Tuesday, April 8, 2014

Jean Genie

This post needs a sound track.

Zara wanted some jeans.
Eeeep!
Now I have made jeans before.
I have made them for the children many times, and Hugo and myself (when I was a straight forward Simplicity size 10).
But Zara is not a straight forward anything.
I really like Vogue patterns. I use the mens a lot. However, they do not hold your hand and they give little indication of when to neaten.
I used their method for the zipper pockets and loved it!
Their fly method, not so much.
I will stick with this one.
The denim was an eBay special. I purchased a huge roll very cheaply and it is great to sew, with just a little stretch.
Her hips (aka her bum) put her in a size 8.
Which fit perfectly.
However, they were huge everywhere else.
I went ahead and sewed up the fronts and backs.
Each knee section had four fitted panels, all different, I marked the pattern number on the back of them.
Ack, look at that tuck!
The section need to be pre-neatened then sewn together then pressed open and both seams topstitched.
The seat looks really baggy here, doesn't it?
Then I sewed all the side seams and woke Zara for a fitting.
I had her blessing, she wanted them ASAP.
After trying them, I took another 5/8ths off of every seam except the bottom. There I took from the waist shaped down.
Next time I am considering narrowing the side panel as I chopped a lot of the groovy knee paneling off and then the side seams didn't quite match.
But the fit was worth it.
Zara can never find jeans to fit like this.
I won't pretend they were easy.
There was a lot of sewing, two full on six hour sessions plus extra the next day to finish them off.
I made soooo many mistakes. I have made copious notes on the pattern. My hands throbbed from handling the denim. 
But she loves them so it is all worth it!

xx N

20 comments:

  1. You deserve a medal my dear. They are superb.

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    1. Thank you Virginia!
      I was really excited to get the fit right with these. Zara is very petite but with a curvy derrière so she either has to wear jeans too tight or baggy and hitch them up.
      She has already put in an order for another pair.
      xx N

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  2. They can out fabulous Nicole, well worth all the hard work! I hope to be able to sew like you one day. : )

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    Replies
    1. Aww, Sharon. You could absolutely make these. Its just persevering.
      xx N

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  3. They are insanely good. And maybe Zara is past the rapid growth phase and they will fit for a good while!

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    Replies
    1. I hope so Jane. Fingers crossed.
      Thank you!
      xx N

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  4. Wow - that was a ton of work. It paid off though!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Masha. I said that next time, jeans are equivalent to TWO items.
      xx N

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  5. Seriously! You should get battle pay for these! They are incredible. You are unstoppable, woman. Does nothing scare you?

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  6. Thank you Inder.
    I was a teensy bit terrified going into this, (thus starting with the big roll of cheap denim and not the expensive coated denim Zara has bought herself).

    She wants the jacket next, did you see that? AND she has bought the fabric herself, winter white wool EEP!
    xx N

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  7. They look absolutely perfect. What great fit, and no wonder she is thrilled!

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    1. Thank you Lara, it good fitting practice for me. I am so pleased she still wants me to sew for her.
      xx N

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  8. The fit is awesome! The jeans are fabulous and have such cool details.

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    1. Thank you Cindy. It feels so good to get something right for a teenager, doesn't it?
      xx N

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  9. Fantastic fit! It was totally worth the time (says the lady who didn't spend all her time making these).

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  10. I am wowed! This was some serious sewing and they look perfect.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you Katy, when they are teenagers it is whole other level of sewing
      Scary stuff!
      xx N

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  11. They are gorgeous and the fit is perfect! These have a lot of details, so maybe a simpler future pair will go faster. My oldest dd is curvy, too (didn't come from me!) so it's an interesting thing to sew for a different body type. And also sad that her sisters aren't finding her hand-me-downs to fit very well :)

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  12. Body shape is so strange Joy. Elsa measures the same as Zara but they cannot wear each others jeans.

    I have ended up taking in the waist of my skinny jeans I wore when BFing Tilly for Zara to wear as farm jeans.

    Thank you.
    xx N

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