Made By A Fabricista: Rayon Challis Separates for Me!

This month I decided to take a minute to sew something for myself! Knowing that I was about to move house (I'm excited to be getting a nice big sewing room!), I opted to use some tried-and-true patterns that I knew would be quick and easy to sew: Jalie Michelle and Jalie Geneviève.

I've really loved seeing garments made in crinkle challis lately, so I selected a solid mustard yellow crinkle challis with a plan for either pants or a skirt ( Geneviève is a skirt, but there's also a culotte option available for it), and two sateen challis prints for a top (Michelle can be made either as a top or a dress). I considered making a reversible top with both fabric prints, but upon playing with them in real life, opted for two separate tops with a facing.

Given that challis tends to be a bit shifty, it's best to starch it before you begin cutting out your project. It's also best to cut it out on a large surface with a rotary cutter so the fabric doesn't get distorted. Unfortunately my table and cutting mat were too small to easily cut the skirt pieces out, so I cut it out with scissors on my floor instead. You will also need a sharp/microtex needle to successfully sew challis.

The Geneviève skirt pattern has a center front and back seam, but I decided to omit this and cut the pieces on the fold. With such a narrow seam allowance (1/4") and a very forgiving garment style, I didn't bother removing the allowance from the pattern piece before cutting it out. As the fabric was a little bit sheer, I cut a second skirt for the lining.

After initially hemming the skirt, I noticed the hemline had become quite distorted (this is normal with anything cut on the bias, and rayons (especially crinkle rayons) are notorious), so I let it hang for a bit before recutting the hemline and restitching it. I didn't worry about doing a narrow hem on the lining - I cut that skirt shorter and simply serged the edge.

Oh! And it has pockets! They are optional, but in my book, they're required!

With just two pattern pieces, Jalie Michelle is a super easy to sew top, and perfect for warm weather! The pattern includes options for making it fully reversible or having just a facing on the inside. I'm eager to make the dress version at some point too!

I love my new clothes, and I know I'll get lots of wear from them as it gets warmer!