Jalie 2908 jeans: pink corduroy

These jeans have been a long time coming. I bought the fabric last year, and then moved on to other things, but this pink corduroy has been whispering from my fabric shelves, and I finally paid attention.

I used Jalie 2908, and made some alterations based on my last pair, and I'm really pleased with the fit as far as comfort goes. Seriously, between the softness and stretch of the fabric and the alterations I made, I could probably sleep in these.

The fabric is a stretch corduroy from Fashion Fabrics Club. It's nice and beefy, very much like corduroy I've seen in RTW clothing and nothing like the thin, flimsy crap you can buy at Joann. I'm very pleased with it. It sewed and pressed very nicely and it feels great to wear.

I made some new alterations for fit, mostly lengthening the front crotch hook and giving myself a bit more room in the rear, but I also altered the waistband significantly.

It's not very obvious with the belt in place, so here is a not-at-all flattering shot of the pants without the belt. On my last pair of jeans from this pattern, the waistband seemed really skimpy. I may have overcompensated for that but I have to say that the comfort factor of this crazy high waistband is amazing. It holds in all the fluff! Since I'm very high waisted, this isn't at all a good look when tops are tucked in, but I never do that, so I'm happy with it. This is also the only picture that shows the actual color of the fabric, as well as my AWESOME rhinestone rivets.

Here's an Instagram I took right after I set them. I'm totally in love with these rivets. They are so gorgeous and they were super easy to set. I got them from this Etsy seller, and I was very impressed with the service provided. They ship from Thailand, and they arrived far more quickly than I expected.

In back, my pocket design is pretty subtle. So much so, that in the overexposed images you can't see it at all. I wanted to pink-ness to be the star of these pants though, so I'm OK with invisible back pocket stitching. I am extremely pleased with the fit in back. I'm slightly twisted in this pic, but you can see how smoothly the pant fits on my left.

I've still got a bit of work to do on  the fit in front. I think I need to try out a full thigh adjustment, as I think that is what those radiating wrinkles are telling me. A few whiskers will not stop me from wearing these pants though! Today, I've paired them with my Ottobre tank and Tanit-Isis vintage shrug.

Today's tip

Pressing fabrics with a pile, like corduroy and velvet can be a tricky proposition. Pressure from the iron can flatten the pile and leave unsightly marks that often cannot be removed. But press we must to get a professional result! There are a few options that you can use to help protect the pile of your napped fabrics. The first is a velvet or needle board. This is a rigid pressing surface with tiny wires that hold the pile away from a firm surface. You place the fabric face down onto the wires and press as usual. The down side to this method is that these boards are quite expensive and often small.  I've also heard the tip that a fluffy towel can be used, but I find that fluffy towels aren't always fluffy enough, and they tend to shed. Instead of a needle board or a towel, I like to use a piece of self fabric to pad the pile.

Place a scrap of fabric (the bigger the better!) on the pressing surface with the pile facing up. Then the piece to be pressed on the scrap right side down. The pile on my garment piece (in this case, I'm pressing the pocket) is cushioned by the pile on the scrap. I know it will be compatible, since the fabrics are the same.

Cover with a press cloth and press without fear!

As you can see, the pile on the pocket still looks (and feels!) dense and plush. The scrap underneath took a bit of a beating. You can see the shine of the iron damage that my pocket was protected from. I've used this method successfully with many types of piled fabrics. I hope it works as well if you try it!