..and more jeans.

Burda 7738 with the bottom flare narrowed by 5/8 inch each piece, each side:



Front, make no mistake these are definitely your daughter's jeans - rise is an inch below belly button:



My sister calls me the fabric whisper after my habit of asking the fabric how it wants to be made up. I know this is a successful way of working with fabric for me, because what it necessitates is choosing the pattern on the basis of the qualities of the fabric.

When I made the last pair of jeans, it was because I liked the Ottobre pattern and wanted to try it, so I used some denim I had on hand. What I have since learned about denim, though, is that it varies tremendously both in look and feel. The thing about the denim I used is that it was slightly stretchy, thin, and a little shiny. That meant that every wrinkle was going to be very obvious. In short, this denim did not want to be made into mom-jeans. No ho ho. And let's face it - with its high waist and easy fit leg, that Ottobre jean is as mom-jean as they come.

I had enough to make another pair of jeans, and this time me and the demin had a good chat. Closer fitting, bootleg with a burnt orange top stitching detail. That is what is said. It also requested something cute for the pocket.

Burda 7738, fifth attempt, and good enough, but still not pants perfection. (if there is such a thing)





When I went to the Bernina shop to pick up the thread, I couldn't find anything even close to what I had imagined. Carol, the shop manager, told me to buy 2 spools of ordinary thread but thread the machine twice. You put the second spool on the back spool, thread as usual and because denim needles have a big eye, you can thread it with two threads. Amazingly it worked, with no tension issues, and suddenly a whole new world of top stitching has been opened to me.

I started off with two hearts but it was too strong a motif, so I made one a standard jean pocket and then curved off the second to form the heart. The top part was sewn first, before applying, so that the pocket is functional.




I would like to revisit the Ottobre jeans at some point. When I laid the Burda and Ottobre jeans patterns on top of each other, I found the backs were identical but there was a 3 cm variance in the front - Burda was a whole size smaller at the front. So there we go, what I suspected was true, but in rather a surprising way.

The Jalie jeans are not for me - they have negative ease and rely on your body filling out the fabric to eliminate wrinkles. This technique is refered to as "the sausage casing" effect. Whether you suit this looks depends on the nature and arrangement of your stuffing.

Righty ho, next up I'm going to belt out a couple of tee shirts and then I'll try and play catch up on the jacket sewalong.

Jeans

"I cannot imagine myself as a designer of clothes that imitate catwalk trends. It would probably also be boring: who wants to design clothes only for young, slim and beautiful people - anything suits them."

I'm quoting from the head designer from Ottobre magazine. It makes me laugh at her design philosophy because what she's saying - in effect - is that she enjoys designing for old, fat and ugly people. Hey and I applaud her for it.

I didn't go to too much effort with these jeans (05-2007-10) - because I was pretty sure, this being my first run through them and my first real attempt at Ottobre trousers, that they would fit badly and end up in the recycle bin. I absolutely prefer to make test garments to muslins, because the proof of the fit is in the wearing. I have twice made jeans that look fantastic (standing up) but by the end of the day I have tingly lady bits. And you know, that can become a real hygiene issue in a humid climate. Just saying.

I have since developed the philosophy that the perfect fit is not that perfect. Without back baggies you don't have enough ease to bend, and without a little sag there is not enough length to enable you to sit in comfort. Some wrinkles are definitely worth having.

Having said that, these are too big. Comfy yes, flattering, not really.






So from this, I know that Ottobre jeans have more ease than Burda ones and that I can probably go down a size in Ottobre, something I wouldn't dare in Burda. I think my fabric choice had a bit to play in this as well - I used a medium denim with 2% elastane. A sturdier fabric would look and feel quite different.

I used a lining fabric on the pockets and rolled it slightly to the outside to create a piping finish:



I'm a little unsure where to go next - down to Jeans West for the "curve embracer" or another crack at this pattern, a size smaller.

On Op shops and tank tops

I love op shopping (charity or thrift stores) and there's nothing I like better than a fabric bargain, so you can imagine the thrill I got the other day when I was in the op shop and the assistant said to me, "oh we've got a new lot of fabric out the back that I haven't had a chance to sort yet, would you like to have a look through?"

Would I like to have a look through? Pa ha ha haaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

I got seven marvellous pieces that cost me all of $9, but I felt a bit guilty and made a donation on top because buying them that cheap felt like one step removed from shop lifting.

And here's another funny op shop story for you. I had just finished going through the fabric box when a woman approached me and said, "I don't know what the etiquette of this is, but I read your blog." Way hey hey, my 15 seconds of fame. I milked it for all it was worth when I got home. "I'm too famous to do the dishes." And when my son pushed me out of the room so he could have his Dad all to himself I said, "mobbed by fans."

That's NZ for you though - it's really just one big village.

Now some of you are bound to find this very silly but the new pair of white trousers features underpants on the pockets. I got to thinking about how one reason people don't wear white jeans is the knicker show through - then I thought, why not make a feature of that and pretend like you can see my nanna knickers on the back. So I designed these full briefs with low cut legs and decorative elastic. No need to worry about visible panty line now. The great thing is that to a casual observer they'll just look like a series of decorative lines, but once you know what they are, that's all you can see.



One of my sisters was curious to know why I didn't go whole hog and put a thong or y fronts on, but that would cross the line from smirkery to mockery. Keep it smart, keep it subtle.

I also thought the whole white dirt thing is no big deal either. It's just like linen that never looks ironed, white never looks clean.
"oh gosh, look at all those marks, so dirty already" and that could be 5 days later. Truth be told they are filthy in 20 seconds flat. What's more white doesn't even stay white in the wash. If you think these look light blue, guess which idiot put them in with a non colourfast blue tee? That's right, that idiot was ME.

Next to blue, they still look white though, but Gail was right - that 2% elastane has taken these pants up a half size. I now have to wear them with a belt! Still, when I sit down, I am loving that extra room.

(top: Burda 07-2010-121, jeans Burda 7738).




I am working on the navy tank and in theory it should be an evening's work but it's taking forever. Sewing two jackets and two pairs of jeans in 3 weeks has knocked it out of me. So here I am struggling to the end of this outfit over a simple tank top.

Them's the breaks.

The white jean - Burda 7738

This gives you a better idea of the leg shape:



I love these white jeans but they have one fault. Christmas has been and gone and left its 'adieu' on my waistline. They are fine for everyday use but boderline comfortable after a meal and sitting down. Considering I made these to wear to a wedding, where there will be a lot of sitting, and some rather immoderate eating, I am going to have to make these again a size larger at the waist.
Harumph!

Still I had fun and that's all I ask when sewing. Do you like my back pockets? I thought I was very clever until I did some online shopping and found every designer in the country is flogging these motifs. (NZers will instantly recognise them as being Kowhai and a fantail, ...um, you did, didn't you? Mothers the world over will recognise the nutella stain next the pocket, sigh, already yes only a day into wearing)



I love the idea of the Stitcher's Guild wardrobe competition which requires every item to have a technique to master. I thought I'd try the RTW technique of neatening the edge and stitching in the ditch on the outside to catch the inside facing. I am hooked. It is THE way to sew fly fronted waistbands.



So I went back to buy some more white jean fabric this time some with 2% elastane. The shop I bought it from was advertising it as $19.90 a metre down from $49.90. Yeah right, like someone would pay $50 a metre for denim! I felt like saying to the woman, "who do you think it going to fall for this outrageous piece of false advertising," but probably they think anyone wanting to sew white denim had a few brain cells missing anyway. Besides, best not bite the hand that sells you fabric.

Righty ho - back to the sewing machine. Choppity chop, just a week now to sew another pair of jeans and make the sleeveless navy tank.

PS my Queensland sewing buddies - I am shocked and appalled by what is happening in your state. My thoughts are with you.

Game, set, matchy matchy match

I made these jeans (Burda 7738) to match my merino top - since I bought the fabric at the same time it seemed like a good idea and the closest I would ever get to wardrobe planning.



I feel better about wearing the merino top now (Burda 7760). I did a bit of "mall therapy" - where I looked at the other badly dressed people with ill fitting clothes at the shopping centre and didn't feel too bad. It just goes to prove the theory that if you are going to compare yourself with others, you'll feel a lot happier if you choose someone worse off than yourself.

The light is fading so these photos are the best I can do.



I sorted out most, but not all, of the problems with the back. In the case of my cords, I "over-fitted" - meaning I did one erroneous adjustment that threw everything else out. Normally I have to lengthen the back crotch by 2 cms, is there a worse feeling that having your pants ride your butt? There are things worse than watching people pick there knickers out of their back wedgies but bad as it looks, if feels much much worse. At any rate, the short answer is that I did not need to lengthen the back crotch at all - it was already quite long by Burda standards.

There is still something wrong happening on the yoke - can you see that pull. What am I doing wrong people? Is it because I pulled in the top of the yoke for a minor sway back - should I have left it completely alone ? There will be an expert reading this - go on, sign in as anonymous and tell me all about it.

But let's now look at what's going right. For these jeans I took in the bottom 1.5 cms on all sides, front and back, tapering at nothing at the knee to create a bootleg rather than flare. The denim was so heavy and thick I thought it wouldn't suit the bell bottom shape of the original design.

Then this is the treatment for the back baggies. If you are familiar with "Fit for Real People" you'll know there is a full bicep alteration. The same method can be applied to the back to collapse out a large wedge. It does add width, so you need to take that out through the side seam. Here's how the pattern piece looks.



So basically I did virtually nothing to alter these pants - they fit really well straight out of the packet and I love love love them. I have got my denim pre washed and ready for my next version where I get to do ALL the top stitching -this time I had to leave off the stitching on any seam that may require re-fitting.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Carol for sharing the information about the back baggy alteration and to Jackie for sharing her jeans making expertise.

I sewed them myyyyy waaaaaaaaaaaay.

I cannot believe I am standing here in jeans and a t-shirt made by my very own loving hands at home. Of all things to make for myself, it's the one where I think, "couldn't I just have gone out and bought these???"

Burda 09-2009-113



I had a lot of help with these jeans so will try to credit all the fabulous people who have shared their expertise:

Adjustments - following this guide here which I found via Dawn's summary of jeans sewing on Pattern Review. I lengthened the back crotch length their way, and did the flat butt wedge their way too. I think there are fewer wrinkles this time, but it's not a perfect solution. I'm going to try the Palmer/Pletsch lift and tuck next time, I think.



The lovely professional top stitching you see chez moi blog is courtesy of foot number 5 - the blind hemmer/edge stitch foot. It looks like I am a sewing goddess but I am totally an imposter because you just run the barb of the foot along the edge for a precise line of stitches.




From Brian (the seamster formerly known as "rocket boy") I learned that you should use plain thread matching to your fashion fabric in the bobbin. The small gap between the stitches makes the contrasting thread really "pop".

From Palmer/Pletsch I learned that you needn't bother changing threads and needles for jeans. Just sew the whole thing on one set of threads. So I did! Also, because top stitching needles are a size 14, they're already a good size and strength for denim so I found the needle sewed through many layers with no problems at all.

Annette from the Bernina shop recommends "strong" thread, rather than "topstitching thread" for jeans sewing.

From my favourite RTW pair of jeans I copied this idea for a double back belt loop.




I used a scrap of cotton shirting to line the pockets because I was using heavier fabric than was recommended.



This denim has 1% lycra which equates to about 5 % crosswise stretch, enough to provide better movement and recovery but without the down side of unflattering shaping. It was enough to make me worried about how the waist might stretch out though so I taped it with cotton twill tape. From the Jalie jeans pattern, I learned that it is a really good idea to sew the bottom of the facing seam allowance so you can get the exact amount you need to turn for the waistband.No more burned fingers with the iron trying to iron them accurately, the denim folds on the stitching line like a warmed knife through butter.



Why sew my own jeans? Now tell me, have you ever seen a back pocket design like this? No? I didn't think so.



Now to answer a couple of questions in the last comments:

Helen asked why I had listed Burda 42 as a 16. Simple, if you take a big 4 pattern (vogue, butterick etc) and look at a size 16 you will see "waist 76, hip 102" - if you look at a Burda 42 you see "waist 78, hip 102", so the Burda is just slightly bigger. The real difference is wearable ease - the big 4 use 3-4 inches for a semi-fitted style, Burda uses 1-2 inches for a fitted style. That's why I prefer sewing with Burda, because I find fitted clothing more flattering. I don't know why the big 4 make so many semi-fitted styles. Vanity - because you go down a size because of all the extra ease?

Judy asked about my front adjustment. Look at the picture of the woman wearing her perfect fit jeans. Look at the front crotch. Look at how the line pulls tight and folds of fabric fall around it. Is that not the most unfortunate place for folds of fabric to gather??? I mean REALLY. It means the front crotch curve is too high, and you simply lower it as it comes round the bend. I don't always have to make this adjustment - the curve is on the bias and stretches anyway, I only have to do it with fabrics with little give.

Costings: fabric, denim from Global fabrics, $32; strong thread $4.50, normal thread $3, tracing paper, $2, rivets $2, zipper $1.50, interfacing 50c = $45.50


This post is dedicated to my dad, who most certainly made things his own way, and who died a year ago Sunday (yesterday) .