Jeans making!

I have made jeans before. Of course I have, but I've never really enjoyed it! Apart from anything else I dreaded all the top stitching. My old machine was a bottom of the range Toyota that my parents for me whilst I was still at school about (cough, cough) 20 years ago! It has served me well and been a good companion throughout the years, but it was noisy, the needle had become misaligned and no longer central and it did not produce an even stitch. I had known for a while that it needed to be retired, but I was kind of scared. Scared of investing in something flashy only to discover that it's niggles were more annoying than the Toyota, or that actually no domestic would ever compare to the purr of an industrial so what would be the point? All this was forgotten the day I actually walked into a sewing machine shop with permission to buy a machine. I say permission, but what I mean is that I had finally given myself over to the idea of upgrading. All sounds very dramatic doesn't it? But I actually felt very emotionally attached to the machine my parents bought me, that has carried me through work, study and beyond! Now it sits on a shelf and I barely acknowledge it's existence, but I didn't know my heart could belong to another! Whatever, I bought a new Pfaff passport 2.0 is what I'm getting to and it has made sewing so infinitely more enjoyable I can't even tell you. It has bits that bother me like the way the bobbin is loaded (and the fact they are plastic). Other things I can't remember now, but what it does do is sew magnificently and it topstitches like a dream. It has 3 options for buttonholes, a built in walking foot (best thing ever) and is so so quiet. No machine is perfect, but I really love it and am certain that I made the very best choice for me.

So armed with a new machine I wanted to make some jeans. I bought and toiled the recent Morgan jeans pattern, but it was not quite right. The fit was great by the way and I opened up the back leg between the hem and the crotch by a couple of inches prior to toiling for my ample calves and it worked a treat! My issue was that I was suddenly in a position where I was over analysing what my perfect jeans were and these weren't quite it! I went back to the drawing board and combined and tweaked the Roberts leg with my trouser block for a new pattern to toile. The significant difference is the length of the crotch (low) and also the room in the seat. I don't want the back of my thighs to be hugged by jeans or the pockets to be tight up against my body. I was looking for something more easy to move around in and that looks a bit more slouchy. As an aside, the Morgan pattern seems fantastic. I didn't refer to the instructions, so can't comment, but it is a fantastic pattern!!!

This is a first toile in a really cheap denim. I have been wearing them for 3 days straight and they are great! Things to change in the fit and styling, but I shall happily wear these. I am looking forward to making a linen pair using an old vintage sheet that intend to garment dye and perhaps print?

I also really want to consider all the details. I am going for a minimal look in the topstitching and seam treatments. It is so much fun to think of these things when you know your machine will do it justice! Eww, that front waistband needs lowering, although they are mighty comfortable nice and high!

These look to be a kind of funky mum jean. I think once the waist band is lowered there will be slightly less of that about them, but I'm down with that if that's what they are!

No plans for a future jeans pattern release at this point in time by the way... ;-)

Hand sewn jeans finished - Jeans making mission complete!

Before I begin I would urge any sewist to have a go at making your own jeans. It will not only make you feel fabulous, but also invincible! Here they are...

From start to finish I have completely hand sewn these jeans. This was not my original intention, I just wanted to be able to make my own jeans rather than constantly ending up with mediocre fitting RTW jeans. Once I recieved this denim though, my urge to honour the handwork of the fabric body overtook me. It is a handloom denim form Merchant and Mills and it is so beautiful to handle. I am a massive denim lover (RTW and handmade). There is something about the texture and the different shades of blue that really excite me. Old denim can be glorious and give away details about how it was worn by fading and stress. This denim is yarn dyed, so the variation in colour of the blue thread creates alot of depth to the surface texture. I am not usually so particular about the denim I buy and have always bought from Fabricland not really realising that there was stuff of this quality out there. Durgh! This actually looks like denim that actual jeans are made from. It is warm and thick, but soft and light....does that make sense? Anyway enough of my love affair with this fabric, back to the jeans.

I've always found well fitting RTW jeans hard to find, as I have these annoying larger than average thighs that are disproportionate to the rest of me. My Dad has the same problem and when flares were popular in the seventies he could never buy Levi's ones because his thighs were too big. However he was also a rugby player at the time, so kind of has more of an excuse than me!

The best I have found were a Juicy couture pair that I got nearly new from a charity shop in 2001. I still have them now and they still look great on. Not bad for a fiver!

Below is some jeansperation. I love a turn up me!

Here is a picture of me from 2004 (before I had a digital camera). I am wearing some Miss Sixty jeans (the most expensive jeans I have ever bought) and I really loved the big turn up on them, but they were cut really low on the hip and I was forever trying to prevent my bum from being exposed. Shame really as these were a lovely colour blue!

Now, some of the jeanspiration pics I have selected are pretty cool and the cut is very different from what I have ended up with, but I chose not to alter the pattern that I used (Burda 7863). I wanted a more fitted look, as I have some 'boyfriend' styles already and I'm not sure they do too much for me these days. Another factor is that since having children I cannot contemplate wearing anything lower than my natural waist line. I fell like my tummy might just colapse if it's not all held in and that all the bending down I do leaves too much scope for unsightly exposures. Too much detail??? So, here's my 'mum' version of my perfect jeans.

 I would never wear these with a top higher than the bottom of my bum, so you will never see them on me like this in real life. Thank god, because the pockets are far too small for these jeans and do nothing for the vastness that is my behind. I think I may change these tonight if I have enough denim left as they are slightly ridiculous!

Below is some turn up love...

And here are some close ups of those feminine curves! ;-)

Funnily enough the waistband isn't shaped, but it sits very close to my body. I shall probably wear a belt anyway, but don't feel that I need to.

I took a billion photos during construction, so get ready!

inside back pocket

front pocket bag, including denim print lining...

Below are some of the stages of sewing the inside leg lap and fell seam

Pictures taken once one of the legs was completed to give me an idea of the fit.

I utilised the red edge for some of my belt loops by folding the fabric in 3 lengthways so that the finished red edge sat on the top and enclosed any raw edges. A nice detail I think. I cross stitched these on, which seems fairly secure.

 The inside leg seam is enclosed on the right side of the jeans in the lap and fell, so that the wrong side is all the same light blue along the seam. The outside leg seam is a standard seam treatment so the right side of the fabric shows on the inside of the jeans. All raw edges are blanket stitched.

Some of the buttonhole construction detail - I marked the buttonhole with a backstitch for strength, cut with scissors and then went round with buttonhole stitch/blanket stitch. Some of the thread sinks into the fuzzy denim, so it not the most neat looking buttonhole, but it is strong and functional, so I'm not going to fret!

I sewed the button on with a smaller button on the reverse side to support the fabric and stop the button eventually ripping through the wasitband.

Some 'completed' shots

Those pockets!!! They have to go!

Love the front and that button

Thise pockets again! They don't need to be on me to look out of proportion.

There is no instruction for a flap to cover the back of the zip, but I will be going back to this later on and fix one on, as this has already caught on my pants a few times. Annoying!

So, there they are...my jeans! What a project!!! But what was the point of doing it this way? Well, as well as this construction method suiting the fabric, it has left me feeling very nostalgic. If you are bored already then stop reading, because I'm about to digress massivly.

Going back to basics in this way just goes to show what can be achieved with the most basic of equipment. This is what has brought on the nostalgia. I grew up in a small town in Devon and it feels like I have always been making do and mending. I made my first garment at the age of 11 or 12 and it was a waiscoat which I made from some scraps of fabric and my brothers old PJ's (this was the early 90's so waistcoats were in). I made my pattern by tracing it off one of my mums and she let me use her sewing machine to construct it. Not long after this her sewing machine broke and was never replaced, but this did not remove my urge to make my stuff. I would and have always tried to replicate a sewing machine with my handstitching, so making these jeans is kind of like going back to my old ways. The stitching's far from perfect, but what do I care. The garment as a whole looks ok and I'm not going to spend hours perfecting every stitch when I have so many more to do! Going back to my childhood, the year that my parents bought me my sewing machine was the year I got the best present EVER. I was studying for my A levels at the time and immediately made myself a whole load of ill fitting clothes to wear to school (which I most definitely did). I have no evidence of this, but I do have a photo of an outfit I wore to my friends wedding when I was 18. Please see exhibit A below. I had no money and got the fabric for £2 from a junk shop in town.

Here I am with my bro looking very 90's

Here is my advice. You do not need to have a whizzy, expensive sewing machine. Now, if you have saved the money and want to treat yourself then that's great! I certainly wouldn't say no to an upgrade if it was offered on a plate, but it is not essential. If you can find the most basic sewing machine available, then that is the equivalent to what I have. It is a basic toyota (metal base, not plastic. Now this is important!) and would have been the cheapest model at the time, but it has been with me for almost 20 years (oh my god, that long?). It's a bit like having a fancy car as opposed to a run around. Alot of people would dream of the fancy shmancy car, but realistically would be ok with the run around. With sewing machines it is important that you have a sturdy base and that it can sew straight and zig zag stitch, but that's it I think.

Anyways, hope you like my jeans, I do!

Back to the me-made jeans!

I've been avoiding this for a while. The original idea of drafting my own jeans pattern just completely halted my jeans making dream, as I could not be bothered to make multiple toiles to iron out the flaws. Time is precious at the moment and so is my denim!

Luckily Burda have come to the rescue! A lovely lady over at Simplicity/New Look got in touch following the NYLon '14 meet-up to ask if I wanted to choose a pattern from their site to for free. Now, I'm not going to be cool about this as it was FREE people. This is my first ever bloggy freebie and let me tell you I love free stuff more than anything, so I am VERY excited...

First of all I wanted to try out the amazing fit pants, but they didn't have that it in stock, so instead I went for Burda 7863, which is currently in the sale y'all.

Now, the denim I have in my stash to make my jeans is a beautiful handloom denim from Merchant and Mills (find here), a completely non-stretch denim. The pattern calls for stretch, but I decided this would be ok and toiled a couple of sizes up. Guess what? This completely worked and the fit was great!

Inspired by my beautiful cloth and a link that was left on 'What Katie Sews' blog ages ago (who incidently has made numerous pairs of really cool jeans) I have decided to construct my jeans entirely by hand. The link to my artist inspiration is here. It seemed fitting to approach my handloom fabric with a gentle and sympathetic touch. I imagined a machine finish would completely offset the balance. After only a couple of days, I am almost half way there! If you go back and look to my inspiration and then to my efforts you will see that my stitching is not nearly as fine, but I think the end garment is going to be very pleasing and tactile.

Below is some hand finishing on the outside leg edges. Instead of overlocking I have blanket stitched with a strong thread (the same thread used everywhere)

 Pocket detail - I overlayed another piece of denim on my pocket piece to show off the red edge and whipstitched the top edge down

 Inside pocket detail...

 

Inside seams for the back pieces...

 This is a very therapeutic way of sewing and is easy to do around the babies (especially when one of them keeps waking in the middle of the night!!!). I would compare it to the difference between hand and machine knitting. Machine knitting can churn it out, but is noisy, anti social and very regular in finish. Like hand knitting, hand sewing is quiet, transportable and completely irregular. You can visibly see the hand that made every stitch, which is wonderful. I'm not sure how often I would replicate this process, but I definitely would try it again on a finer fabric. Still some way to go yet and my fingers are hurting a little, but looking forward to my finished jeans!

 In other news, new plants for the garden! So pretty!

Me made jeans pattern drafting

I have been determined that I must make my own pattern for my jeans project and it's been alot of work, but after alot of slashing, cutting and sewing I think I now have a good close fitting trouser block to work from.

It has been a valuable process and I have learnt alot about my shape. I now know why I have NEVER been able to find decent fitting trousers!

Here is the toile I have just finished in a rather jazzy floral!

 The view from the inside as it's hard to see the fit from the front (due to jazzy floral). The side seam seems to fall back a bit around the ankle, but a minor detail that I'll hopefully be able to rectify.

 This block can now hopefully be adapted to be tighter, looser etc...

You can see from my final pattern pieces that this is nothing like a commercial trouser pattern. I have, shall we say, curvacious legs, so need quite alot of shaping to the thigh on the trouser front and calf to eliminate uncomfortable pulling. There is also more shape added to the hip side seam on the front to accomodate my shape. Look how high the centre back seam is too!!!

It's a good feeling to have made this pattern and I now feel happy that I do not have gross legs or am somehow distorted, I just don't fit a regular mould when it comes to trousers!

 It's hard to believe these two pattern pieces belong together, but they do.