On Sunday, whilst the munchkins tormented played with Nana and Granddad, I began a project I have long wanted to start, but have always been a little afraid of.
Truth be told I’m still more than a little nervous, but in a “I’m going to do this if it kills me” kind of way.
I started to make my first ever (but hopefully not my last ever) pair of jeans.
I know!
Jeans!
Eeeek!
I started with this pair of RTW jeans that I already own.
What I love about these jeans:
- Great fit on the leg
- Stretch
- Not a bad leg length
What I dislike about these jeans:
- The colour…too light for my taste.
- The pockets…they are cut too short and just pop out all the time
- They are a teeny bit baggy around my ridiculously flat derriere
- They are too short in the body by a country mile.
This last point is my major problem with RTW jeans. Unless you can afford to and are willing to pay a huge sum of money for something like Not Your Daughter’s jeans (I’m not) it’s really difficult to get a pair of jeans that are long enough in the rise to fit me.
I could show you but you’d be scarred for life.
Just trust me when I say these sit waaaaaaaaaaaaay to low, need to be belted sufficient to cut off circulation to keep them up, and are subsequently considerably less comfortable than they should be.
Hence this jeans project.
Surely I can make a pair that fit, in a colour I like, with non-popping pockets, for less than £100+ per pair?
So back to Sunday.
The Husband took some measurements so I’d know how much to add to the rise front and back. He pinned out the baggy butt (the jeans not mine…I think mine needs more than a little pinning!) and I curled up on the sofa with a movie, a mug of tea, the jeans and cutting implements.
One movie later I had this:
My only pair of jeans reduced to a pile of denim jeans parts! I really do have to make this work!
I then spent the last 3 nights converting those pieces into a pattern. Today, during a break from the writing of my final paper I drafted new pocket pieces and voila!….
… my very own jeans pattern!
So far so good. This weekend the munchkins have a full social diary involving dance rehearsals (Button), cake baking with Nana (Button), helping Daddy with some DIY (The Boy) and tormenting visiting with Nana and Granddad on Sunday (both of them).
So theoretically I can make a start on cutting and sewing these jeans. 🙂
I’d better get this paper finished! Laters!
PS. I know I could have followed the Kenneth D. King course on Craftsy and kept these jeans intact,
but they are falling to pieces too.
It’s no big loss to cut them up.
PPS. I’ve so far spent just under £19 on denim, topstitching thread and a zip.
I have a jeans button in my stash.
I just need to buy some rivets.
oh, you brave girl! Hope it all works, just wish I had your skill
You might not if this all goes wrong! LOL! x
Wow, I am impressed. Make sure to let us know how the process goes!
Chrome’s autofill comes up with some really weird options, like the above. This is really me. 🙂
Don’tcha just love technology. I shall definitely keep you up to date as this progresses. It could all go horribly wrong! 😉
Eeeep! This is very exciting! I am very looking forward to seeing how you get on. Respect to you, jeans look scary!! X
This is exciting…and scary too. Fingers crossed
That’s great Evie. Jeans are a major accomplishment. I still want to make another pair this year while following the Craftsy class…I’d better get started soon…my project pile is not getting any shorter
I’m encouraged to learn that you weren’t put off by your experience. I know how you feel about the project pile…mine just keeps getting bigger!
I wish I had your courage to try jeans. I’m looking forward to seeing how they turn out. I’m sure they’ll be beautiful!
I not sure courage is the word I’d use…thank you for your faith in me.
How very exciting, I will watch your progress with interest as I really would love to tackle something like this!
At the very least you’ll learn “what not to do”! 😉
Very brave, but I bet they’ll be stunning!
From your lips to God’s ears!
Good luck …one day I really want to brave jeans 🙂
I can’t wait to see how this goes. In my experience of making jeans (disclosure: it didn’t work well), I found it hard to choose size given the variable stretch in denim. Do make sure to find something with a similar stretch to your pattern pair. And know that you’ll prob want to go a bit smaller with the new denim, as the old pair will have stretched radically over the years. BTW, adorable pic of you!
This is such a great point. I’ve pinned them for fitting a la Palmer Pletsch and it’s obvious that due to the stretch differential I’m going to have to take them in a bit. But I remain eteranlly hopeful!
And thank you for the comment about the pic. You’re very kind. 🙂
This is so smart. I have a leather jacket from high school that I still wear but it is really on its last legs. I need to do what you did. Take it apart and make a pattern! Bravo.
Thank you. I’m hoping to do some more work on them this week and have a progress report. A leather jacket would be a fabulous project.