Tag Archives: Jeans

new jeans

14/07/2024 12:41 pm \ 1 Comment \

honestly, I don’t ever encourage T to pose with me, he just does it all on his own. 😀

I’ve made some new jeans, and the overly wide-legged-ness of them is so funky and awesome … it’s silly but I am really feeling like this sort of thing at the moment!  I’ve been working on these for several weeks now … taking my time to get the fit just right and exactly how I wanted them.  It was fun to work slowly on something that I really wanted.  They are super comfortable and easy to wear, almost like a tracksuit, only not.  Way better.

I used McCalls 8206 as a starting point.  The size chart put me at about size 14, which surprised me a bit.  I’m traditionally a 10 in McCalls patterns, but anyway I went ahead and cut out the size 14, keeping the extra paper pattern bits of the other sizes that got cut off just in case the size wasn’t right after all.  I basted the legs together, and oh boy, indeed the size 14 was absolutely huge on me.  I’m not sure why the size chart was so completely out of whack but I could literally pull them down without having to open the fly basting stitches at all!  I ended up having to reduce the waist to the size 10 after all, and shaved the extra width off the leg pieces down the side seams, dwindling them down so they’re back to a size 14 by about knee level.  I think I didn’t bother to reduce the size of the pockets though, so they do look a bit bigger on the jeans than they should.  But that’s quite fine with me; I love oversized pockets too!

The waistband is curved, which always makes for a nice fit on jeans.  However there is no fly shield… and I’d used a jeans zip so there is that slight scratchiness against your tummy skin on the inside.  But the jeans are really so baggy I don’t think it’s going to be an issue.

For the waistband lining and pocket flap linings, I used a gorgeous linen gingham, leftover from this dress I made late last year… I’d bought it in Japan during our 2019 holiday and it’s so lovely.  I really like how it picks up on the orange topstitching thread, only of course no one can see it but me!  I splurged and put one of my eponymous labels in them too…

The topstitching thread is two slightly different shades of orange, to explain; the waistband and belt loop topstitching is a brighter orange than the remainder of the jeans.  Actually, now they’re finished I realise you can hardly see the difference so I’m not sure why I was worried about it, but honestly on the spools the colour was noticeably different!

btw, a hand stitched buttonhole, haha.  Seems like a weird choice for a pair of jeans but my machine-stitched version just looked a bit flimsy and wholly unsatisfactory!

The fabric is a slightly stretchy, very dark midnight-navy denim, originally from Fabulous Fabrics, and all haberdashery was also sourced from Le Stash.  But I do confess to having to buy the pattern new!  I searched and searched my pattern stash and decided to splurge on a new pattern when I couldn’t really find anything that ticked all the boxes of my vision ie. wide legs, small waist, lots of pockets including cargo, fitted at the waist but with a flat appearance and NO PLEATS OR DARTS, and a below the waist rise….  I’m very happy I got this one though, because I really do love it and plan to make it again someday, just the correct size next time!  I would like to make this in a lighter weight cotton drill, like maybe white, for a summery sailor look… or maybe a camo print.  But in the meantime I’m going to try my best to carry off the “cool” vibe of these very trendy jeans!

worn throughout with one of my white Carolyn & Cassie Pattern Co Booragoon tops

is this my signature pose?  I don’t why I feel compelled to do whenever I’m taking pictures of my clothes…  I feel a bit sad I didn’t get an out-in-the-wild picture yet but I’ll come back and post one when it happens…  🙂

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Betty boop

15/09/2021 3:13 pm \ 6 Comments \

I’ve made a pair of cute little trousers! well at least I think they’re pretty cute anyway…

 

So: here’s the funny thing; I really do love and want to wear a lot of trousers/jeans/pants but I kinda struggle with them.   I genuinely worry that I look terrible in trousers and I’m convinced I look better in dresses and skirts.  If anyone has taken even a passing glance at my ootd blog it’s obvious I rarely wear pants.  And yet, I’m always on the eternal search for pants that look cute AND that I think I might look ok in.

 

And I think these fit the brief!  I’m very happy with how they turned out; they have a sorta fitted feel to them without being in the slightest bit tight, they’re loose enough to be comfortable, but have no hint of bagginess in them.  Yes!

 

I have an extra special reason for loving these; my grandmother was known as Betty, even though it was not technically her name.  SO I have a special soft spot for the name.  I’ve always held this deeply secret wish that my name was Betty, because I loved my grandmother so much.

Anyway!  I’m happily adding these to the small collection of pants that I really love… I have several pairs that I feel really good in; up until now my blue Sashas and my Morgan jeans were the top of that list.  I also still love my Ginger jeans, although I wear these less nowadays.  Yes, all Closet Core patterns, hehe.

Coinkinky-dink; the fabric I used to make these are the leftovers from my old Ginger jeans!  I made those back in  *checks blog archive* wow 2014.  I can’t believe they’ve gone so well, for so long!  I could have sworn I got the fabric in Spotlight, but my blog reliably informs me I bought it in KnitWit,so there you go.  I have zero memory of that.  Ha!  Thank goodness for the blog!

I cut the pocket lining from this cute evil-villain, cotton fabric, that was leftovers from one of Craig’s surgical masks, and I also made a few Covid masks from the leftovers this year too.

I used a red top-stitching thread for all the topstitching, I dunno, just for fun, because I had it.  In fact, 100% of the materials for my Betty’s were from my stash, which always feels amazing; if I can achieve it.  The potential of my stash is quite exciting to me, I’ve discovered so many garments in it this past year!

The top I’m wearing them with here is a Burda pattern; 04/2014;111, made in a bobbly stretch stuff from Fabulous Fabrics.  And in another funny coinkinky-dink, I am wearing this very same top in my blog post of the Ginger jeans too!  Another old favourite that has stood the test of time for me  🙂

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sasha-jenny trousers, and a honey-coloured turtleneck

21/06/2019 3:35 pm \ 9 Comments \

I made a new outfit for myself! well actually I thought I was, although as it turns out I had only made half a new outfit for myself.  But as halves go, I’m pretty happy!  Also,  I know it seems like I’ve only just finished wedding sewing, but how does one choose to wind down after a bout of incredibly, stressfully intense, VIS???    btw, that’s Very Important Sewing in case it wasn’t obvious.   Well, one dives head-first into a fresh new sewing project, of course!!  Ha!  and it felt awesome too… because by comparison this is VUS, or Very Unimportant Sewing, and man it sure felt good! I loved every minute of making these new things  #youknowyoureobsessedwhen

First things first; I made some new trousers…  I’ve been wanting to make this particular love-child of these two different Closet-Case patterns for aaaages now!  I’ve always really liked the mid-riding style of the Sashas; how it sits feels very comfortable, and how it fits is quite flattering for me.  I also love the magnificently flared wide-legs of the Jennys, and thought how cool it would be if they could be jammed together into one, gloriously slouchy, flare-y package.  Well, ta da!!!

please excuse horrible but apparently obligatory butt-picture…

I just needed some nice fabric, which popped up suddenly in Spotlight of all places… Spotlight has fabric highs, where they’re stuffed with a tonne of really very nice and affordable options and you’re completely spoilt for choice; and also sad and lengthy lows, where there’s nothing but absolute crap…   You just have get in there and stock up during the good times and then endure the bad times until the good times roll around again.  Anyway, currently they’re having a rather awesome high, which is pretty nice for us sewing-obsessed peeps.  I mean, I’m not supposed to be buying any fabric right now… but you know.  When you see something good, it’s not going to be there forever!  I pounced upon this stretchy, narrow-whale cotton corduroy in this gorgeously yummy shade of caramel pretty much instantly… not only is the colour so very me, but the stretchiness is just exactly right for that required for the Sasha’s too.  Right nearby was some really lovely, very soft honey-coloured knit; very cashmere-like in its feel though it’s actually just acrylic, but that’s fine.  Fabric snob, I am not, well, most of the time anyway.  I planned a honey/caramelly sort of an outfit for myself.  A Mars Bar, sort of an outfit.  #nowiwantamarsbar  #damn

What is the other half of the wannabe outfit?? well, I’d downloaded the free, tessuti patterns Monroe turtleneck pattern ages ago, printed it out and had it lying around; and I decided it would be a good one for the honey-coloured knit.  In my head my snuggly new sweater was going to look absolute perfect with my new, wide-legged slouchy trousers.    I could hardly wait to wear them together!  So did things work out just exactly as planned?  don’t be silly!

I absolute adore my caramel trousers, they turned out to be everything I could have hoped for; however… the turtleneck…    Well right from the word go it did not want to be my turtleneck.  It really really just wanted to be Cassie’s.   I was barely halfway through when I realised it had her name written all over it.  The sleeves and collar of the Monroe turtleneck are tight-fitting, with a dropped shoulder and a very boxy, oversized body; a combination which looks pretty terrible on me,  I’m coming to terms with that sad fact (sob) but I know is quite gorgeous on Cassie.  It’s a style she has worn before, and worn well too.  When she came over in the evening I gave it to her, and her reception was most satisfyingly enthusiastic!  I might even whip some more for her… it’s a very quick and easy pattern to make and you only need about 1.2m or so.  And I do have several other tops already that I can wear with my trousers.  I’m ok with passing things on that don’t want to look good on me, especially when they look so good on another, and are so warmly received!  🙂

Some technical sewing deets:

The turtleneck; nothing much to say, just made straight up; sleeve hems done using a twin needle, hemline done by hand because the fabric was stretching out some.  Super easy.

R2D2 says hi….

The trousers; I cut out the tops as Sashas, and from the hip down they are almost Jenny’s.  Not exactly Jenny’s because the patterns are actually completely different from each other and can’t really be “melded” that easily.  For one thing, the Sasha’s are drafted for a stretch while the Jenny’s are not.  Another thing I pondered quite a bit, was the alignment of the back leg piece; because the grainlines of the back legs in the two patterns are very different to each other.  I’ve made up two pairs of Sasha trousers previously, exactly to the pattern, and for this new pair I decided to alter the alignment of the back leg piece, pivoting the ankle a little outward, so it’s got a similar grain line to the Jenny’s.

The waistband lining and pockets are cut from some ikat cotton, that Mum gave to me a few years ago, from when she cleaned out her stash.  You can see I attempted to finish the pocket edges with French seams as indicated in the pattern, but it was just too bulky around the heavily-interfaced pocket opening area, so I overlocked the edges for that little bit.  Probably would have looked better to overlock the whole thing, but the pockets were all basically finished, done and dusted by this point so I was just, ehhh  *shrug*  I used the little Closet Case label Heather sent out along with the pattern.  Cute, huh?

  

I’ve found that around the waistband hook and eye closure at the front, no matter how heavily you interface the waistband and facing, the hook and eye will pull the facing out a little, just because the two layers aren’t joined together at this point…. for these ones I kind of stab-stitched the two layers together all around the hook, keeping the stitches tiny and almost invisible on the right side of the waistband.  You can see the stitches if you know they’re there, but I think you can barely tell, and it does help to keep the waistband nice and flat-looking, and no hint of pulling out of shape while you’re wearing them.

I am SO PROUD of my welt pockets!!  You know how sometimes one welt pocket might look a little better than the other and so you just take picture of that one for your sewing blog and quietly leave out the other??  oh wait, what? no I never!!  oooo I would never something so devious, oh no….  Well anyway, both my pockets turned out to be things of perfectly-matching beauty, if I say so myself…

.

    

Details:

Trousers; Sasha trousers by Closet Case patterns, with wide legs from the Jenny trouser pattern
Honey coloured turtleneck; the free Monroe turtleneck by Tessuti Patterns
my pink top; the twist top from the Japanese pattern book “Pattern Magic” by Tomoko Nakamachi 

 this picture adds nothing to the story apart from Zoe looking kinda funny … oo I’m so mean.  Would I ever post a picture of myself looking kinda funny??  NO

me and my big fluffy girl on our  holiday down south together, just the two of us… was so nice  🙂

…wearing them here with my mustard Nettie tee and my self-designed mustard cowl also self-knitted socks

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jenny overalls/jeans/trousers

08/06/2018 5:36 pm \ 31 Comments \

I’ve made some rather cra-a-a-a-zy, and yet rather out-there groovy-baby jeans!

And they double up as overalls too! should I ever feel the urge to wear a pair of overalls… 🙂  Sneaky conversion between the two by way of a few flat buttons inside the waistband coupled with buttonholes on the bib and straps…  #havingmycakeandeatingittoo

So, these are the Jenny overalls/trousers pattern by the ever clever and uber-cool Heather of Closet Case patterns.  Actually I made TWO pairs of Jennys!… but first things first; this blue denim pair are my first.  To be honest I don’t know if I’m ever going to blog my second pair because I’m suffering from a retroactive hate for the fabric I used… but we’ll see! Heather asked for us to make them with the bib if at all possible, since she wanted to check out how the bib bit looked on chests.  So I bravely went there.  Initially I was pretty sure I would prefer to wear them as jeans, but now I’m actually a bit torn since the bib bit is rather cute?!  I’m just not sure if I’m “cute” enough to get away with it, you know?  I think I have a good grasp on what my style is, and “cute” is likely a stretch for me.  I’m keeping my options open, but so far I’ve only worn them out in the wild sans bib #notbrave

The upper part of the legs I cut from a piece of blue cotton denim that was given to me by my friend L when she cleaned out her garage, but it was a smallish piece, not big enough for the whole jeans.  So obviously, I had to make up the difference somehow.  Remember my maisa jean jacket?  well I actually kept all those leftover bits, most of them were the original pockets and waistbands; and I had great fun cutting and arranging and cobbling them together to make up the diff…  all that patchwork does make the legs a little heavy, because of the double layers of fabric in the pocket buts, plus embroidery and rivets and belt loops, but overall (haha, see what I did there) it’s not too bad!  My love of how they look outweighs the weight… if that actually makes sense!

I’ve worn them a couple of times already, whoops!  It’s not that long ago I would not allow myself to wear things until I’d blogged them; must be mellowing out in my old age, hmmm.  They’ve actually attracted several individual, real-life compliments from random passers-by on both occasions… this is extremely rare for me, and it’s pretty nice to hear!

In the below picture you can see the closure; a lapped zip in the side seam and disappearing inside the pocket.  I really love this discreet and clever feature, although being right-handed I find it a little awkward to do up that waistband button situated where it is slightly to the back of the right side of my body.  On subsequent pairs I think I’ll probably switch this closure to the left side of the trousers.  Having said that though, the instructions for inserting the lapped zip are outstanding!  I’ve inserted about a million lapped zips in my time, to the point where I barely follow instructions anymore, however I followed these ones to the letter, without “thinking about it” (you know what I mean) and my lapped zip is immaculately and perfectly aligned.  I should follow directions more often!

  

Details:

Jeans/overalls; the Jenny overalls by Closet Case patterns, cotton denim and recycled old denim jeans
Tee; the Nettie by Closet Case patterns, white jersey, details here
Cardigans; both the Miette, a free pattern by Andi Satterlund, details of the red one here, the mustard one here
Shoes; made by me, details here

Soooo; I usually like to get at least one ” out in the wild and actually wearing it” photo of the things I make… well, the little monster, I mean; Clara, and I were waiting for Craig to finish scoping out Bunnings (baby door for the patio at the beach house)  and on the spur of the moment I just propped my iPhone up in the grass outside.  Bam, photoshoot, DONE!!!  Who needs a fancy camera and a tripod, anyway?!  Oh, OK, if I’m going to even pretend to be a blogger then I guess I gotta keep up appearances, at least some of the time…  😉   Anyway it’s not a particularly good shot of my jeans, more like flipping’ terrible; but on the other hand Clara happens to be looking rather beautiful in a wolf-prowl-y sort of a way…  Please admire that her coat is looking momentarily spiffy and fluffy and washed and brushed!   #didntlast

btw, people often accuse her of giving side eye in my pictures.. it’s only because her eyes are actually half blue, half brown! which makes for a particularly side-eye-y sort of optical illusion!

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burnt brown jeans; 6 different ways

24/03/2017 4:24 pm \ 42 Comments \

I’ve been planning my upcoming autumnal/winter wardrobe, doing a seasonal clean out, or in today-speak; konmari-ing the heck outta it… and decided to bid adieu to these jeans.  The last few times I’ve tried to wear them I’veburda7863-1-728x1024 just felt vaguely frumpy in them and peeled them off straight away.   I’m just not feeling this style any more, feel like it’s becoming a little bit dated.  Is it just me, or are skinny jeans appearing decidedly passé right now?  Anyway; OUT THEY GO!!! Well… maybe just to the time-out box for a while.  I have this box you see, that I chuck doubtful clothes into, and in a few months or a year or so I’ll check them out to see if it’s easier to make a decision then.  Honestly, sometimes I wonder why I even have that box since it’s a kind of hoarder-ish thing to have and really nine times out of ten the items within get the flick! but for the one item that gets a reprieve I’ve always been glad I kept it after all.  Sometimes, you and your clothing just need a bit of a break from each other.  A trial separation.  A conscious uncoupling, with the door open to re-coupling.  Yeah.  *madly justifying hoarding tendencies to oneself*

Anyway, here are six of my favourite outfits with these hardworking jeans…

I first made them about two years ago, one of my many Burda 7863’s and they have been absolutely fantastic in their day, I have to admit it.   Very stretchy, therefore super comfortable, and a terrific colour that seems to go with everything I’ve got.  Having said that; a heckuvva lot of the time, I wore them either with this big loose ivory shirt as in the first picture… OR like at right, with one of my Pattern Magic twist tops.  Here, with the forest green one.  In fact, it would be pretty accurate to say these two outfits were both very reliable fallback “uniforms” for me for quite a long time…

brown-jeans-2

At left; another frequently-worn ensemble, worn with my white drape drape t shirt, and my leather jacket.  At right; I do still like them rolled up to three quarter length like this.  Hmmm, actually I really like this outfit too, maybe I should keep them after all…. (worn with self-drafted Tshirt, cardigan, self-made shoes)

At left; they’ve frequently done service in casual, dog-washing, beach walking, gardening, house packing-and-moving mode too… worn with my over-dyed blouse, black thongs…  At right; another winter-y ensemble… worn with my Pattern Magic twist tops, my shearling jacket, hand knitted gloves and my self-made desert boots.

brown-jeans-3

Okaaay! I’ve just done an excellent job of talking myself out of getting rid of them! 😀 So maybe I’ll see how they go this autumn/winter before giving them the big heave-ho…

Anyway, on a slightly related note: I’ve read a few good strategies about helping to clean out unwanted stuff from your house, the one I like the most and have adopted a few times in the past coupla years is to just walk into your closet/open a cupboard and immediately throw out five things without spending more than ten seconds thinking about each thing.  If you give yourself permission to do this once in a while; and I use that phrase because I have terrible hoarding tendencies and really DO need to give myself a stern talking to, mentally giving myself permission to throw things out seems to work for me…  anyway, it can be an excellent and stress-free way to de-hoard.  The trick is to first say sternly to yourself “OK, I’m doing this NOW” and then to march in and NOT think too much about it.  Five things, just like that. *snaps fingers*   It can be surprising how quick and easily you then immediately identify those things that are just not working anymore.

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Morgan boyfriend jeans

26/04/2016 4:20 pm \ 35 Comments \

ootd

morgan jeansI’ve made some boyfriend jeans!  Hehe, I actually made these aaaaaaaages ago! and have been dying for the pattern release, just so I can wear them more often.  They’re so comfy and easy to wear,  they’re my current favourites.   I really really love them  🙂
morganjeans side

Pattern; the Morgan jeans by Closet Case patterns, named for the lovely Morgan of crab and bee.  They are a mid-rise, button-flied, slightly cropped leg jean with a skim-the-body fit *deep breath*  Wow, there are so many descriptors attached to jeans now, yeah?  Jeans are no longer just “jeans” but there are so many defining clarifications that come with each style.  These are quite different from any of the jeans I have made before in shape and fit, but of course they are still “just jeans” in the sense that they have all the features of jeans beloved to us all, like the 5-pockets for example.  Heather kindly asked me to test the pattern, and this is my first go, off the bat.   Apparently the leg has been widened slightly since I made these.

morgan jeans frontFabric; these are designed for a non-stretch denim, so I found a nice, crisp, deep dark charcoal cotton denim, mid weight and with absolutely zero stretch to it in Spotlight.  No stretch, and the jeans still feel fantastic! I also used coppery-brown Guttermann’s upholstery thread for the topstitching, and copper-y coloured jeans buttons, all from Spotlight.  The grey cotton for the pockets and waistband lining is the same fabric as my grey gardens dress (Fabulous Fabrics).

My first button fly!  I wasn’t sure if I’d like it at first, I thought it would be bulky; but now I’ve got it and have worn it a few days, I realised my fears were unfounded, and I really do like it.  Also, it’s nice to have something a bit different, yeah?

fly

Pockets, with lots coppery/brown topstitching  #topstitchingporn

pocket

Leather patch on the back.  I cut this from one of the last scraps of leftovers from my Danish suede jacket.  I forgot to add it at first, doh! but it does make them look just a little more ready-to-wear, no?

Alterations: initially that waistband was quite gape-y in the small of my back, a usual thing for me.  I’m quite hippy, I suppose!  so I took in several inches off the waist at the centre back, tapering out in a straight line out to the hips.  And shortened the waistband at centre back, correspondingly.   This is my usual adjustment to fix that problem for me, and worked just fine for these too.  I didn’t alter the position of the pockets, so on my jeans they are situated a little closer and more slanted inwards to the centre back seam than the pattern intended, but I thought they looked ok and didn’t need moving.

hadn’t added the patch at this stage…

back

I love how they look rolled up a coupa rolls, this makes them three quarter on me and I really love this, a little bit 50’s capri pant-like. I love how they show off a pair of little lace-up shoes.  Hehe it’s probably a bit obvious from my shoe-making efforts that I’m SO right into the flat lace-ups at the mo!   btw, those red sandshoes in my beach pictures below? are fully dead now, (sob)  I’m pretty sad about that, I thought they were cute. #needmoreredshoes

Top picture is my current outfit of the day… I actually put on something else first thing today, inwardly wanting to wear my Morgan jeans and moaning once again that I couldn’t yet, because you know, the Reveal and all.  And then I saw on IG that Heather had released the pattern.  So I could wear them, yay!  Other outfit sloughed and abandoned, Morgan jeans donned with joy and delight  🙂

This style is perfect for the weather we are getting right now; which is starting to get a little crisp in the morning but still quite warm during the day and not cold enough yet for socks!  Not too hot, not too cold, but just right.  These are going to get worn a tonne …

Details:

Jeans; Morgan jeans by Closet Case patterns, non-stretchy cotton denim
Top, (white) loose drapey top from drape drape by Hisako Sato, cotton jersey, details here  (black) self-drafted Tshirt, details here
Raincoat (top picture); made by me, self-drafted, details here
Shoes; red sandshoes (below), made by me here, yellow shoes (top picture), made by me here

morganjeans

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Ginger jeans

24/10/2014 6:48 am \ 50 Comments \

Hello!  I’ve made some new jeans  ðŸ™‚
These are the Ginger jeans designed by Heather of Closet Case Patterns, and named after Sonya of Ginger makes, and I was so happy that Heather asked me to test the pattern.  Thanks so much for asking me, Heather!  I LOVE trying out new patterns!  
The pattern has two views, I have made view A, a mid-rise bootleg design.  View B is a high-rise skinny leg.
I used a stretchy cotton denim from KnitWit in a very deep blue-black wash, and the topstitching is in ivory/cream-coloured Gutermann’s upholstery thread.  The jeans zip, the copper coloured snaps for closure, and the copper coloured rivets are all from KnitWit too.

The pattern is a classic five pocket jeans pattern; and I know Heather has worked very hard to perfect a really good starting-point fit.  Although obviously; everyone, everywhere has completely different bodies, meaning fit is a very personal and individual thing that cannot be easily standardised; so it’s terrific that Heather has included in the pattern instructions some very helpful suggestions for trouble-shooting the fitting process.  I learnt several new things!  I did make some adjustments to custom-fit mine to myself, taking in the crotch, the side seams at the waist, a pinch-in adjustment of the CB seam for a slight swayback.
Just as a comparison, these are pretty much the same adjustments that I generally make for my old tried-and-true jeans pattern, Burda 7863.   
Also, at the cutting out stage I added 7.5cm (3″) to the leg length, just in case.  Lengthening the legs is another always adjustment for me; partly a shrinkage insurance policy, and partly in case I fancy wearing a high heel with my jeans and partly because when I’m crouching down or sitting with my knees crossed I prefer for my ankles to stay covered and warm and out of the wind.    I’m of the school of thought that you can always cut off but you can not add on afterwards!  And I was glad I did add that little bit of length since I think the legs would have been just a smudge short otherwise.  

During my early fitting trials I realised the rise of view A is quite low, so I decided to sew the upper and lower seams of the waistband with skinny 2/8″ seam allowance, instead of the standard 5/8″.  Meaning my waistband ended up 6/8″ or 2cm wider and thus my jeans have a that-much higher rise than intended.  This higher rise feels a tonne more comfortable for me.

I also like my waistbands to be firm and stable and secure, holding everything in ie. not stretchy!  so instead of on grain I cut the waistband on the cross, where the fabric had zero stretch.  My waistband is interfaced, and the waistband lining and pocket bags are cut from a charcoal/white pinstriped fine-grade linen, the leftovers from Tim’s business shirt that I made for him last year

Speaking of learning things… I’ve put in loads of fly fronts in my time, so sometimes I’m tempted to ignore pattern instructions and just potter along blithely in my own merry way.  But when I’m testing a pattern I follow the instructions given.  Because you’re testing and later reviewing the pattern and its instructions, duh.  And hey, you might learn new stuff.  I sure did… the Ginger jeans fly front method is, dare I say it? …foolproof.  Detailed to a fault, meticulously outlined, and it works like an absolute charm!!  I think my new jeans have the best damn fly front I’ve ever done, ever.  And it went together so easily.
I’m so impressed with those fly front instructions I’ve printed that bit out and stuck them to the wall behind my sewing machine.  Have I ever done that with a technique before…? Precisely never.  
These instructions are that good.
Thank you so much for another excellent pattern, Heather!

Details:
Jeans; Ginger jeans by Closet Case patterns, navy/black stretch cotton denim
Top; Burda magazine 04/2014, 111, creamy bobbly stretch stuff, details here
Sandals; c/o Misano

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cafe au lait bootlegs

03/09/2014 5:22 am \ 26 Comments \

New jeans/pants/whatevs.
Burda 7863, stretch bengaline from Spotlight.
So.  I guess that’s about all I have to say! I’ve made this pattern what, nine times now, I think.  Speaks volumes.  The colour is softly pretty, a nice and easy and inoffensive pale neutral.  I love it.
Maybe they’re a bit boring?  Well, they’re basics.  Basics usually are.  I’m sure they’ll get lots of use.
Eventually.

The nitty gritty, re my usual alterations and fitting:   
Extra 10cm or so added to the length at the lower hem, just in case.  I always pre-wash my fabric; and make up the pants to the hemming stage, then wash again, then hem.  It really helps guard against leg-length shrinkage.
Another always-addition is to added a bit of length onto the waistband length at CF so as to accommodate a zip placket. 
And my usual fitting alteration to accommodate my slight sway back is to try them on inside out BEFORE sewing up the CB seam including the waistband, and to pinch it in; as described and pictured here.   Works really well for a really good fit, every single time.

Details:
Jeans; Burda 7863, stretch bengaline
Tshirt (under); Vogue 8879, ivory cotton jersey, details here
Jumper; the Hayward, knitted by me in Noro Ayatori, details here

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