Craftsy: Sewing designer jeans with Angela Wolf - Part 3

The adventure continues! I completed my second pair of jeans, followed quickly by another pair, but more about the third ones later. Here are some details of the construction:

   

 Complete with rivets

Liberty fabric for the pockets! 

Pocket detail: a sewed a 'W' for workspace

It was all going well, I put in the zip and it was very easy, and so I was feeling all smug and confident. Next I did the front pockets, and I was very happy with the look of the front. And so it went, each stage was smooth and trouble free. Until I tried them on, and the curse of the home sewer struck: I wasn’t happy with details. Ugh. I hate it when I do this to myself! The fly was too long, and I knew I wouldn’t be happy wearing them with a fly so long it looked like a willy hanging down. I am not a fan of unpicking my own work. I will happily do anyone else’s, but when it comes to my own work, I know I am faster making from scratch, so it irks me to undo anything. I tell my students unpicking is Zen. Ha! Not for me when I want a finished product! So I unpicked the fly and redid it, and was happy. It wasn’t so hard; maybe I will fix my daughters jeans after all?

 The fly after

I was so happy, I wore them to my deceased friend’s birthday at her grave (it was a lovely party, we reminisced and drank champagne and celebrated her life).

That is me in the background pouring champers. The girls are celebrating with a youth friendly option.

Too hasty though; I tried them on again the next day and as I examined my bottom to ensure the booty was not only contained, but also aesthetic, and I was struck by the pocket placement sitting too low down. Bugger. So I unpicked them and sewed them on again.

Before, looks Ok off, but not so nice on.

After

Satisfaction.

Or not.

When I made the toile I added extra rise to the yoke, but I realised that given my extreme waist to hip ratio (26” waist, 42” hip) the shaping was too much, and actually, the lower rise was more flattering. The alteration needed to be along the seam of the yoke, and I sat and contemplated unpicking, again. But not this time, it would be EPIC: belt loop, waistband, centre back flat felled seam, yoke, not likely! So sewed a horizontal dart across the yoke and top stitched it to make a ‘feature’. I don’t think it screams ‘lazy alteration’, and the fit is great.

The horizontal dart

These jeans are non-stretch, and I bought the fabric based on availability, more then colour or suitability, but I actually really like the colour, and because they fit so well, the non-stretch is very comfortable and isn’t going out of shape, as happens with some stretch denim. Overall, a win!

Regarding distressing the denim, I think it needs more exploration. The denims I have tried shredded easily, rather than getting the aged effect I want. I don’t like holes in my jeans, I just want the seams softened. Angela makes it look very easy, but I suspect the denim you use is critical. I love jeans, and would happily live in them. I have been trying to move away from denim, but I can’t see that happening now, as I will be making many more – purely in the name of research, of course!