irons well and holds up to multiple cuttings. Sew-in stabilizer is pretty cheap, too. I think I spent $1.09/yard at Wal-Mart for it. I always buy 10 yards at a time because I don't want to run out in the middle of tracing a pattern.


Tip: I also use medical paper tape when I need to tape my patterns together. Irons don't melt paper tape; they melt Scotch tape really well, though. You can see in the photo with the iron that I cut off the top part of a pattern piece. I repaired it with the paper tape and moved on with the project.

Jalie review: Again, I like the Jalie patterns. The instructions and diagrams are clear and sensible. The patterns come with 22 sizes, so adjusting it to fit is pretty simple.

My complaint with this pattern is that I had trouble with the collar. It gapped. When Ice Girl tried on the dress, the collar sagged like a cowl neck instead of fitting to her neck. It took some creative sewing (darts) to make it lie flat and not look funny.

Otherwise, Ice Girl loves the dress. As I said, it's bright, but not so flashy that I'm embarrassed to have passed it through my machine.

The problem? Ice Girl can't figure out where the crystals should go. Um. No crystals, Ice Girl. You'll blind everyone with that much shine.

Bottom line: would I buy another Jalie pattern? You bet. The gaping neckline isn't enough to deter me from their figure skating dresses. Overall the fit is good and I can fix a gaping neckline pretty well.