An experiment in how jeans fit - a lesson learned

A short time ago I woke up one morning and did the usual, checked Facebook before even getting out of bed.  I was quite shocked to find a screenshot off MY blog of MY Ginger Jeans posted by someone else.  This person stated that she couldn’t understand why I was so happy with the fit and that they fit terrible.  Some people in the group proceeded to pick apart all the things wrong with my body and my fit.

Totally rude and unacceptable.  I was shocked, hurt, and then angry as hell.  How dare she belittle me and steal my photo.  I typed up a comment stating it was my photo and asked her to take the post down; which she did – or an admin did, I don’t know.  She never apologized and that is the reason I’m still stewing inside over it.  It hurt, and it made me question my sewing, and my body. 

SO, I decided to do a little experiment.  To prove to myself that sewing my own things is something I should continue.   I have 4 pairs of pants in a collage below.  3 are ready to wear, store bought. 1 is self sewn.  They all have their fit issues; the pants do, not my body. My body just needs the pants to be adjusted. Some look good in some areas, some in others; none are perfect.

A different layout to see the fit differences better

Pair 1: Levi’s Curvy Bootcut; size 14.  The waist actually fits pretty nice (shocking since store jeans never fit me in the waist).  The jeans are thin and I feel like they look “bumpy” on my body because they are so thin.  They are ok, the material is not soft like the rest, but it’s not scratchy either. slightly loose.

Pair 2: Lee No Gap Waistband Curvy Fit Bootcut Jeans; size 16. The waist gaps even though it has a built in elastic part.  The elastic waist part makes me feel itchy (allergic to latex and sensory issues).  The fabric is nice, thicker, soft.  I like how they look in the front and side.  I can’t get past the waist. not loose, not tight, I like how they feel in snugness.

Pair 3: Gap Curvy Flare; size 14.  They no longer make these, they are my favorite RTW jeans.  They feel nice when I wear them, but I constantly have to pull them up.  I love the hip hugging and flare, the material is soft. After time they get really baggy in the butt and slightly baggy everywhere.

Pair 4: Ginger Jeans, modified flare; size 12 waist and on the front pant size 14 hip, the back pant 18 hip.  These feel the best on me, like they hug me just right. Are their still fit issues? sure. But I don’t really care to be honest.  The material on these is so soft.  snug and hugging.


The people that I care about, my amazing sewing friends that follow my blog, know I struggle deeply with health issues.  I have certain fit issues I just don't care to address - I put my energy into what I feel is important. 

So to the lady that put my body on blast without my permission – shame on you.

And to everyone else, the real people that matter, I will continue sewing.  I enjoy it even when it hurts, even when it sucks out all my energy.  I love the hobby and I love the community.  I love seeing all the things my sewing friends make!

I learned quite a bit from this experience.  We need to be less critical of our sewing makes.  I am horribly critical when I make something; time for that to change. Ready to wear doesn’t fit perfectly either!  Our sewing makes will almost always fit us better than anything store bought.  And if they don't, well then we learn, change the pattern, and grow from it!  It's still a fun experience. 

(Also, thank you so much Shirley for being such a great friend to me that day; you were there for me when I most needed a friend). 


Onward my sewing friends!

Kristin

Ginger Jeans and Agnes Tanks

Many times during Me Made May you saw me wear my newest jeans (6 times!).  I waited a long time to try this pattern because jeans take forever to make.  However, I’m so glad I finally made them because they are fantastic!

Closet Case Patterns ~ Ginger Jeans



Size and Adjustments: My measurements at the time of sewing were 31 waist, 45 hip.  Based on my measurements I made a size 12 waist and on the front pant I did a size 14 hip, the back pant I did an 18 hip.  I have a bubble butt so I found this trick works best with fit.



I was making these as flares but when I put them on they were super, super flare. I like a bit less flare to my jeans.  I ended up taking in 1/2” off each inseam, front and back leg; as well as 2” each off the outer seams!  this brought the flare in by 5” each leg.  They are perfect now for me. 



Instructions:  The instructions are fantastic! These are hands down the best pants/jeans instructions I’ve ever encountered.  I’d buy this pattern just for those.  Nice easy steps, very detailed, and lots of pictures.  There is also a sew-a-long on the Closet Case website; however the pattern instructions are written so well, I didn't’ need to reference the sew-a-long.



Fabric: Here is where I fail.  I try my hardest to keep note of when I purchase fabric, how much, and where.  I have a database in Evernote that I keep up.  However, I prewashed all my denim a few times and now have lost track of which “dark denim” is which!  I *think* this fabric is “Midnight Blue Stretch Denim” that I purchased in Feb 2016 from fashionfabrics club for $6.25/yd.  96% Cotton 4% Lycra.  I don’t remember how much fabric these jeans used but I purchased 3 yards so we will say they cost $18.75.





Thoughts: Love love love.  Seriously, I really love these.  The fabric is perfect the fit is spot on.  they are so comfortable.  I have 2 pair of Jalie Jeans (2908) and I love those too; these Ginger’s fit right there with them. 

The many times I wore them in May

Halla Patterns ~ Agnes Tank

Size and Adjustments: My measurements at time of sewing: 37.5 bust, 31 waist, 45 hip.  Based on this I decided to sew a size 8/10 bust, 10/12 waist, and 14/16 hip for the tie dyed tank.  I felt the flare was a bit much in the hip so the second time I sewed this in gray with a 8/10 bust, 10/12 waist and hip.  It still has a lot of hip flare.





Instructions:  I have to be honest I didn’t read them.  It’s 2 pieces of fabric plus the bindings.  I didn’t need instructions. 



Fabric: The Tie dye fabric is an ITY Knit Water Color Print Blue/White/Multi, I purchased it from fabric.com in April 2016 for $5.38, 1 yard. I love how ITY feels in the summer. It’s cooling and has great drape.

I know he is hard to see, but I put this amazing Octopus on the front of my gray Agnes with my Silhouette Cameo.  I love it! (But maybe I should have put a white backing on him).

The gray fabric is a triblend jersey from knitpop that I picked up in May? June? 2017, not long ago.  They had it on sale $5/yard. 1 yard.



Thoughts:  I love the neckline of this top.  I can bend forward with no fear. I like the shape of it.  They are so easy to throw on and comfortable to wear.  I love both.   However, I feel like there is too much flare at the hip for my liking.  I plan to make this again and I will taper in about 2” each side on the hip.  It’s a great basic for summer! 

By the way, this pattern is FREE if you join the Halla Facebook group. 

Jalie 2908 ~ Jeans #2

After I sewed my first pair of these jeans in March, I wanted to sew up another pair with some tweaks to the fit.




This time I went with a straight size BB.  Then I darted out 2” in the front (1/2” in two spots on the front piece for an overall 2”).  I compared this to the first pair where I used a size Z in the front and the only thing different was that it gave my thighs the much needed 1/4 to 3/8” of room. 



I also added 1/2” to the rise and 1” to the hem.  I like my jeans loooooong. 



In addition to those alterations, I took off 1/2” on each side from waist to nothing at the hip. My single most problem with RTW jeans is that I have a large butt and a small waist.  I always have that dreaded huge gap at center back. 



As with the first pair I used the“gaposis” fix linked in this post on the Jalie blog and took 1 inch off the waist and 1/2” off the yoke on each side for 1” total there in the back.  All this waist adjustment meant I took off a total of 4 inches in the waist!



Humorously they are still loose in the waist; however, this fabric had lots more stretch than my last pair.  The fabric is really soft too.



Fabric: Stretch Medium Weight Dark Denim (you can find it here); 96% Cotton 4% Lycra;  it is listed as 10% stretch but it is more like 20%.  I purchased this fabric in January – 2.5 yards for $19.95.  It is a great weight for jeans, very soft, and easy to sew.  I did make sure to prewash.



Thoughts: I really love these jeans!  The fabric is soft, the stretch is the right amount.  I love the length I settled on.  I always wear a belt with my pants so the looser waist doesn’t bother me.  I think the bias waistband is what gives me trouble.  In the future I would try a pair of jeans without the bias waist.  These jeans are about as close as I have ever come to a perfect pair. 



Pretty inside pocket bags!

Amazingly sewn zipper fly and jean button :D

Final note: I pushed to make these jeans because I can’t stand to wear the first pair.  It is my mistake and not a mistake in the pattern.  When I topstitched the first pair I used a double needle – topstitching thread in both, and then regular thread in the bobbin.  Well my skin is very sensitive and I can’t stand the scratchy feeling of the regular thread the way it is in the twin needle.  The jeans themselves don’t want to soften up either.  So they were a learning pair. I learned from that mistake and topstitched these with a single needle at 1/8” and then 1/4” – even though it takes more time and precision, I am happier in the end because the seams are soft.

I plan on wearing these until they fall apart!

Jalie 2908 ~ Jeans #1

I finally did it.  I made jeans!  I’ve been meaning to for 3 years now but either felt intimidated, or lacked motivation.  Sunday, I finally just went for it. 



These took me 3 days to sew; I tried to break it up into parts.  The Jalie illustrated instructions are on three separate pages so I sewed up a page each day.  This broke it down quite nicely. Jeans are not hard to make, really.  They just take loads of time. 



My sizing put me in an AA but when I try to go off that I usually end up with not enough for my rear and too much in front.  So I decided to cut a size Z for the front and BB for the back.  I made sure the seams all lined up still. 



The biggest problem I have in RTW jeans is that annoying back gap.  It’s huge on me.  So I immediately used the “gaposis” fix linked in this post on the Jalie blog.  I took 1 inch off the waist and 1/2” off the yoke on each side for 1” total there.  I made no other adjustments. 



To sew these I set up my vintage Kenmore for top-stitching and used my new Janome for the sewing.  I used a twin needle for most of the double top-stitching but I wouldn’t do that again; it makes the stitching pretty scratchy on the inside.  I had top-stitching thread in each needle, and regular thread in the bobbin.  When the twin needle sews it creates sort of a zigzag on the backside with the bobbin thread – this makes it scratchier than a normal stitch.  Next time I’ll just sew each line separately with a single needle. 



Jalie’s instructions are fantastic for these, but I still needed more visual handholding for the zipper and fly.  I went to the Ginger Sew-a-long posts and looked over those as I assembled the fly.  They use all the same parts as the Jalie but the pictures are photos, not illustrations; this helped me
. 


As I was sewing these up I got so excited when I came to the inseam.  I sewed and topstitched the inseam, and then only basted the side seams for a quick fitting.  Everything looked great but the back still gapped a bit because the waist was too big for me.  The thigh area was just a bit too tight for my liking too.  I took out the basting and re-sewed the side seams with 1/2” seam allowance from waist to hip and then 1/4” seam allowance from hip to knee. 

Fit:  I am in love with these jeans!  I don’t know why I procrastinated in making them.  Honestly I thought they wouldn’t fit me and I would have to do a ton of adjustments.  But you can’t move forward if you don’t … move forward! lol.  These fit me so much better than any RTW jean I’ve owned and I didn’t have a lot to adjust!



Fabric: I just barely squeaked these out of 2 yards of “Stretch Denim 9oz. Midnight Indigo” fabric.  The denim had 20% stretch.  The pattern calls for 2 and 1/8th yard I think.  I was super careful to make sure everything was on grain when cutting; except the waistband is cut on the bias.  Anyway I picked up this fabric back in April 2013 (see I meant to make jeans way back then!) from fabric.com for only $3.99 a yard.  That makes these jeans only $7.98!  (not including thread, button, zipper, etc.). 



To prep this fabric I prewashed and dried it twice.  After I made the jeans I soaked them overnight in vinegar followed by a rinse and then tumble in the dryer with tennis balls.  I was hoping to soften up the denim a bit with the vinegar soak.  After this I took some sandpaper and lightly sanded a few spots (thighs, side seams, bottom hems) and then washed as normal.  They are still somewhat stiff but I just need to wear them to break them in. 



Going Forward:  The next time I make these I will add 1/2” to 1” to the inseam because I like my pants longer.  I will make the waist 1/2” smaller still.  And I might add 1” to the rise because I’m super close to showing my butt crack when I bend over in these or when sitting.  These are minor changes to a great pattern.  I’m super pleased with them. 



Next up I’ll be making the Ginger Jeans with the flare option, just to see how different they fit. 

I’m also wearing yet another Jalie Scarf Collar top (2921).  This is the third one I’ve sewn in the last two weeks.  This time I made it sleeveless and in a Navy ITY.  I really love this pattern because it looks dressy or casual, sews up so fast, and takes just 1 yard of fabric.



The one thing I have issues with in sleeveless tops is when the pattern asks you to just turn and topstitch the armhole.  My fabric never wants to cooperate with the curve there.  So I found that cutting a strip of bias (or in this case since it was a knit just a 1.5” wide strip) and then serging it to the armhole, under stitching it, and flipping it to topstitch down. This works great for me every time and the inside looks much cleaner.





Fabric: I just bought this from fabric.com in February for this pattern.  1 yard Monaco Small Dot ITY Knit Navy/White for $3.74.  This is a great ITY; perfect weight and not see through.
I didn’t adjust for swayback this time either; I must remember to do this.



With the busy dots you can barely tell there is a seam down the center front.



*~* Happy Sewing! ~*~

Kristin