Making Ginger Jeans Part 1
This autumn I've decided to embark on two major makes... a coat and a pair of jeans. This post is about making the latter.
I live in jeans and, since leaving my 1990s/early 2000s' massively oversized "skater" jeans days behind me, have struggled to find jeans that really fit my body shape. I've tried Apple Bottom jeans, Levi's "curve" series and still really haven't found a pair of jeans where the waist and thighs fit well. So, this is my reason for making jeans in a bid to eventually overcome the problem of having thigh measurements that don't match what "ready to wear" deems appropriate for my (smaller) waist measurement! How they ever came to a decision on standardised dress sizes still amazes me!?
I will confess that, for this reason (small waist/larger thighs) alone, I have not yet dared to tackle sewing a pair of trousers. So, I'm starting with jeans, as a staple of my wardrobe. If I can crack this make, I can really reduce my RTW purchases in the future.
So, I've enlisted the help of Closet Case Patterns' online "Sew Your Dream Jeans" workshop. I've already learnt about how to look after denim and what I will need to make a pair of jeans, and also about sizing/adjusting my pattern pieces and cutting out the denim, in the first few classes. Based on my measurements, I've decided to stick with one of the given sizes and will adjust the hips on the next attempt, if necessary. Let's see how this pair turns out first.
I have my stretch denim (from Abakhan, Manchester) washed and ironed and my Ginger jeans pdf pattern printed, sellotaped and cut out ready to go. I've purchased my denim needles and a couple of new sewing feet to help my topstitching (... that reminds me, I still need to get some yellow/orange topstitching thread); I still have some hardware to buy but I can start cutting into the denim, at least (eek!) (Does anyone else have a few projects cut out and waiting to be sewn?)
I will (hopefully) be blogging the different stages of this make over the coming weeks. As usual, all advice on making jeans/fitting them etc. is welcome. I'm not expecting to make the perfect pair of jeans first time but hoping they are not totally disastrous!
I'll let you know how I get on,
D.
I live in jeans and, since leaving my 1990s/early 2000s' massively oversized "skater" jeans days behind me, have struggled to find jeans that really fit my body shape. I've tried Apple Bottom jeans, Levi's "curve" series and still really haven't found a pair of jeans where the waist and thighs fit well. So, this is my reason for making jeans in a bid to eventually overcome the problem of having thigh measurements that don't match what "ready to wear" deems appropriate for my (smaller) waist measurement! How they ever came to a decision on standardised dress sizes still amazes me!?
I will confess that, for this reason (small waist/larger thighs) alone, I have not yet dared to tackle sewing a pair of trousers. So, I'm starting with jeans, as a staple of my wardrobe. If I can crack this make, I can really reduce my RTW purchases in the future.
So, I've enlisted the help of Closet Case Patterns' online "Sew Your Dream Jeans" workshop. I've already learnt about how to look after denim and what I will need to make a pair of jeans, and also about sizing/adjusting my pattern pieces and cutting out the denim, in the first few classes. Based on my measurements, I've decided to stick with one of the given sizes and will adjust the hips on the next attempt, if necessary. Let's see how this pair turns out first.
I have my stretch denim (from Abakhan, Manchester) washed and ironed and my Ginger jeans pdf pattern printed, sellotaped and cut out ready to go. I've purchased my denim needles and a couple of new sewing feet to help my topstitching (... that reminds me, I still need to get some yellow/orange topstitching thread); I still have some hardware to buy but I can start cutting into the denim, at least (eek!) (Does anyone else have a few projects cut out and waiting to be sewn?)
I will (hopefully) be blogging the different stages of this make over the coming weeks. As usual, all advice on making jeans/fitting them etc. is welcome. I'm not expecting to make the perfect pair of jeans first time but hoping they are not totally disastrous!
I'll let you know how I get on,
D.
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