Made by a Fabricista: Light Skinny Jeans

This winter I have had a major hole in my wardrobe, jeans! I decided in December that I would sew three pairs of jeans at the same time. I've found that sewing things in pairs (or in this case a group of three) is actually faster than if I sew the same pattern at separate times.This time I sewed two pairs of Ginger Jeans and one pair of Morgan Jeans. Here are my ginger jeans in a light denim, which I have been looking to buy for ages!

Fabric mart had the perfect light blue stretch denim in stock a couple months ago, but unfortunately it has sold out! Actually, this is the wrong side of the fabric. You can see from this photo above when I cuff my jeans, the right side of the fabric is a bolder blue color, but when I received the fabric in the mail the back side of the fabric was exactly the color of denim I had been on the hunt for!

The Ginger Jeans pattern is a great pattern to jump into the world of jeans sewing. Before I began sewing my own jeans, I thought sewists that made their own jeans were crazy. I thought it was way too time consuming and not something I would ever be interested in. But then I sewed a pair, or two, or three and realized it's actually a lot of fun, and worth every minute.

Jeans sewing is definitely time consuming and a heftier project than a t shirt, but I love all of the little details that go into sewing jeans. And when you take the project one small step at a time, it really is not complicated.

Heather, who designed the Ginger Jeans walks you through every step of the Ginger Jeans sewing process and also has a great pants fitting guide to help you solve any issues you're having with your pants.

Call me a convert, I am absolutely addicted to sewing my own jeans. Nothing beats a pair of pants that are custom made to fit your body.

With this pattern, I've found that if I blend between a size six at the waist and grade out to a size eight at the hips, it fits perfectly! How about you? Do you sew your own jeans? Or are you like I was and think jeans sewing is crazy?

Thank you Fabric Mart for this perfect light colored denim and thanks for reading along. If you'd like to see the other two pairs of jeans I sewed this winter stop by my blog, Dandelion Drift!

Made By A Fabricista: The Sheer Volume Of It All!

This garment was inspired by a dress I saw in an ad, and when I went to purchase it (which I rarely do)…I realized that the dress didn’t come in my size. Ticked off and with $300 back in my pocket, I decided to draft it myself. The description listed the fabrication as a silk cotton voile, so I used that as a starting point to recreate the simple yet elegant silhouette. My drafting experience is limited; I’ve only ever made garments that are pleated rectangles that fit into an elasticated waist. No darts, no complicated calculations, and definitely no sleeves. But I’d have that dress if it’s the last thing I do! I made a drawing, created a Pinterest board to document my inspiration, and narrowed down the features I really wanted to have: billowy bubble-hemmed bishop sleeves (say it three times fast!), a fitted and lined bodice, and a gathered tiered skirt. Finally, it was time to shop for fabric. I knew I wanted a silk blend of some kind, without breaking the bank. For weeks, I ke...

Made By A Fabricista: Just Wear It Out!

Originally I wasn’t happy with my make this time around. I put it on fresh off the sewing machine and didn’t love how it fit. My elastic was slightly too narrow for what the pattern called for. I did end up putting a stitch to close up the v-neck on the top. I thought my sewing on the waistband looked sloppy and I looked kind of frumpy in the outfit. I was going to put the project down to fix later but decided to wear it out for some feedback from our web manager and one of the describers. I ended up pleasantly surprised! The fabric is super comfortable and I felt really good wearing it. All the things I didn’t like kind of melted away wearing it out. The flaws were so small that only I noticed them. I think it’s important to remember that while striving for perfect seams and flawless construction is good, a handmade garment doesn’t have to be perfect to be wearable. This isn’t the first time I’ve softened on a garment after wearing, and it certainly won’t be the last! The 100% c...

Made By A Fabricista: In Love with Linen

Linen is the best fabric to sew and wear. I selected a beautiful 100% linen from Fabric Mart that is a steel blue and cream floral linen to sew up a By Hand London Hannah Wrap Dress pattern. The flowers look like Dahlias. I originally sewed a Toile from a black and white cotton bedsheet, wore the dress a lot but never made it again. I gave the Toile away to a friend who always commented on how much she loved the dress. When I saw this fabric, I knew I wanted to make the Hannah again. Linen is so easy to sew the entire experience reminded me why linen remains one of my favorite fabrics to sew. I look for a light to medium weight European linen for a dress. I like a rayon or cotton blend with linen because it seems to have more drape and be more soft. Linen gets softer with washing and wearing it. This particular linen feels crisp and after ironing and washing, softens up. I like how Fabric Mart describes the fabrics as top, dress, blouse, shirt weight under “Use” and will describe...

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