Jeans Part One

Jeans progress

I finished the initial pair of jeans on Thursday night and wore them all day Saturday, including driving for an hour and a half, and walking around the shops for four hours. I can safely say they have passed the comfort test. No one pointed and laughed so I guess they pass the "doesn't look too home made" rule and the "not too blatantly out of fashion" rule. I was really pleased that I had a wearable result from the first attempt and have now started on a second pair which incorporate the pocket amendments. I did take photos of the first pair but have no batteries in the camera right now so can't download them yet.

I haven’t really got too far with the second pair yet. It was hot on Sunday and I had one of those days where I didn’t make progress because I kept being distracted…. By my tunic top (an impulse project, more on which later), the garden, a sudden decision to make bread, an even more sudden decision, brought on by the unusually warm weather, to trace out a shorts pattern…. I am sure we all have days like that.

I did the top stitching tests for the jeans and decided to use upholstery thread and a triple straight stitch with the stitch length turned up to 3.5. The idea of using the triple straight stitch came from the Pattern Review Jeans Sewalong and it’s a tip which came from Emilie at Jalie, via Cabinbaby. Thanks both of you. I have previously had tension difficulties when using the thicker threads since I could not always get the bobbin thread to hold the top stitching thread securely. It often floated at the back, making the topstitching loose and unattractive. Even worse, the knots where I tied off the top stitching ends kept coming undone on the jeans I used this method on and my pockets started to come off at the back after only a few washes.

So far, the triple straight stitch appears to be locking the two threads together better in the fabric and this is giving me a more professional finish and I feel more confident that my stitching won’t come undone after a few wearings. On the initial muslin version I used this stitch with the ordinary thread in the machine to save time, and that worked well for a rather understated look but wasn't quite heavy enough for my taste in this case.

So, the only progress on these jeans so far is actually the installation of the fly zipper and shield and the back pocket construction. The pockets are unusual; I used a pattern piece for a jeans pocket from La Mia Boutique Magazine September 2008 which is not the usual jeans pocket shape or style. I am hoping they look designer rather than Becky Home Ecky. We shall see.