Jeans!

A new pair of retro-style jeans, that's what I promised you, isn't it? 
Well, I finished sewing them before last weekend and I was quite happy with the result. All I needed to do was pose for pictures... 
Which I did, in a bit of a hurry, on Sunday. But sometimes pictures just don't turn out that great. The lighting is rather bad on these (they're just a bit too bright) , my apologies.

I used the pattern I drafted for my favorite calf length jeans. I just made them full length this time. And I adjusted the fit. I ended up taking in the side seams by a whopping 1.5 cm per seam at the hips and waist (so where-ever it is anywhere near close-fitting). 1.5 cm may not sound like much, but a it means loosing that amount on both the front and back pattern piece on both sides. So that's total circumference of loss of 6 cm. If you know that the usual difference in circumference between dress sizes is between 4 and 6 cm, that's a lot. Especially for a custom drafted pattern. Of course, the pattern is a year-and-a-half old and I have been very sporty in that time. Clearly, that made a difference.

I am quite happy with the finished product. I like the fit and the feel of the fabric. I like the retro feel of the design but I'm glad I didn't try to go completely   "period". Jeans with wide legs were worn in the 1940's but those would have a much lower crotch. Despite having the waistband at the natural waist, I went for a much more modern kind of fit. I've tried the vintage style and I kind of like it but I think I still prefer a fit like this. 

As usual, I used flat-felled seams on the back yoke, center back seam and inner leg seams and stitched those with thick, golden yellow jeans thread. 

It's a nice new shape which I am sure will be very welcome in my collection of trousers... 

Finished jeans!

And here are those jeans I blogged about earlier:

The pattern is a tried-and-tested one. Self-drafted as usual and intended to be made up using stretch denim, what this fabric is. 
As I mentioned before, I had only just enough fabric to cut out all the pieces for this pair of trousers so I was limited both in the leg length (this was absolutely the longest I could possibly make them) and in the flare of the leg. I might have gone for a more pronounced boot-cut shape if there had been more fabric.

The rest is pretty straight-forward: a fairly high rise, to the natural waist, which I find comfortable. I will normally wear tops over it.
Scoop pockets at the front, patch pockets at the back. And that deep-curving back yoke. A waistband, but no belt-loops. I find adding belt-loops a very fiddly and annoying job and I never use them anyway (on me, to fit well, any waistband below the waist has to be quite strongly shaped so there is no way a straight belt will sit well along such a line).

All in all, not a very exciting but certainly a very welcome and useful addition to my wardrobe.
  

Making jeans

Not too long ago, I read post on someone else's blog about jeans. It once again reminded me that I could use another pair myself. The post also contained a bit of a surprise for me: There was a picture of the insides of the finished jeans and none of the seam allowances had been finished in any way. There was topstitching along some seams but all the edges were raw. 
Not a treatment I would ever recommend for denim. This, rather experienced, seamstress told me she had never had any trouble with the particular kind of high quality denim she uses. 

And now, I am making jeans again. Another pair of my close-fitting jeans, using stretch denim. I'm making them using my normal method. I've done this for quite a while and generally don't give it a lot thought. However, based on that recent discussion I thought it might be worth showing after all.

I like to use flat-felled seams on my jeans. I use them on all those seams which you will usually see flat-felled or topstitched in RTW. Yoke seam, center back seam, inner leg seam. 
Years ago, before I had a serger, I would sometimes try an flat-fell the outer leg seam as well as the inner leg seam but I would recommend that. It's really fiddly. 

This is what I do now:

For my flat-felled seams, I use topstitching thread in sewing machine's needle and regular thread in the bobbin (topstitching thread is thick and likely to get stuck in the bobbin). This works really well but it does mean that you had to plan ahead where you want the contrast stitching to show.

The first step is to sew the seam with the wrong sides of the fabric facing each other and stitching on the side you want to be on top in the flat-felled seam.

This is what the other side looks like.

Then, I press the seam allowances open,

trim the seam allowance on the side that has the stitching in the regular thread

and fold and press the other seam allowance around and over the trimmed one. 

You could pin it down at this stage but I usually don't. Denim can pressed really well and tends to stay in place just fine. In fact, I think having to remove pins might make your stitching more wobbly. Just stitch close to the folded edge, keeping an even distance to the first line of topstitching. 

Maybe a bit tricky if you try this for the first time but not difficult. And you get nice, strong seams and a clean, smooth inside of the garment. 

Years ago, I used a different method: I would first stitch the seam in the usual way, with the right sides facing and using regular thread. Then, I would press, trim and fold the seam allowances on the inside and then stitch along the folded edge. However, when using topstitching thread, I would have to stitch from the outside of the trouser leg, with those folded seam allowances on the inside. I made it work but that was really tricky and it involved much more re-threading of my sewing machine.
There is one area where I might try it again though: The center back seam.

Mine looks like this. I'm actually not that bothered by mismatched point but I know some people like to sew their jeans which real points.

And on the inside, that is just what I have. If I were to use my old method for flat-felled seams on the center back seam (and the regular method on the yoke seams) or even to make a fake flat-felled seam by serging and topstitching, I could have this perfect point on the outside. 
I won't try and change it on this pair of jeans though. 

Oh, and just in case you are wondering about the blue lines and the stamp on the wrong side of the fabric: This was the beginning of the bolt. I originally bought just enough for two pairs of jeans and this will be the second one. I had to be really careful with my pattern lay-out to squeeze it out of the remaining fabric so I was obviously not going to avoid those lines on the back. 

Are these trousers?

I've made new jeans! Remember that 1.10 meter piece of denim which I wanted to sew from? 

Well, I got a lot of nice suggestions and I thought about it for a bit longer. I even started to draft those 1970's style flares, only to realize that I really need more fabric for a style like that. 

And then, I had another look at the past summer's fashionable culotte styles... And noticed that the jeans ones had more fitted, trouser-like shapes that those in more drape-y fabrics. Shapes that would work for this amount of fabric.

So, I made these. As a pattern maker, I would say these are not culottes. I drafted them based on my trouser block so I don't really think so. It is also fairly fitted at the hip and crotch unlike a traditional culotte draft.

I considered using my loose fitting trouser block with the slightly lowered crotch (which I used for my retro jeans) but this fabric is fairly thick and heavy so I went with the normal sloper instead. 

The pattern is fairly simple. It has classic jeans details at the top: Back yoke,  scoop pockets at the front, patch pockets at the back. The legs reach to 24 cm below the knee and they are completely straight from the hip down.

I just managed to cut all the pieces from those 1.10 m of fabric. With only very small strips of fabric left over, there was not enough for a fly shield. So, I cut that from red cotton instead. It is thin cotton so I interfaced it with fusible cotton. 

To make that bit of red make sense, I decided to use the red cotton for all the unseen little details: Pocket bags, the binding on the waistband facing and the hem facing. 

I'm really happy with these jeans. They're fun to wear. Today, it was still fairly warm but I can also see myself wearing these with boots and a jacket in the coming winter. 

1.10 m of denim...

A couple of months ago, one of my usual fabric stalls at the local market had some odd bits of extra fabric. On top of the bolt in their "1 euro a meter" sale corner, they had dumped some off-cuts which had nothing to do with the other fabric they were selling. From time to time, they added more from a big bag. 
On closer inspection, it looked like they were selling the remnants of some frugal persons stash. There were all kinds of fabrics but most of them looked a bit dated: No stretch, old-fashioned curtain-like lace, quirky prints and either cotton or particularly nasty and easy to recognize synthetics. And all of them small pieces, 1.5 m at most.
I picked up a piece of sturdy mid-blue denim, thinking I could always use that. It cost 1 m and when he packed it, the seller stuffed the bag with other small bits of fabric I had shown a bit of interest in (they are fun, actually, but so small it is hard to come up with a project for them).

When I bought that fabric, it was summer and I didn't want to think about sewing jeans. Now, it time to think about it.
Since I bought it, I thought I had exactly 1 meter of this fabric. Which would be just a bit too short to myself a pair of trousers (I know I've made a lot of tapered ankle length ones but that really requires a slightly sloughy fabric). This particular denim is really a bit old-school: Mid-blue with a white weft, a dense twill weave and quite thick and sturdy. 

For a while, I've been telling myself I would use it to make culottes. The kind that has been in fashion this past year: Well past the knee and a bit more trouser-like than the vintage variety. Or plus-fours.

Then, yesterday, I got the fabric out and held it in front of me while looking in the mirror:

And suddenly I was thinking 1970's bell bottoms...

There is a little more fabric than I had thought. 1.10 meter. Just enough for full-length trousers if I pick a design without extra details and lay it out carefully. Which also means that big flares won't be possible. I will probably be more of a boot-cut.

And then, I googled "culottes" for this blog post. I'm not a huge fan of a lot of mainstream fashion but modern culottes are nice. They fit to the natural waist or just below it and most are more properly culotte-like than I had thought. They may or may not have the center pleats I used in my very skirt-like culottes years ago and the shape at the outer leg is usually straight or A-line. Many have added pleats at the front and only the most trouser-like offerings have front fly. I want to make a pair. However, all that lovely fullness means you will definitely need more fabric than "one time the length of the garment" to cut out the pieces for a style like this. So, I won't be able to make culottes like that from this fabric. 

I know I feel a bit frumpy in 'normal' jeans in this mid-blue. So it has to become something a bit more unusual. As skirts go, I think this would only fun for a full skirt which would be better with more fabric. It's too thick to think about dresses although a 1960's shift would look good. 
What do you think?   

New jeans!

When I first tried these on, I felt a bit silly about my earlier post. The look of these is barely boot-cut. 
I wouldn't have wanted to miss out on the interesting and insightful comments though. It's nice to read about other people's preferences, practices and theories about their clothes. I enjoy trying out different styles and shapes but I tend to stick with a couple of things which (I think) work for me. Like the rise. 

These trousers are fairly basic, based on my sloper, with the usual jeans features and the fit adjusted for the stretch denim. I used topstitching thread (which my sewing machine doesn't really like) for the flat felled seams and on the pocket edges and fly. There's really not a lot to say about these jeans. I think I'll enjoy wearing them though.

I have enough fabric left over for another pair but I may first go back to some other trouser styles.  

Normal clothes

Before going on to pick out a 1940's design with pleating or gathers, I stopped considered if there was item of clothing I needed... 
And well, I could do with a spring jacket (although it's still wintercoat weather at the moment and a pair of jeans. 

So, I'm making jeans now. The fabric is a darker version of the stretch stuff I used for my skinny jeans so, again, I'm going for a fitted variety. 
In this case, I'm going for a more classic design: scoop pockets at the front, normal back yoke and patch pockets at the back and a curved waistband, the top of which should hit at the natural waist. And, after some consideration, I cut the legs with a slight flare from the knee. 

I've worn boot-cut jeans for most of my life. By the time they were really disappearing from stores, I had started making my own. It was only when I got some experience with pattern making that I even tried out other styles. And yet,  the boot-cut remained my default shape until about two years ago. There is a pattern I drafted which I made no less than four times... Those were my usual work-trousers too. Which is probably one of the reasons I got tired of the look. I haven't made new flares in the past two years. I've made just about any other trouser shape I could imagine though.

I'm trying again now. I have enough of this fabric for two pairs of jeans and I would like those two to be different from each other. And, with stretch denim like this, it makes sense that both with will be close fitting at the top (which is also a good idea because the fabric turned out to be a bit narrow). I think the other pair will be skinny again but for these, the mild flare seemed like the obvious choice.
Especially because I'm seeing 1970's styles again in magazines and shop windows... I kind of like that look but I'm not sure it suits me anymore. 
Oddly, when I had a look at H&M's website for some RTW jeans to link to, all I could find there were skinny jeans which looked spray-painted on and a few pairs with a 'boyfriend' cut. Despite the fact that I'm sure I've seen flares on display at their stores in town.

Of course, I'm not really worried about being on-trend here. I'm usually far away from RTW trends anyway. I just like to have a wide choice in trouser styles which work for me. 
And yet, seeing those 1970's inspired looks was a reason to cut these trousers the way I did. I don't mind a nod towards mainstream trends. And I have to say I'm curious to see whether this will finally be the trend which breaks the dominance of the skinny jeans. Over the past few years, we've seen other styles come and go without ever really making an impact.

By now, my jeans are almost finished and I'm not 100% sure about them yet... We'll have to see when they're really finished.
Do you have a preferred jeans style?

Ehm... Jeans and a shirt!

So, finally, time available to myself and to E coincided with decent weather so we could take some pictures. I've finished the trousers a week and a half ago and the early in last week. 

I suppose a bit of a confession is in order: I seem to have made skinny jeans. I didn't set out to do so but there's no way to deny it. 

In fact, I was looking for a good fabric for some nice 1950's style cigarette trousers when I found this rather nice stretch denim at my favorite market stall (De Griek Modestoffen, for those of you who are local. It's available in several colours and they still have plenty of it for 4 euros a meter). So, I bought the fabric. And then, I started thinking and sketching about what to make exactly. The fabric being denim, I thought I should add some actual jeans styling but most of the vintage jeans details I like only make sense for more loose-fitting styles. So, I deviated and came up with something of my own.

The rise is between modern and vintage: The top edge of these trousers is about 2 cm above the natural waist (there is no separate waistband) but the crotch curve is modern (close fitting). All the darts needed for such a high-rise style are hidden in the pocket seam and the pieced back yoke. And of course, there is a solid facing inside, doing the job of a waistband. This sketch is pretty rough, and I should point out that the real thing is in no way lopsided but I think it helps explain things anyway.

For years and years, I've claimed skinny jeans were not for me but these are pretty nice. I was even inspired to try out the dreaded jeans-in-boots look and I even liked that... Of course, I guess I could claim my invention has little in common with the standard low-rise skinnies. I might even be right about that. But still... I've already bought more fabric like this in a darker colour too.

With the trousers finished, I started thinking about how to show them off. One of my reasons to want this rise was because I like to have some pairs of trousers which can be worn with the tops tucked in retro style. 
However, all of those existing tops were short-sleeved. And we my be lucky enough to enjoy a very mild autumn, long sleeves are getting useful by now. So, I thought it might be time to try and make something along the line of a classic white shirt. Of course I'm using off-white because I will be the one wearing it. I used cotton with a bit of stretch from my stash and made a fairly simple pattern. I eliminated the bust darts (there's a pattern trick for that with some of the material going to the armscye and some elsewhere), simply didn't make any of the waist darts and made a back yoke. I drafted the sleeves according to instructions for a man's shirt sleeve and added a collar with an extra high stand and single cuffs (which I decided to close with cufflinks anyway). 

It was an experiment in some ways and the result is very wearable but I'm not 100% happy with it. I think the fabric may be slightly too bulky and/or stiff for this style and the sleeve was probably intended for a body with a slightly dropped shoulder so it's just a tiny bit short. And I don't like the drag lines at the cuff. I guess that's what I get for wanting to use men's style pleats on a cuff designed to fit my tiny wrists (my wrists are unusually skinny, it's a fact which has received regular comments in the past). 
Oh, and it looks less than great when worn loose over something but I made it for tucking in, so I'm not going to worry about that.

So, there we have it. This may be as close as I get to 'normal fashion' these days and I actually feel great in it. Some outfit for enjoying autumn...

Ahoy!

What's not to like about wide legged, high waisted, sailor front jeans? (a little spoiler: If you are a devotee of low-rise skinny jeans and would answer this, rhetorical, question with "everything", this post may not be for you...)

Obviously, there's nothing not to like about a good pair of 1930/40's style jeans. I know there's a popular reproduction pattern out there (by one of the big four, with a side button closure) which has been used by many a seamstress to create lovely vintage style trousers, but, being me, I just had to go and draft my own.
I have made trousers with wide legs before, but so far, they were always based on a normal trouser block which meant they were fitted at the crotch and seat. This time, wanting to get that retro look, I chose to use the easy fitting block (which is normally used as a base for things like pleated trousers). This means added ease both in width and length at the crotch, seat and lower hip.
Which makes for a very comfortable pair of trousers.

I used the same fabric as before. I'm really glad I managed to get this pair cut out of the remaining yardage.
Unlike before, I decided to go all-out on classic golden yellow topstitching this time. These jeans have flat felled seams throughout in thick topstitching thread.

The shape of these is simple: a fairly loose fit at the hip, a high waistband and long, straight wide legs. There are bound pockets with buttons and button loops at the back and the scoop pockets at the front are integrated into the front closure. 
That closure, in fact, was rather easy to construct. I've made plenty of fly fronts and I've stopped thinking of those as difficult a long time ago, but to be honest, the sailor front was less fiddly.

I really like the look of these trousers in a bit of retro styling, with a blouse or top tucked in, like in these pictures (which reminds me: I should really make some more blouses). 
Fortunately, E was willing to take some pictures last Sunday, when the weather was still nice. In the yard behind our apartment, they made these flowerbeds last winter. Now, there are these lovely new plants there and stepping stones. It makes for a much better decor  for a photoshoot than before.

Another pair of jeans

Today, we took some pictures of my new jeans.
To be honest, I didn't wait till now just for lack of photo opportunities (last week was rather good for daylight). While sewing the jeans, I had also been dreaming up new things to wear them with and I wanted to work on some of those too.

In the end, only one thing was really finished by the time E had the opportunity to take pictures: this loop-scarf thingy. Is this called an infinity scarf or is that term only for the longer and narrower variety. I was working on a top but it still needed to be hemmed and it didn't really look right with the trousers anyway.

I've told you about the design of these jeans before. It's basically a classic cut for trousers, executed in thin denim.
I'll probably wear a top over them most of the time but I wanted to show you the waistline treatment and the pockets. Those vertical welts (a feature which wouldn't work in more fitted trousers but is absolutely fine here), pleats and fly, all without a waistband.

I'm quite pleased with the fit. Level top edge, no weird folds in the legs and the position of the back pockets looks good too.

The scarf was a really easy and quick thing to make on the knitting machine. For something like this, the fake rib knit option is great. I knitted together three different kinds of really thin yarn: two blue ones and an ocher yellow. I like the tweed-like blended effect it gives and it's a nice way to use this very thin yarn. And it allows me to that yellow without looking sick.

I should still have enough of this denim left over for another pair of trousers and I've been thinking about jeans a lot while making these. So, expect to see more in the time to come.