Learning to Make Jeans–Part IV

Well, it looks like Jeans Making Week is now becoming Jeans Making Month.

You would think at this point in the Jeans Making Process that all I need to do is sew up the leg seams and attach the waistband.

Well, yes and no.

When sewing up a pair of jeans, following a particular order is Absolute.

This is particularly important when connecting the front to back.

You must sew the inner leg seam first in order to topstitch.

I bet you’re wondering why there is a hammer in this picture.  One of the best tricks I learned at my class was giving those thick seams a little pounding before topstitching.

It really helps flatten the seam and makes topstitching a breeze.

Before I could connect the side seams and check for fit, I had to topstitch the inner leg seam.

Having pounded the matching seam made this a breeze.

The next step was to sew the side seams and adjust (if necessary) for fit. 

Fortunately, mine fit perfectly.  I swear, it’s this pattern.  Follow the fit chart and you will be in love.

Pound the bulky spots before topstitching.

And, topstitch the side seam down to the bottom of the inner pocket.

All that’s really left now is to put on the belt loops, waistband, and add a button.



Easy, peasy ~

Learning to Make Jeans–Part III

The whole fly front ~ zipper thing really went off without a hitch.

I followed the directions on the pattern and took my time.

I only had to rip out stitching once or twice.

Notice how the zipper comes over the top of the jeans.  I will be trimming this later.

Uh, on my first pair you could say, “I had a hitch.”

I had trimmed off the zipper stop and then zipped that zipper right off of my jeans.

Like toothpaste out of a tube, there’s no getting that zipper pull back on once it’s been zipped off. Boo Hoo, sad lil’ ol’ me.

Nevertheless, I am intrepid. So, I sucked it up and replaced said zipper before I added my waistband. 

This time ~ I’m playing it safe.

One thing I’ve noticed about sewing jeans ~ there is a lot of changing that happens.

I change my feet ~ from the Walking Foot to the Zipper Foot to the Edge Stitch Foot. 

I change my thread back and forth between the navy blue for things like the pockets, then back to the topstitching thread.

AND, whenever I am using the topstitching thread I must remember to change the tension as I toggle back and forth between threads.

Why must I always discover these things a little on the late side?

Setting up my second machine, today.

Learning to Make Jeans–Part 2

Remember back here when I blathered on about the wonders of machine embroidery.

Well, where jeans are concerned, having a sewing machine that embroiders can really work in your favor.

Here are the outer pockets on my first pair of jeans {that I refuse to show from this angle with me in them}.

The design is an Anita Goodesign that I got last year.  I used four different thread colors that were all in the grey/beige/taupe/ range.

I had to reduce the design in my embroidery software, but I really like the way it looks.

Then, I tossed out the denim inner pockets and went with this ~

 

The only time it actually shows is when ~ well, you figure it out.

But, I love having something fun and unique that only I {and a few friends} know about.

On to the second pair of jeans.  I went with a denim that is lighter weight by 1 oz. and a little bluer in color.

Step One ~ Embroider the pockets ~ this might be my favorite part.

 

Le Pockets

  

I cannot tell you where I got this design.  It is an OESD design that was under “Bernina Designs” on my computer.  I might have gotten it free at an event.

One of the best supplies I found for jeans topstitching is that spool of topstitching thread above.  It came from here.  They require a minimum order of $50 or there is a a hefty handling charge.  They only do phone orders.

I was fortunate enough to purchase my thread at Sew Much More where I took the class.  They stock the thread and will ship to you.  Again, phone orders only.   

For the first pair of jeans I used a traditional gold topstitching thread.  For my second pair, I used a more muted taupy/tan/goldish color.  I like them equally.

To use the thread, I have to reset my machine's tension, but look at the results.

I found that raising the tension on my Bernina to 7 worked best.  Of course, your machine could be different.

 

When I took my jeans class, the teacher showed us a pair of jeans that she had embroidered with this design.

She had the design both on and off the pocket.  It was amazing.

Since I am not that talented with machine embroidery, I stuck with what I do best ~ simple designs.

I did go ahead and put a fun fabric for my inner pocket on this pair, too.

I’m not locked into black and white for inner pockets ~ the fabric scrap was the right size and sitting on top of a pile of scraps.  No real thought on this one.

You may recognize it from this.



The next step will be to do the fly front and add the zipper.

Piece of cake.

Learning to Make Jeans - Part I

In October, I broke the code for making jeans.  Why?  I was tired of jeans never fitting.

(Notice I am in sleeveless and in flip flops on Dec. 2nd ~ ya’ gotta love Texas weather!)

Trust me when I say this ~ jeans are not hard to make.  Who knew.  This is my first pair.  They still need a little tweaking, but overall I’m pleased.

Here’s what I did ~

For my pattern, I used Jalie 2908.  It is designed for stretch denim and the pattern suggests you use a denim with 4% stretch.  I used a denim with 2% stretch and my jeans don’t get overly stretched out when I wear them.

If you’re not familiar with Jalie patterns, they are out of Quebec. I purchased mine through Fabric.com.  It cost me $12.99, however, it includes every size I’ve ever been and a few sizes I’ve yet to reach.

See the child on the pattern cover; her size is included in the pattern, too.

That means I had to sort through 27 different sizes in order to identify mine.

I used my hip measurements to choose my size and, by golly, after a few adjustments, it was spot-on.

Did I mention the pattern has 27 different sizes, from a child all the way up to my nothing-anywhere-close-to-the-model size.

The pattern is really crazy with all of the sizes printed on the two large sheets.

In order to decipher my size from a child’s, I took a colored pencil and traced over the lines in my size.

You could use a highlighter, but with a colored pencil, you can erase if you ‘miss.’

Instead of cutting out the pattern from the pattern sheet, I wanted to preserve all of the sizes for future jeans.

To do this, I had to trace my pattern onto a pattern paper.  A while back I had purchased Swedish tracing paper here.  Tissue paper works, too.  So does medical exam paper.

The other thing I used was a heavy duty, waxy tracing paper that I got in massive quantities here.

To trace my pattern, I laid my Swedish tracing paper onto my cutting table, put the waxy tracing paper (from Richard the Thread) face down, and then put the pattern on top.

I have a piece of cork stuck onto my cutting table; this allows me to pin the pattern in place with push pins.  Cans of soup or pattern weights will work well too.

I took a needle-point tracing wheel and traced over my colored pencil markings.

While all of these steps may seem tedious, they really paid off when I went to cut out my fabric.

And, it was a cinch to make a few minor adjustments for my second pair of jeans.

I'm dubbing this week {unofficially} Jeans Making Week.

During this week I will show more of the process I went through while making a second pair of jeans.

Until then ~

Pillowcase Tutorial ~ Burrito Style

You know how it is with kids; all of the sudden they change overnight.

Well, a couple of weeks back my grandsons spent the night at our house.

The usual sleeping setup is D-Boy in the Queen-size bed and T-Bone in the Pack-n-Play.  This has been working for most of T-Bone’s two-almost-three years. 

Recently, Kitty and Mr. Wonderful set up T-Bone a big-boy bed with this quilt AND a Big-Boy Pillow.
 

Now, when the boys are here, T-Bone is still in the Pack-n-Play, but now he wants it Big-Boy style ~ complete with his very own Big-Boy Pillow.

Guess what ~ I didn’t have a spare pillow or pillowcase for that boy.  I actually fished a pillow out of a pillow sham and passed it off as special.

What kind of grandma am I!  I should probably be put in the Granny Penalty Box for this one.

So, today I’m making both of the boys pillowcases.

I’m going to use the Burrito Method to assemble them.

Here’s what you need:
 

• Main Fabric:  1 yard.
• Cuff Fabric: 1/3 yard.
• Trim Fabric:  1/4 yard.  Note:  This is totally optional.
• Thread
• Scissors
• Size 90/14 or 100/16 Heavy Duty Needles

 
Step 1:  Find the Grain

Visit my tutorial here on how to find the grain.  It is important for your fabric to be squarely on the grain or you will have a twisted pillowcase.   Ask me how I know this. 

Step 2:  Cut Out Fabric Pieces

From Main Fabric, cut 1 piece that is 27” x 40”

From Coordinating Fabric, cut 1 piece that is 9” X 40”

From Trim Fabric, cut 1 piece that is 2” X 40”
 

Step 3: Understanding the Process

It is important to understand what each piece is called.

The Main Fabric is the Pillowcase Body.

The Coordinating Fabric is the Cuff and will wrap around the Pillowcase Body.  Kind of like a burrito.

The Trim will be in between the Pillowcase Body and the Cuff.
 

Step 4: Assembling the Pieces

Lay the Cuff out flat with the right side facing up. 

Fun Idea:  Embroider or applique a name on the cuff before assembling the pillowcase.
 

With wrong sides together, fold the trim piece in half lengthwise and press.
 

Match the raw edges of the Trim along the top edge of the Cuff and pin to hold.
 

Place the Pillowcase Body on top of the Cuff/Trim with right sides together and pin.

Step 5: Why It’s Called a Burrito

Starting at the bottom of the Pillowcase Body, begin rolling the fabric towards the top edge. 

Continue to roll up the Pillowcase Body until it is a few inches from the top edge.

Take the bottom edge of the Cuff fabric and wrap it over the rolled up Pillowcase Fabric.

See how the Cuff wraps over the Pillowcase Body, like a burrito.

Pin through all layers of fabric.

 

Using a 3/8” seam allowance, sew along the raw edge.

Fold back the Cuff and carefully pull out the Pillowcase Body.

Press the Cuff and Trim on both sides.

Step 6:  Side and Bottom Seams

The next step uses a French seam.  If you’ve never sewn a French seam before, you can review the process here.

Fold Pillowcase in half wrong sides together, matching up the Cuff and Trim fabrics on the seam line.

Pin around the raw edges on the side and bottom of the Pillowcase.

 

Stitch together down the side and across the bottom using a 1/4” seam allowance.

Be sure that the Cuff/Trim seam is even.  I actually sewed this first, then went back and did the rest.

Clip the corner where the side and bottom seam meet.  This will help with the bulk when you turn the pillowcase.

Turn the Pillowcase wrong side out and press the seams down.  Using something like a knitting needle or chopstick, push out the corners.

Now, the Pillowcase is facing right sides together.  Pin the side and bottom seams. 

Stitch the side and bottom seams using a 1/2” seam allowance.

Step 7:  Finishing the Pillowcase

Turn the Pillowcase right side out and press the seams flat.

You now have enclosed French seams and the Pillowcase has no loose threads on the inside.

Best of all, each grandson will have his own pillow.

And, I am out of the Granny Penalty Box.