Monday, June 15, 2009

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.

10 comments:

Ma said...

Ice Mom,

I found your site as I was searching for tips on first competitions. There are several of us and we are pretty nervous as we don't know what the heck we are doing. I think sometimes that the Old Hats just assume that Someone is going to tell us Newbies everything we need to know and we (like you mentioned in one of your earlier posts) don't even know what questions to ask.

So, let me tell you, the information that I have gleaned here so far, I am passing on to my fellow Newbies. Can't thank you enough for your candid, inspiring and witty commentary (my husband has come upon me several times and enquired as to what I found so funny).

BTW, I also left a comment on the rink restroom post that might shed some light on that query.

RedShamrock said...

IM you are so talented. Nice job and nice explanation. However, at least for now, G will not have a mom who attempt this. Maybe grammy ...

Hope I.D. is doing ok after his surgery.

newyorkland said...

I love love love how you altered the pattern. I do wish we could see the finished product. I live very far from wisconsin so I would not be able to identify I.G. Unless she came to NY. (ha ha) I am an ice mom of 6 years. I have been sewing for all but 1 of my daughter's ice shows. After really looking into the prices for competition dresses I nearly fainted. (and remembered the home-ec award I earned in 8th grade should come to good use for something.) tee hee. So my new love of making costumes has begun.

I really love your pattern reviews. It is really fun to see what others do with the same pattern. So far I have enjoyed kwik sew and jalie patterns very much. Your resources for crystals is excellent too. Do you have any resources for "stencil patterns for dresses" or suggestions for how to make them?? Very new at stoning. Thanks for the great web site!!

Ice Mom said...

Hi, RedShamrock! Ice Dad is doing well after his surgery, but in a lot more pain and having a lot less mobility than I'd hoped. Luckily, my boss has let me work from home the past couple of days, so I'm able to give out meds, pack his legs with ice packs, and dole out some sympathy.

When he naps, Ice Girl and I have been sewing! :)

Ice Mom said...

Hi, Newyorkland. I'm glad you appreciated the sewing review.

I decided not to post Ice Girl's dress. I posted the blue one with the crystals last year and I found out that it became a challenge for my local readers to find out who Ice Girl was.

Anyway, I'm betting that the Wis. folks will be able to pick her out of a crowd with my description of the dress as a pop can. :)

As far as stencil patterns go...nope. I've got nothing. However, thanks for the tip! I will investigate! :)

ChelleDG said...

Ice Mom,

I just started working on a dress (sort of) from this for my skater out of glittery stretch velvet. I'm going to use a fuller skirt from another Jalie pattern on this bodice. I also decided to make the front all one piece. Thanks for the tip about the neck!

I've made a couple of skirts from Jalie patterns and so far like the overall fit but I'm not wild about the shape of the hemlines. I've borrowed skirts and dresses from skater friends (whose mom's paid retail) and traced the shape of the skirt. Now I've made my own custom patterns!

ScrapAloha said...

Jalie also has an awesome pattern for boys/men skating pants. I have used two sizes so far. I've had no problems on the fit.

Thanks for your blog. It's fun and informative!

Angie said...

Wow... I was wondering the same thing about the dress! I wanted to see them too. That's scary about people trying to find her because of her dress. Wow. I wish there were a way to see them tho. I bet they are lovely!

Anonymous said...

Love your blog, finally somebody like me, it is fun to read, my daughter is been skating for a whole year now and is only five and dream already of competitions, I sewed already 3 dresses for her just for fun, i used to make my own costumes for fitness competitions in my earlier days, now it is my daughter time to shine. Loving it and having a lot of fun in sewing those cute little dresses. keep blogging !

George said...

wow! interesting pattern!