BUBBLE GUM JOGGERS & JELLY BEAN SWEATER

Jelly Bean Sweater: From Start to Finish

Transcript for Video: Jelly Bean Sweater - From Start to Finish

And it's a really nice pattern because it has got a closure, which means that if your kid has a problem with something going over their head, then it's no issue either because you've got the closure which you can open up. And I think it's a great technique to put into your little box of things that you know how to do. It's very, very simple to do. It's actually not complicated — we're just working with two facings here really, and they just go on top of each other and that's it.

The problem doing this was to do the pattern for you — now that wasn't easy. But now you've got the pattern, it's awfully easy.

About My Patterns

All my patterns, as some of you might already know, come in single files.
So for all the children's patterns you've got one file per size, and of course you get all the sizes that are included with the pattern.

That means:

• you can cut it out in any type of space
• you don't need much room
• you don't waste paper
• smaller sizes fit on fewer sheets
• you keep your sanity

For example:
A size 3 might have 6–7 pages, while a size 8 might have 12 pages.

Matching Jogger Bottoms

What goes with this gorgeous little sweater are these Java bottoms.
They have some really ingenious pockets which were pretty difficult to do — but they're not proper welt pockets. They’re practiced seams, and well… there's a trick to it.

There is a video here on YouTube for that as well.
I’m going to put the link in the top right-hand corner of this video, and it's also in the info box so you can find everything you need down there.

I think they make a really, really super pair together.

Suitable Fabrics

Let’s begin and have a look at what fabrics are suitable.

Here I've used some sweatshirt fabric, which is really cool.
It only has two-way stretch, and not even that much. You don't need a lot of stretch because the sweatshirt is quite roomy.

But you should not use:

• woven fabric with no stretch
• very lightweight fabrics

That will not work.

It is a Raglan sweatshirt, and as you can see blended in here on the side, we've made loads of different ones and we absolutely love this little sweatshirt.

You can go wild:

• heavier sweat fabrics
• heavier knit fabrics

Just no wovens.

Closure Options

As the closure I've used KamSnaps, which are always very good.
You could also use metal snaps if you already know KamSnaps and want a challenge.
But for beginners, I would stick with KamSnaps.

Cutting the Sleeves

Because we've got a closure, we've got a right sleeve and a left sleeve, and you need to cut them out so that they're facing absolutely correctly to get the right and left sleeve.

In the academy I also have a chapter showing you how to adapt the pattern quickly to make the standard version without the closure.
You don't necessarily need it — the head will go through — but I think it's a really nice design feature.

Hem Options

We’ve got two different ways of finishing the hem trim:

• a plain hem trim
• a high‑low hem trim

The high‑low version is shown in the little picture blended in on the side.

In this video I'm going to show you what to do if the fabric is really thick and you want it to be nice and flat.
With lighter fabrics you don’t need this method.

Materials Used

I've used:

• interfacing to reinforce the placket
• yellow topstitching thread
• light blue standard cotton thread

Here you can see the interfacing that I'm going to put onto the placket, and I'm just quickly going to cut that.

Interfacing the Placket

Let’s get started.

The first thing we're going to do is iron on those interfacing bits.
You don't need any steam for that — my iron is one of these miraculous American irons that never turns off the steam. It's a really cheap one.

Do the other side as well.

Then I need to overlock that little edge at the top — or “serge” if you're in America.

Sewing the Sleeves

Now I'm going to sew the sleeves to the front.
On the other side we are only closing it up to where the placket is — we’re going 1 cm higher than where the placket starts.

Then I'm going to place the back on as well like this.
Flip the back over, put it on, and pin the other sleeve seams.

Now I'm going to sew those in.
As always, we have a 1 cm seam allowance.

Overlocking and Preparing the Placket

With all my seams now closed, I need to overlock them.

Now I fold over my placket so that I can clearly see the overlocking, and then we're just overlocking this edge.
Pull it around a bit, make sure you don't cut into it — that is a real risk.
You might want to turn off your knife if you're not sure.

Pressing and Overlapping the Placket

Now we can proceed to iron all our sleeves into the front.
Here where I've got my opening, I can now fold it over where it needs to be so that it overlaps, leaving a little bit standing on the front piece.

Now I'm going to sew this down.
Lengthen your stitch length — 3.5 or even 4.

On your presser foot you need to find a fixed point to go down.
Use the same fixed point on all three seams and leave out the opening.

Neckband

Now we're going to do the neckband.

Close the short sides first with a 1 cm seam allowance.
Cut off your seam allowances so it's nice and small — because we are going to put a KamSnap in there, and if it's really thick, the KamSnap won’t go in.

Iron the whole thing lengthways in half.

Attaching the Neckband

The first thing to do is to half your sweatshirt.
You will see that it's exactly on the seam there.

Here I'm putting my back onto the center back — which is not the actual center back, but the folded center.

Here you can see it goes just where the placket starts.

Then I stretch the neckband and work my fingers to the middle, putting pins all the way around.

Once we've sewn it in, we're going to sew across here to stitch in the placket as well.

If you did that in one go and just folded it over, it would give an ugly nose.
Trust me — it will always move.

Sewing the Neckband

Make sure everything is even and then sew it in.
I'm using a foot‑width seam allowance here.

Make sure nothing slips out at the front — it always wants to do that.

Folding and Stitching the Placket

Now the next step is to fold over the placket really tightly.
Pin it, then turn it over to the other side.

Do it from the underside so you can see the stitching line.
Hit the same stitching line — it gives you a beautiful result.

Overlocking the Neckline

Now I can go back to the overlocker.
I'm lining it up with a point on my machine — it's the Brother Lock 1034D.
It's a very cheap machine but it's done me for years.

Now I'm going to press this over my ironing board — lots of steam.

Topstitching the Opening

Next step: topstitching the opening.

Because the front placket is a little wider than the back one, you should have no issue doing this.

Start on the underarm seam.
Stitch length 3.5 to 4 (or even 4.5 depending on your machine).

Use the same fixed point as before.

Turn at the top and stitch across.

If you're unsure, mark the line with a textile pen first.

Adding a Second Stitch Line (Optional)

I'm adding a second line just to see what it looks like.
It's not really necessary.

You could also add two stitching lines where you topstitch onto the sleeve — up to you.

Adding the KamSnaps

Now we're going to put the KamSnaps on.

Press down hard to make an indent.
Use the awl to push through all layers.

KamSnap parts:

• flat cap
• cap with thicker rim
• cap with sharp rim

First:
Put the flat cap through from the underside.
Add the thicker rim on top.
Press with the tool.

Second:
Push the prong through from the top side.
Add the sharp rim.
Press again.

Done.

Closing the Side Seams

Now we can move on to the next bit — closing the side seams.

Do it in one go.
It gives us another look at our placket — isn’t it fantastic?

Sew from the lower end all the way up.
1 cm seam allowance.

Make sure nothing folds over.

Then overlock the seam.

Pressing the Seams

Iron the seams towards the center back.
Do this on both sides.

Cut off overlapping threads.

Hem Trim and Cuffs

Now we're going to do the cuffs and the hem trim.

The hem trim has the front and back twice each.

Sew front and back together at the side seam.

Do the wrist cuffs now as well — no point going back later.

Iron all seam allowances apart.

Hem Trim Technique

Now we continue with the hem trim.

Put the two hem trim pieces inside each other, right sides facing.

Close the lower curved edge — not the straight edge.

Cut back the seam allowances.

Iron the seam apart.

Turn and roll the edge out.
Press all the way around.

Attaching the Hem Trim

Put the trim over the sweatshirt.

Attach only one side — this is why it will lie flat.

The top part will be overlocked later.

Pin and sew the lower edge.

Then overlock the top edge.

Topstitching the Hem Trim

Fold the hem trim so the seam sits neatly.

Pin vertically.

Topstitch above and below the seam.

This gives a very commercial look.

Press everything well.

Cuffs

We have arrived at the last part — the cuffs.

Place the ends on top of each other and press.

Turn the top inside out.
Place the cuff inside — never outside.

Match the seam to the underarm seam.
Stretch to the other side.

Sew in place.

Overlock the seam.

Final Press

Give the cuffs a gentle press — and we are done.

Thank you everyone for watching to the end, and I hope to see you soon again with another project from Frocks & Frolics. Bye for now.

A quick Runthrough of the entire Project

Transcript for the Video: Bubble Gum - All-in-One-Video

Hi everyone, I'm Marina.
Welcome to another project with Frocks and Frolics.
These are my Bottom Joggers and I'm going to show you exactly how to make them.

Before we go off and sew them together in about ten minutes, let's have a look at the super‑duper little joggers in a bit more detail.

Waistband Construction

One of the things that's different from other jogger bottoms you might have made is that the waistband is constructed first and then sewn in.
This means that you can change the elastic afterwards.

Of course, you could do the traditional method if you'd like and put the elastic in after.

I think it looks nicer this way — it gives you a little bit more firmness around here, and so we're getting a really fantastic little pair of joggers.

The Pocket Technique

The other thing is my little technique here:
how to put in these gorgeous pockets.

They are so simple to put in and they look so nice.
If you're an absolute beginner who doesn't know how to put pockets in, then this is the method for you.

The Importance of the Gusset

One of the things that a lot of these little patterns don't have is a gusset.

When I first started the baby collection — which is not so long ago — I realized that you just can't do without it.
I've done a few without, and there's always that massive tension because the gusset has to wrap around the nappy.

It's a very simple thing to do.

You can also make the joggers without pockets.

Buttonhole Tie Option

I also want to show you the other method here:
simply put two little buttonholes in and then put through a tie.

I didn't even stitch down for a tunnel — of course you could do that before you put it in.

If you want to know how to do it with eyelets, I've already done that in the Maisie Short, and that video is linked in the description.

Getting Started

So without further ado, let's start sewing.

The first thing to do is to put your pattern together.
Make sure it's printed correctly — 5 cm or 1 inch should be the measurement.
Then join your pattern pieces together in alphabetical order.
It's really dead simple.

Cutting the Fabric

Here I've cut everything out.
It's so simple.

We're cutting:

• the front on the fold
• the back on the fold
• the waistband
• the funny‑looking shapes for the pocket
• the gusset
• the cuffs (which will magically change into yellow later on)

Preparing the Pocket Side Piece

Now we're going to take that special triangular piece.

You can put some interfacing on it if it's a really lightweight fabric, or leave it as it is.

To make the pattern match:

1. Place the front piece on your fabric so that it's a perfect match.
2. Put the triangle on with a 1 cm seam allowance.
3. Move the front piece away.
4. Pin the triangle.
5. Cut it out.

It will fit absolutely perfectly.

Sewing the Pocket

Place your pocket with the slanted side right sides facing onto the front and sew it in with a 1 cm seam allowance.

That little jagged action isn't in the pattern anymore — it didn’t make any sense.

Iron the seams apart.

Creating the Pocket Opening

Now we're going to create this lovely opening.

With the seams lying open:

• put the triangle on top
• make sure it matches nicely
• put a pin at the top and bottom
• flip the whole thing to the underside
• measure down either what's on the pattern or 3 cm from the top and bottom
• sew in the ditch from the top to the marking
• then again from the marking to the end

Really simple.

Don't forget to lock your stitches at the top and bottom.

You have now fixed the side part of your pocket.

Folding and Topstitching the Pocket

Fold the pocket back forward.

All we have to do now is topstitch it.

If you've already done one side, the other side needs to be the same height — you might want to mark it.

Stitch all the way around.

Tip:
Start right on the seam so you can count your stitches:

• one, two, three down
• one, two, three across
• one, two, three up

Dead simple.

Adding the Pocket Lining

Next step: put the pocket lining under.

You can:

• overlock it together and topstitch through all layers
• or pin it and sew the pocket in, then overlock

Both are possible.

The pocket is now done.

Securing the Pocket

Where the little weird‑looking triangle is, it's a bit loose.

To secure it:

• stitch right next to the topstitching line
• from the very top down

Stitch length 2.5.

Overlock it — your pocket is inserted.

Inserting the Gusset

Next we're going to put in our gusset to the back.

You've got this protrusion there, so it's really easy to work your way around.

Do not pin this — just stitch it in.

Make sure you've marked:

• the center back
• the center of your gusset

Work your way around.

Overlock it.

Sewing the Inseam

Bring together the legs, right sides inside.

Bring it in flat in the leg area.

It will feel like you have to hold the gusset in, but it's only because it's a curve.

Sew it in.

Some of you might not need to pin this — beginners should.

Beautiful seam — overlock it.

Sewing the Side Seams

Sew the side seams together with a 1 cm seam allowance on both sides.

Overlock.

Make sure the pocket doesn't fold over.

Iron the seam towards the back with lots of steam.

Preparing the Cuffs and Waistband

Sew together the seams of the cuffs and the waistband.

Feed in the next piece right away so you don't waste expensive Gütermann thread.

Iron the seams apart.
Iron the cuffs lengthwise.

Attaching the Cuffs

Turn your joggers inside out.

Insert the cuff inside.

Line up:

• cuff seam
• inner leg seam

Stretch to fit and pin.

Sew from the inside so you can move the fabric easily.

Remove all pins before overlocking — pins ruin knives.

Steam the seam back in.
Turn flat.
Steam again.

Beautiful cuff.

Preparing the Waist Elastic

Next we're going to do the sports elastic for the waist.

It's 1.25 inches wide.

Use the measurement in your instructions for the length.

Sew down either side with a 1 cm overlap.

Press to create a crease.

If you're sewing for a child far away, use the traditional method:

• sew waistband
• leave a gap
• thread elastic later

Inserting the Elastic into the Waistband

Here we're inserting it straight into the waistband:

• stretch it on
• pin all the way around
• sew along the edge (not catching the elastic)

Turn joggers inside out.
Insert waistband.
Line up waistband seam with center back.
Pin.
Stretch to find opposite side and quarters.

Sew all the way around.
Stretch as you go.
Hold at the end.

Overlock — remove all pins.

Finished Joggers

And you are done with your beautiful little pair of joggers.

This is such a good pattern for a beginner.

If you want to make your own go to:

• frocksandfrolics.com

You’ll have full access to all videos for FREE.

I cannot wait to see you there.

And for everyone watching on YouTube — the next project is a little sweatshirt.