Pattern review: Jalie Leotard 3136

Stella started gymnastics this winter. She was invited to a ballet class with a friend and loved it, but after researching options in our area, gymnastics was more economical. Stella is shaped very much like me, and has inherited my lack of coordination. That also means she'll be too tall for gymnastics by the 6th grade, but hopefully it will give her a leg up in other sports. (Which I hope she'll want to play!)

 

Stella is enjoying Kindergym so much! It's fun watching her, too. She's a bit of a social butterfly, and has trouble paying attention to the instructor. (This is also a theme at school.) My mom and I took both girls to an Oregon State University exhibition meet and they were enthralled -- well, for about 30 minutes at least. Since then Stella has been asking for "gymnastics clothes". I bought her a pair of gym shorts that were promptly lost (how does that happen? Our house isn't that messy) and started planning a leotard.

I quickly found out there's a lot of options out there! Some pattern companies I hadn't even heard of. I didn't check out the Big 4 patterns because I didn't want to deal with a muslin. The Jalie swimsuit I made this summer fit well, so I focused on choosing one of the many Jalie options. With the pattern I chose, I should be able to sew view B for a ballet leotard if we need it.

Pattern: Jalie 3136

Sizing: I sewed an I (5) and lengthened the front and back by 2" according to Stella's girth measurement.

Modifications: None

Material used: Performance/swim nylon/spandex from Jo-Ann's.

Notions needed: 3/8" elastic for the leg openings.

Appropriately rated: This could easily be tackled by someone who has made a couple knit projects.

Time spent: 1+ hours on cutting out the pattern and material. 2.5 hours spent on the actual sewing.

Construction/instructions: The instructions were complete and concise. However, I didn't like that the written instructions were on a separate page from the illustrated instructions. Maybe it's an older Jalie pattern? I prefer the format of the other Jalie patterns I've made.

Comments: Very cute leotard! The shoulders stayed up fine during Kindergym, I was a little worried they would slide off. Stella was often picking at a wedgie, but I think that was because I didn't line it and had her wear underwear underneath.