Skip to main content

Made by a Fabricista: Spring Jeans by Sue

When spring rolls around, I go for pretty and stronger colors than I typically wear in the winter. When I saw this designer denim from Leslie Stuart on Fabric Mart's site, I knew exactly what I wanted to create and wear!


It is such a pleasure to sew with good quality denim and even more awesome to wear!



Vogue 8774 is my favorite TNT and I've made it so many times my pattern tissue is showing a lot of wear even though I am super careful with it!




What I love about revisiting an old friend is that you get to truly play with the details and while I wonder about what else I can do to perfect it, I still think this pattern has a ways to go fit-wise but overall, I am very happy with my orange-y jeans!  What a happy color!


When prepping my denim, even when I use a good quality denim such as this, I wash and dry it twice before cutting out.  Have you ever bought a pair of jeans that were the perfect length and you washed, dried, put them on an disaster struck--the length shrunk!  How irritating!


To prevent that, I wash and dry before cutting and also before hemming, I wash and dry one more time, just to be sure and I've never had an issue with my pants being too short again!  Hooray!


This denim has a bit of a stretch that makes them ultra comfortable to wear but one hazard of sewing denim with stretch is that the top-stitching details can cause the denim to slightly pucker. To alleviate this, I use seam tape at the yoke seam and also the front pockets. The denim keeps its shape and after stuffing your hands in your pockets a billijion times, they don't sag or droop at all!  I just love sewing tools!


I wanted to add a few more details and decided that the orange bias tape from my stash would work perfectly to edge the pockets.


This is a higher end detail but also functional as it reinforces the pocket bags so they never split. And, to make the waistband less bulky, I didn't turn under the seam but edged it once again with the orange and then the top-stitching at the waistband is holding it secure.


My alterations on this pattern have been pretty numerous.  I first started with a 1/2" swayback adjustment which I made on the yokes.  I rotated the inner leg seam to the back so everything hangs nicely and took a wedge at the front crotch area to eliminate those annoying wrinkles.  I lengthened the pants by about 1.5 inches and also took a fish-eye dart at the back upper thigh area.  I still have a bit of wrinkling there but will live with it as I don't want to 'over' fit.



I also decided I wanted a bit of a slimmer fit for these and took the side leg seams in about 1/2" on each side of the leg.

Glam is a fun addition and I found the Swarovski crystals in my collection and had just enough to add to the front pockets!  How fun!


I also used variegated thread for top-stitching in white, yellow, orange and a coral color.  I plan on using variegated thread more often for decorative top-stitching as it adds an element that is a bit different.  

Not sure if you can tell or not, but I love my jeans!  I love this pattern and if Fabric Mart has more of this denim, snatch it up!

Check out their Denim collection here. 

Sue from Ilove2sew!

Comments

  1. These are so cute. I love all of your details with the bias binding, rhinestones, and variegated thread. I still have not attempted to make my own jeans, but as I see what interesting details you can add, I am getting more and more swayed.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You have to make jeans Ann! It is fun and after you tackle the first pair, relatively easy!

      Delete
  2. Awesome Sue! I saw this fabric and was unsure of the real color. I think I need this for some jeans now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Jenese! I really like this denim and especially the color too!

      Delete
  3. Wow! I love your jeans. Very nice fit! The color is a definite for Spring and Summer. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love your tip about stabilising with the tape for the topstitching. Your jeans look wonderful. I got to a second pair for my pattern adjusting about a year ago but have abandoned them. You are inspiring me to give them a second go.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Thanks for leaving a comment! All comments are reviewed before posting to help us eliminate spam. Your comment will be posted within 24 hours.

Popular Posts You Might Like

Made by a Fabricista: What's Black and Gold with Chevron All Over? This DIY Pant Suit, That's What!

Hope you're having a Golden day, get it? [I crack myself up sometimes!] This DIY pant suit is golden for sure.  So tell me this, were you one of the lucky ones who were able to grab some of this fabric when Fabric Mart posted their new arrivals? I jumped on it so fast it was crazy and before you know it "poof" it was gone. So sorry I don't have any links to this fabric but all is not lost, you can use something else for these patterns. Try looking in the suiting selection for the blazer. The other awesome option is denim  and as  always check the New Arrivals. I went to my "tnt"  blazer pattern for this project because I knew the metallic bias around the edges would look fab and I was on a mission to make another pair of mimi g's jeans and trim the seams in metallic bias as well. I recommend both of these patterns to any level sewist. I did a little pattern hack on the blazer pockets to make them a little more interesting and I made a pic...

Made By A Fabricista: The Skirt that Brought my Sewjo Back

I know it can’t just be me. My sewjo has gone away and I’ve been having such a hard time trying to get it back. I remember the days when I used to sew every single day without fail and now, not so much. I think about sewing and all the things I’d love to make, but I just haven’t found the motivation. I kind of know what the issue is. I started a new job last October and ever since I started, I’ve been sewing less and less and I don’t like it! Well, in comes Simplicity S3237.  Summertime is here and it’s time to bring out all the skirts. Simplicity recently released S3237 as part of their summer patterns. This skirt is a full, gathered skirt with a bias-cut yoke with side seam pockets and an invisible back zipper. The skirt comes in 3 different lengths – mini, midi and maxi.  I decided to make View B which is the midi length. I’m not much of a maxi length kind of girl and that mini was a little too small for me. I sewed up a size 22 with a few modifications. Let’s talk about th...

Made By A Fabricista: Summery Stripes Set

Warm weather and linen go hand in hand! Our summer has been slow to show up with the heat, but bright, sunny afternoons have me all ready for light, swingy garments to stay cool. Wearing matching sets has been one way to make getting dressed easier when I hit decision fatigue since reaching for two items that already go together removes the need to plan or do any rearranging.  This is a lovely lighter-end-of-mid-weight linen in the most beautiful and subtle seaglass hues of grays and greens. This color combo strikes me as so calm and sophisticated, and a little stripe-play is perfect for details.  My tank pattern is the brand-spankin’ new Matchy Matchy Sewing Club Sunny Side Tank, just released this week. It’s a perfect little cropped A-line shape for wearing with high waisted pants or showing some midriff.  I made no changes to the extra small. The wide neckline is so elegant and this shape still gives full bra coverage to boot.  These really cute pants are the Mat...