Chantal by Jalie, Swinging this Summer!

This post; Chantal by Jalie,  took a long time for me to produce.  Mostly because this Spring has been too cool and damp for me to wear it in comfort.  That was the only obstacle!  This dress/top was really easy to put together and it is soooooo easy to fit. The pattern number is 4456, click here to visit Jalie’s site.  One of my sewing students made TWO during our 2-day retreat, and she hadn’t sewn clothes for YEARS!  The dress has side-seam pockets, the top does not.  Both lengths have a shaped hem, longer at the front and back and a bit shorter at the side-seam.

You have choices, a dress or a top, scoop neck or V-neck.  On my dress, I made the front a “V” and the back scoop. 

My top has a scoop at front and back. (Eleonore are the jeans.)

I’m going to make a few more of these, I love the flattering shape and ease of construction.  My top is made of a remnant of an ITY knit, which is very cool on my skin, but the dress is not.  Cool.  That’s a GREAT reason to sew more, don’t you think?

Chantal by Jalie, my Next Versions

For me, patterns (and recipes) are a “guide”.  Depending on what it is, I follow closely or not so much.  That’s why my Chantal dress has a front “V” and a back scoop.  I could, so I did, lol.  

For my next ones, I’m cutting the neck and armbands 2 inches wide for a bit more shoulder coverage.  I’m also going to raise the front (a bit)  and the back (a bit more) neckline.  Here’s why.

That sky blue sports bra is a “me-made”, and I use an old pattern that I adapted to be front-closing.  I  have a number of them, all the same shape.  They’re very comfortable.  So my clothes need to adapt.  I’ll keep you posted!

In my next post I’ll share my sewing fun with Claudette.

In the meantime, have a swinging good time sewing up some Chantals.