Purl and Seam

….I cracked on with the jeans.

Both children rarely have afternoon naps now, but with all the excitement this week in the run up to the show, they are absolutely shattered and went to bed without a murmer.

So I hot-tailed it up to the sewing loft as fast as my little legs would carry me and sewed like a woman possessed!

I now have the front pockets finished including the little coin pocket:

And I got the back pockets sewn into place too!

They just need a good press.

All the threads are securely finished off.  Both front and back jeans are complete.  It’s time to sew them together and finalise the fit.  Then there’s only the waistband, button and buttonhole, rivets and hems and they are finished.  I think I’m making good progress despite time constraints.

So far so good.

Well, I’m pleased to report that the weekend saw some progress on the jeans front.

I inserted the fly zip and the pocket linings:

The fly guards and the pocket linings are a remnant of quilting cotton from my stash.

I had already purchased the jeans zip before I watched the Palmer Pletsch DVD.  They suggest using a normal dress zip to reduce bulk, and I’d be tempted to try that next time.

The yokes are also sewn to the back jeans and topstitched:

To me the yoke is the wrong way round…even though that’s the way it was on the jeans I destroyed cut up for a pattern.  Assuming these jeans turn out ok…next time around I’ll be redrafting that yoke, but it’s fine for now.

The topstitching is a variagated denim blue.  I like the subtle effect of the denim thread on denim fabric, and it makes a nice change from the traditional gold thread.

Whilst the whole of this project is a learning curve for me, the biggest thing I’ve learned is that the choice of denim makes all the difference.  My denim skirt is made from a heavier weight rigid denim and was a dream to sew.

This is a lighter weight (although not lightweight) stretch denim, and it’s an absolute bear to sew with.  It wiggles and fidgets and is generally quite moody.  That said, I think they’ll be more comfortable to wear in the summer months.

As an aside I always wore stretch denim in RTW because the fit was so awful and the give in the fabric made them bearable.  I think I’d like to see how they work out in a more rigid denim now that I’m addressing the fit.

It seems that so far I’ve not been put off making jeans!  I’m making notes to myself of what I’d change next time out, so I’m taking this as a positive sign.

Next up is sewing on the back pockets and then I’m ready to put them all together and checking the fit.  Slightly daunting but I have time to build myself up to it.  We have a very busy week Chez Stitches.  We have dance rehearsals, the show itself on Friday and Saturday nights, I have studying, I’m sitting on Adoption Panel this week and we also have a parent’s evening at Button’s new school.  All good stuff but little time for the sewing machine. Hopefully at the weekend I’ll get an hour in the sewing loft and get the pockets on, then I’m on the home stretch, if you’ll excuse the pun!

Whilst I had a considerable amount of time at the weekend, not a lot of progress was made on the jeans.

I have a good reason for this.

I finshed my final paper for my English degree module.  It’s been double checked.  And submitted.

My English module is now done.  One down, one to go.

Cue trumpets sounding, choirs of angels singing, and general celebration Chez Stitches.

However, I did get the jeans cut out and pin fitted.

Even pin fitted The Husband thinks they look a better fit than any RTW jeans I’ve ever bought. I’m taking this as a good sign.

This morning The Husband is working at home, so I took the opportunity to make him a mug of tea and get him to mark the correct height for the rise of the jeans.  You’ll remember that I’d added some length to this but I’d gone from jeans that showed far more of me than I’m happy sharing with anyone but The Husband, to jeans that Simon Cowell would happily wear!

That chalk line shows the bottom of the waistband.  So I need to drop the waist…

…redraw the pocket…

…and make all adjustments to the paper pattern for next time (she said, hopefully!)…

Repeat for the back, remembering to make any adjustments to the back leg piece NOT the yoke piece…

And lo!  I am good to sew!

I’ll be following the construction instructions in the Palmer Pletsch jeans DVD that I received for Christmas (thanks Ma!)

I’ve watched it through once already and it’s a really good resource with some great sewing tips too.

And whilst I was waiting for my helper to be available to mark up the jeans for me, yesterday I made the most of my free time by cutting out the toiles for a Colette Ginger skirt and a little shell top from a Prima magazine pattern.  I’m hoping to fit them at the weekend with Ma.

It’s been a productive sewing week so far, I think.

Hi there,

I’m having a lazy morning plucking up the courage to go and make a start on the jeans.

I’ve done some housework.  Showered and dressed.  Packed the family off for the day.  Run Husband to the garage AGAIN with his wretched car. I’m so thankful that we can afford two cars and that the kids and I can easily get to nursery and out to play during the work week, but I really wish the warning lights/knocking noises/things packing up would stop on his car.

I’ve played some solitaire and generally procrastinated about going up to the sewing loft.

And I’ve read some blogs.

Which prompts me to this post.  I know I was going to show you how I made the pattern for Button’s t-shirt refashion

…well today I came across this post at Running With Scissors, which explains it all far better than I could.

So rather than reinvent the wheel…do you mind if I send you across there to see how its done.  And soon I’ll show you what I did with the neckband!

Promise.

But first I should gather my wits and go sew.  The jeans are calling.

Have a lovely weekend.

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.