Éléonore Pull-On Jeans

Reviewed by Lucy@sewessential on 5th April, 2018

Inspired by Heather of Closet Case patterns #nofearnewjeans initiative my latest make was the Eleonore Pull on Jeans by Jalie patterns. I decided to start the year with a bang and just jump right in and make some jeans.

I cut a size V, but think I should have cut one or two sizes smaller in hindsight. This was nothing to do with the sizing rather me making a mistake cutting out – whoops! I am a 29″ waist and 39″ hips and 5′ 6″ tall with a 31″ inside leg. I also had to shorten the jeans by a couple of inches, but this was partly to make them suitable as skinny jeans, which was a modification I chose to make.

In terms of construction this pattern is fantastic. There is a 21 minute step by step video available on the Jalie YouTube channel that takes you through every single step. I didn’t look at the written instructions once! You could easily sew them up in half a day, it is the fitting which takes a little more time (if this is an issue for you of course). Once you have a pair that fits you could rattle subsequent pairs off in no time. There is also a brilliant tutorial in how to skinnify the jeans, which I followed and it worked brilliantly.

In terms of fitting I had to drop the back crotch seam quite significantly to get rid of some unsightly drag lines across the back of my thighs. I did this following a tutorial by the lovely Heather of Closet Case patterns and it worked a treat. I also had to ‘scoop’ the crotch curve prior to this to create more room for my bum! I entered the project with an open mind and fully expected to have to play around until I was happy with the fit and was thrilled with the end result.

I used our gorgeous mid blue stretch denim and it took the repetitive unpicking and general abuse of all the modifications like a real trooper! You can find the denim and pattern on our website.

This pattern is a brilliant way to dip your toe in the water of jeans making because there is no fly front making the construction super easy so you can just concentrate on fit. I’m definitely planning a pair of Closet Case Ginger jeans next!

I also wrote a full blog post going into all the gory details, which you can find here www.sewessential.co.uk/blog