The Skinny Pedal Pushers – Jalie Éléonore Pull-On Jeans

Hi everyone, hope you’re all enjoying Me Made May! This is my fourth year participating and I’m loving it. Tell you what, though, I’m kind of wishing I’d chosen a different challenge as all I want to wear every day is my latest make: these cute and comfy pedal pusher “jeans”. They’re the Jalie Éléonore Pull-On Jeans and I love them to bits! More details on sewing them up over on the Minerva Blogger Network. For rambling thoughts about jeggings, personal style and the like, read on here 🙂

Jalie Eleonore Pull-On Jeans #1

I always used to consider “jeggings” a bit of a dirty word. They were the comical pretend jeans that were a sure sign you were letting yourself go. Then along came child #2, and the delights of maternity jeans. No, seriously, I was a convert. With my first I’d only ever had those weird over-the-bump maternity jeans but second time around I bought a pair of Red Herring jeans that had a soft elasticated waistband, but looked just like regular jeans from there on down. I was smitten. Comfiest jeans EVAH.

And I didn’t want to take them off once Gabriel arrived. When I finally had to admit they were getting dangerously loose I looked around for some non-maternity equivalents. I wanted proper stretch denim, but with a flat, elasticated waistband. Tricky.

In the end I bought some Next jeggings which were comfy, but made of that weird faux denim jersey. They bagged out horribly at the knee and I ended up getting rid of them. I then found a fairly decent pair of more proper denim jeggings at White Stuff, but they were expensive, the denim was thin, and I didn’t like the way the waistband looked–too gathered. Still, they’ve lasted me for a few years and it’s only just recently that I’ve realised they’re getting too baggy what with the post-baby #3 weight loss.

I didn’t fancy forking out for another pair from White Stuff, given the issues mentioned above, but then I remembered the Jalie Éléonore jeans, and thought “surely I could make my own jeggings”.

Yes, yes I could. These are the result, and bloody comfortable they are too!

I’m counting these as one of my Make Nine projects, as well as one of my capsule wardrobe for the Sew Your Kibbe Challenge, which I still haven’t properly blogged about. Maybe I’ll find the time next week…

Regarding the Kibbe Challenge, I know the cropped look doesn’t really fit in the Dramatic Classic guidelines which really only specify one kind of trouser:

Pants: Simple tailored styles with pleats and man-tailored detail are best. The pants should be clean, sleek, and elegant.

AVOID: Fussy or ornate styles. Tapered or pegged style. Wide, baggy, or unconstructed styles.

Yeah, that’s quite limited. However, I reckon these pedal pushers are a fair fit for a more casual look. They certainly don’t feature any of the things to avoid, at any rate. I love wearing this length of jeans in the summer months and they have that vintage vibe I’m after without being remotely costumey.

I’m definitely going to use the Jalie Éléonore pattern to make more trousers in the future. Much as I love wearing skirts and dresses, jeans and casual trousers are definitely more practical when wrangling small children. I’ve always tended towards skirts and dresses as I have a really long rise and RTW trousers rarely fit comfortably. Now that I feel more confident in tackling trouser fitting issues, thanks to the pedal pushers I made a couple of years ago and now these, I’m definitely ready to refine the fit of these and get a real TNT pattern for me. I know I have a fair amount of work to do still with the legs which are doing something odd, but at least these fit really nicely at the top.

Right, that’s it for now. I’ve cut out a couple of projects to sew for Gabriel and Lauren next, who are currently winding each other up on the floor next to me. Gabriel has chickenpox and is going a bit stir crazy at home. I think I need to make a cake with him now or something.

Adios, amigos!

x

2 thoughts on “The Skinny Pedal Pushers – Jalie Éléonore Pull-On Jeans”

    1. Thanks for the vote of confidence! They fit with the rest of my wardrobe at any rate, so I reckon I’m on the right track, style-wise 🙂

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