Jeans, Jeans, Good for the Heart
I think July might be jeans month for me. I started on the first pair after the cropped hoodie project (Her Pretty Ways, View A). I had leftovers from the first trousers I sewed (remember the Clovers I did earlier this year?).
Using Jalie 2908, I made my first pair of jeans, and wow what a learning curve! It took me nearly two weeks working a few hours a night, studying the instructions, looking at my jeans and that of every person I stood behind or near... I think the part that took me the longest (don't laugh) was the back pocket embroidery. I was soooo scared it would look awful, that I fretted over it for several days. It is a combination of hand-embroidery and machine stitching.
Fit-wise, the jeans are really nice around the thighs, but it's a bit tight at the waist. I definitely "muffin-top" with these pair when I'm sitting.
I learned heaps after making this first pair, and here's a summary of tips and tricks from the first go-around...
- top stitching can be very tricky over multiple folds of fabric such as near the back yoke and crotch area, be sure to have a guide on your presser foot clearly marked or a guide on the fabric
- those bar-tacked reinforced areas are there for a reason (my fly began to unravel as soon as the stretch denim felt the pull of my mighty thighs). I quickly tacked where they said to.
- make sure the zipper guard covers the whole zipper
- the stretch needle is a must for stretch denim, otherwise one suffers from skipped stitches
- be sure to align the buttonhole with the actual button and try them on to check for fit before cutting it open!
- top-stitch only once to define the curved stitch-lines of the outer fly otherwise it looks funny
- pay attention to the orientation of the belt loops when attaching the waist yoke. It is troublesome to undo and redo them.
The second pair came together much quicker. I went with one size larger with mixed results. The jeans are comfortable, but maybe a little too big at the waist. They are definitely wearable and comfy. Instead of taking me two weeks, it took me only two afternoons (about 8 hours or so). I wrote about them for Tuesday's "featurette" on Sew Weekly here.
I came up with a few tricks to make this pair look like my favorite pair...
- double the top thread to get a thicker line of top-stitching (test this first on scraps as it may result in skipped stitches with funky tension, also, sew slowly)
- use two different color threads - one for top-stitching, and another closer to the denim for construction, and subtler lines like those used to install the belt loops, and the curved stitch-line of the outer fly
- although instructions say lay the zipper face down with the teeth aligned to center line, I'd actually move those a little left of the center line. My zipper teeth tend to show a little on the edge since the overlap doesn't quite cover it.