My quest for the perfect pair of jeans!

I am on a quest for a perfect pair of jeans!

So far I have made 2.

The first is out of 100% cotton stretch courdoroy in a plum color.

The second is out of a Non-stretch cotton/poly blend. (Not 100% sure of the fiber content, the fabric has been in my stash for years and was given to me by my mom. I did a burn test and it definitely has a synthetic blended in)

Both pairs are made from Peggy Sagers, Silhouettes pattern Lana's jeans. 

I made it to this stage after 2 and 1/2 muslins and some minor changes between the 2 pairs. I still have  several more changes that I want to make to the pattern. Like removing more fabric from the back of the thigh, adding length to the lower leg, adding a larger seam allowance to the front crotch and fly area, re-shape the side seam a little between the widest part of my hip and the knee and move the rear pocket placement a little.

The plum pair of corduroys are a tad big. They have no spandex so the recovery is not as immediate and after wearing them all day they seemed to have 'relaxed'in the hip area. I'm going to take them in a little bit. I do like that they have stretch and are extremely comfortable. I do think they are just a tad short, I would prefer them slightly longer, I like a break in the front over the top of my shoe. 

The blue denim pair have zero stretch. It has been years since I have worn a pair of jeans with absolutely no stretch in them! I wore them dancing with my husband and got several compliments on them. With no stretch they do tend to hold you all together quite well! LOL!!!! they fit great. The major change between these and the plum courdoroy pair is the width of the leg from just above the knee down. I made these as more of a straight leg and I really like that look. 

I pretty much used the same seam allowance on both pairs. This was a bit of an experiment. I knew from making the stretch pair that they were a tad too big and next stretch pair will have to use a bigger seam allowance. This non- stretch was the same seam allowance and this worked out quite well.  Although if you see in the below picture I still need to remove some fabric from the back of the thigh. (And move those pockets closer together!!!)  believe it or not I have already taken out almost 3 inches from just below the seat and back of the thigh!!! Just a bit more and I think they will be perfect.

I have followed along on Angela Wolf's Craftsy class for the details in making these. I have found a couple of here construction methods and her detailing of distressing to be quite useful. I especially like her construction order on making the fly. Both of these pairs came out super nice and flat. Next pair I will be adding distressing. These 2 pairs could not be distressed due to fabric type and content. 

I had a lot of fun with the details in the topstitching! And with the pocket bag materials. The plum pair uses a woven tie dye rayon and the blue pair uses a hot pink silk print. So luxurious and so flat and smooth against my leg. :) 

Here are some more pictures for the details.

Conclusions: I am living proof that you certainly make a pair of great fitting jeans for a pear shape bottom with big hips and smaller waist!!! No plumbers crack for me ;) the waist fits nice, comfortable and best of all stays right where it is supposed too! 

The funny thing about being making these jeans with all the topstitching. Almost all of the detail is just for me!! I almost NEVER wear a belt or tuck in my top, so all that delicious topstitching on the front pockets, belt loops and fly is just for my own personal satisfaction. I really like knowing that I have a great pair of designer jeans on that I made with all the amazing details!! The only part that most people will see is my rear pockets on my bum. When you have a big bum, it gets seen! LOL!!! 

Thanks to the RTW challenge and fearless February for getting me over the fear of jeans! Next up on the list is to make several adjustments to the pattern and make another pair, the perfect pair of jeans is on my horizon! 

Happy Sewing!!

Colette Patterns: Hawthorn Sundress and update to Bombshell

I finished my dress for vacation. I wanted a nicer dress that had a little retro feel to it. I have been watching this trend and it suits my curves nicely. 

The pattern, Colette Patterns, Hawthorn ( https://www.colettepatterns.com/shop/hawthorn )is quite nice! It comes together very nicely, the instructions are written quite well and the packaging is clever. The instructions come in a little booklet with the pattern in a pocket at the back. 

I did the 13 buttonholes on my machine and was very pleased that they came out perfect, whew! 

The dress has a delicate little collar that is a nice detail as well as darts on the upper back to make the fit nice with no gaping at the back collar. 

This is actually a wearable muslin! I bought this cotton shirting fabric at JoAnn's for 2.50$ a yard! So for 12$ I wasn't worried if I needed to make major changes and it was nice to work in a muslin that had such a pretty print. I originally had planned for the short sleeves on this dress but I HATED them and immediately took them off! They just did not fit well or look good on me.

I only ended up having to make 2 changes. I was to take in the bodice from the underarms and down a couple inches and I did a sway back adjustment, which was very easy to do since this had a waist seam. It is really nice not to have that pool of fabric at my low back. It makes the dress fit and look so much better.

As I was cutting out this pattern and basting it together I was watching Peggy Sagers 'Fit yourself by Yourself' DVD. It's a good DVD that goes over all the basic fitting alterations that you can do using a mirror. With that fresh in my mind it made my fitting adjustments go lickety split! 

Although, if I ever want to make the version with sleeves I will need to use a different armhole and sleeve because the one on this pattern simply did not work for me. I will also make the facings a little deeper next time.

I have a nice crisp white cotton that I plan on making another version of some sort of this dress. 

Now, on another note, I decided to change the Bombshell swimsuit straps. Originally they were to be tied behind the neck, I changed them to actual straps. I like this better, makes the suit feel more secure and no knot at the back of my neck to bother me. (Excuse the unclipped threads in the photo!)