This is my review of the Jalie Simone wide leg pants & shorts pattern.
I sewed these Jalie Simone shorts and pants for my teen about a year apart. The shorts are a linen rayon blend and the pants are a rayon tencel blend. They are two sizes different (smaller on the left, larger on the right) as teenagers grow like weeds!
These pants are very straightforward sew with decent Jalie instructions. They don’t often contain a lot of images as the instructions are in both French and English, but they are illustrated, they have good wording, even if it’s not super detailed.
I chose to make one alteration to the pants’ waistband – during construction, they have you sew the back band, Wrong Side together, right sides onto the top of the pants with all the raw edges serged – if you are serging this on, go for it. If you want a more finished inside and you’re not serging, sew just ONE side of the band, then flip up, press, then fold over, with another 1/4″ fold at the bottom edge and make an enclosed casing for the elastic, finishing the interior waistband.
These pants have angled front pockets, front pleats, a full elastic back waistband and wide legs. They aren’t “too wide” for a teenager, LOL.
As true with most of the time I make Jalie, tall people will love these – we cut off several inches AND did a 3″ hem (to let them down later!) But the way my teen outgrew the shorts was in the hip/seat, as Jalie runs (MHO) narrow across – but with 30 sizes, you’ll find your fit!
The best feature is the front tie and belt loops that’s captured into the sideseam. Very chic look for a dressy or casual pant. These, as you can see, make excellent “concert black” pants for chamber orchestra, but they also make great casual shorts (she wears them with graphic tees) and beach pants. I plan to make myself some of these well-designed pants.
When she tried them on for the first time she said “deep pockets!” – everyone loves pockets!
The bonus with Jalie, besides great designs on wearable basics with good drafting is the extended size range. Few other pattern companies offer this range, so if you sew for a range of sizes, Jalie’s your company to sew with!
These pants are shown made with tee shirts in matching fabrics on the Jalie site for a “jumpsuit” or “romper” look – and this is an excellent way to sew these!