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) .