Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Jalie 2908

Merry Christmas to Me!!
My absolutely fabulous Jalie stretch jeans are done!  They aren't perfect, but they fit fairly well, they're comfortable and I like them.
Side view
And from the back.

I made the "low rise" version of this pattern, since I generally like low rise jeans, but this one is QUITE low, even on me, and I am quite short waisted.  Next time I will be making the mid rise for sure.  I made no fit adjustments, since the pattern measurements were so close to my own.  I do think I need to tweak the back crotch curve for the next pair.
See the under-butt wrinkles?  I think it needs to be scooped out just a bit more.
I added rivets and a coin pocket ...
I cut the waistband on the straight grain, rather than the bias, as many reviewers on PR got good results with this.  I also did Emilie's "Gaposis Fix" from the Jalie website.  I can't seem to find the pictures of the original tutorial, but basically you take a small dart out of either side of the yoke before you attach the waistband.
Can you see the little dart?  Mine were about 1/2 inch deep.  Although this did improve the fit, I think I prefer to refine the fit at center back.  For the next pair, I will save the center back topstitching for later in the process so that I can check the fit once the jeans are fully constructed, do any needed alterations and topstitch then.

I did learn quite a few other things while making these jeans.  My first piece of advice to all you intrepid jeans-makers out there is to check out the tips on the Jeans Sew-Along on PR.  There is not only great advice for sewing your jeans, but also great resources for getting notions, fabric, all sorts of cool stuff!

Here are a few other things I've learned:
1)  Get a jeans needle and change it often.  I went through three on this pair of jeans.  Denim is tough fabric and you are doing a TON of topstitching.
2) Get extra thread.  All that topstitching takes a lot and you want it to match.
3) Denim is linty.  Make sure your machine is clean before you start and clean it again after you finish.
4) You can get special thread for topstitching, but I used the triple stitch on my machine and got great results with regular thread.  Then I didn't have to stop to change the thread for every topstitched seam.
5) Edge finish your pattern pieces before construction.  Denim ravels like crazy and if you already have clean finished edges you can make any fit adjustments without fear.

I hope that you all are having a wonderful holiday with family and friends - and some time to SEW!

15 comments:

Pam said...

Excellent pair of well-fitting jeans - and guess what, I like the low rise ALOT as fit on you - looks so hip!

Thanks for the tips - I do love jeans (as you know!). Really, they are fantastic - especially with heels. Even though I buy mostly upscale jeans - they still don't fit like custom-made!! Merry Christmas!

Tawny said...

Wow! You are a brave woman making jeans. I think I'm going to wait until I have a serger before I try this feat. Then I can finish all the edges the way I like.

They look terrific! Excellent job!

Beth said...

When I saw your "in progress" photo had changed earlier today, I knew you were done! They look great! Merry Christmas to you!

I didn't see the darts until I clicked on the photo to enlarge it.
I don't know when I'll feel confident enough to try jeans, but if I do, I will definitely call you, and re-read this post, and check out PR.

ShadowGirl said...

Your jeans turned out great. I can't wait to try this pattern. Where did get your rivets?

Kitschy Coo said...

I am so impressed, they look fantastic! Seriously, you're amazing.

Merry Christmas!

gwensews said...

You did a terrific job on those jeans. Merry Christmas to you and your family. Although, I don't know how Santa gets around your part of the country without snow to sled on!

KID, MD said...

Thanks everyone! I had such fun sewing them. ShadowGirl - My rivets came from my local fabric store (Hancock), since I was too impatient to wait for shipping. There are some much cooler ones available online.

Trudy said...

Wow! Great job on the jeans. I haven't been brave enough to do jeans yet.

Merry Christmas!

Cennetta said...

Super looking jeans. Merry Christmas!

Beangirl said...

Girl, you are just so FAST. It would take me a month to do these (but then I guess that's not really saying much since I'm Slow Girl). These look great! And you know, RTW jeans have those wrinkles under the butt, it's how they are styled. So really yours look RTW in that respect too! Excellent work!!!

Kathi said...

WOW - I am impressed!!!!!!! Your jeans look awesome!!!!! Two pairs of jeans completed - you are something else! I have this pattern and the fabric -- I just haven't taken the time to sit down and figure out the fit for Jalie pants and start making them!

wendy said...

oooh, they came out so nice! i'm super impressed- i've yet to attempt any kind of jeans at all.

merry christmas! :-)

Lina said...

Fantastic jeans!!!!
Merry Christmas!:)

Michelle said...

Wow! Great job on the jeans! I have yet to try jeans (since I have such trouble fitting pants anyway!) but yours look great and make me want to get that pattern!

Angela said...

Super cute jeans! I need to get this pattern and try it out.