What appears to be involved in creating my own jeans?
Getting the fit right
The fit for my jeans'y-style skirt had it's challenges. For example the heavy denim hung from my body differently than the heavy twill I used to make a muslin. But this and other issues, though time consuming, weren't overwhelming. They mostly involved getting the side seams and waistband curved right to support the weight of the fabric, a lot of trying on, pining, basting, repinning and rebasting.....
Getting the fit right on a pair of traditional jeans will be a bigger challenge. So I made the skirt, to get started with just a few jeans'y techniques before beginning jeans.
Learning or adapting sewing techniques that are different from those I use on other types of garments.
The heavy-weight no-Lycra denim (11.5 oz.) I'm choosing for my first par of jeans, and jeans-style skirt, not only requires a jeans needle, it also feeds through my machine differently. I've found I need to alter tension too, set the stitch length longer on both regular and topstitching, and consider my choice of thread carefully for each part of the garment.
I'm also considering buying a walking or jeans foot.
Embellishment and Bling!
I love the variety of stitching and hard embellishment I see on commercial jeans, particularly on the pockets. I'm on the hunt to try out different types of add-ons, and testing out both the application techniques and the washing process to keep my new jeans embellishment hanging in there. (I 'm working on a post that will be up in a few days, in regards to getting going with embellishment/bling).
Resources
Locating and making the best use of a variety of resources - classes, books, on and off-web articles. Frankly, it's easy to be distracted by too much information, and yet there's a lot of good stuff out there. I haven't found any books specifically on jeans sewing, and I'd like to have one I could just pick up for quick reference.
~ ~ ~
Jeans Sewing - Skirting the Issue -
Jeans-Style Skirt Terminado! / Done!
http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/09/jeans-sewing-skirting-issue.html?showComment=1378743530744#c3428728796407559024Pinterest is a great way to both search for and save off photos and resources for jeans sewing (as well as other sewing) topics
http://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/0sewing-jeans-techniques/
Illustration Credit for Free Download Image
© Missjelena | Dreamstime Stock Photos &Stock Free Images
Back in the day, when I sewed everything (kids, women's, men's clothing, toys, dec stuff for the house, etc.), I never had the nerve to tackle a real pair of jeans. You go, girl. Can't wait to see the final result.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement, Glenna! Knowing folks are interested sure does encourage me to post my progress. Just finished stitching up my first muslin draft from my first pants block, to take to class tomorrow.
ReplyDelete