Wednesday, July 13, 2011

I Made Jeans!

I went for three weeks without sewing anything (two weeks in the States plus one week of recovery), so over the weekend I may have gone a little crazy with the sewing. There were the skirts for Haven, the items in this post, plus a few more that haven't been photographed yet. 

This shirt is an alteration of the Anna Maria Horner camisole (slip) pattern. I tried to make it cowl at the top, but I didn't cut it properly to do that. It's ok though, because I still really like it. And since I finally invested in one of those little bias tape folding tools I've actually enjoyed making my own bias tape!


Fabric: Bazaar Style, Exotic Flora from Art Gallery
Pattern: AMH Camisole (with alterations)

And.... drumroll please... my first pair of jeans!


Pattern: Burda Young flared jeans

I say this is my first pair of jeans because I think I will have to make at least one more pair. I learned a lot from making this pair, such as:

1. I'm short. I have to alter the top of the pants to be ultra low rise, or I end up with pants up to my armpits.
2. I'm short. The flair that looks good on the tall skinny model will most definitely be too wide for me!
3. I'm short. The pattern may say that's where the back pockets go, but most likely I want them higher than the back of my knee.

I'm just sayin... but hey! I installed a jeans button and designed my own back pockets! And I used real jeans thread and a double needle for the details!
These were very surprisingly not that hard. After making all those pairs of Vogue pants it didn't even matter that the pattern was entirely in German. I just looked at the pictures. I do want to try jeans again. Like I said, I learned a lot, I made a lot of notes, and I have a decent pattern to start with that I think can become a great pair of custom jeans.

6 comments:

  1. Holy cow woman! That is fantastic! I would never have believed that homemade jeans could look so good! Great job!!

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  2. Love your entire outfit! The jeans are AH MAZ ING!! Seriously fantastic. I have wanted to try jeans for so long, even have a pattern I want to try and just can't justify it cause I have a bunch of jeans still! Maybe I should get rid of the not so nice pairs and go ahead and make them. I am totally impressed. Love the pocket stitching.

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  3. The jeans turned out so great. It always amazes me what you sewers can do. You keep me inspired. Keep it up.
    I like the way the jeans compliment the top or wise versa. Anyway, it is a great outfit.

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  4. Congrats! I've attempted jeans before, and I know they're not easy. (Hoping that before the end of the year, I can make another attempt.) I love what you did with the back pocket, too. And all of those things you learned from this one will make the next pair that much better.

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  5. these are awesome kelly!! Did I miss this post? Did you back post? Anyway, what I want to know is, are they a better fit than teh store bought ones? that's the only reason I would make a pair. To get exactly what I want; mid rise, boot cut, etc. You did an awesome job kelly. They look perfect!

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  6. That is great that Haven can cut her hair! I used to cut mine all the time when I had short hair. And I am excited that she wants to sew. I used to make all of my school clothes. There is no denying you both belong to me! I can’t believe you made jeans! That is awesome! And those skirts you made Haven are the cutest! Love you so much! Mom

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