The Elusive Sewing Project: Skinny Jeans

What makes sewing jeans difficult, scary, and unthinkable?  I can think of a lot of things…patterns for one. Will all that effort feel wasted if the jeans don’t fit? Yes. This happens all the time though, so why are jeans not sewn more often. (besides the fact that there are fewer patterns available for sewing jeans) What if more people did it? would more people try it and it would become just like any garment sewing? Think about it this way: any sewing skill or project is unfamiliar at first. But when we notice other seamstresses sewing things, we feel encouraged and try it, too. Then they blog and post tutorials, sew alongs, and what not about the new experience. This is how many people get going on sewing shirred tops or sewing with knits, and how we get better at techniques, such as gathering, buttonholes, or zippers. This is how we are eased out of our comfort zones.

I’ve sewn many pants, zippers, and even pants with zippers…so why have I not try sewing jeans? I am on this new kick to sew what we love to wear, not necessarily what is easy for me to sew. I’ve come a long way with knits–we all wear t-shirts almost exclusively in this house, and now we are sportin’ some fine quality tees, imho. Keeping us in sustainable fashion. We’ve saved $ on some basics as well: yoga pants, compression shorts, modesty shorts for under skirts and dresses, camisoles, and yes, even underwear (even my teen son is wearing his handmade unders).

For the past couple of years it has been so difficult and time consuming to find jeans that fit my youngest. The coveted skinny jeans are designed for skinny minnies or just awkward fitting. Who knows? To get a good, not so tight fit in the bum, the waist and length are way off. Though we have found a brand that fit well (thank you, Levis, the original creator of jeans, and still realistic fitting), it got me thinking that I should be doing this. She’ll wear them, I think. Well, she’ll wear them if they look and fit good.

So I went to my good friend for advice and information on how where to begin…the internet. There’s not much out there that I could see. I have not found a “how to” photo tutorial or sew along that is easy to follow, concise and complete. Maybe it’s just me, but some blogs are difficult to navigate or take time to find all the posts in a series. I did see a post on pattern review that said there is a jeans sew along, but after going through 15 pages of posts, I gave up looking for it. There are a few sewing video tutorials  that look great, but they want money (craftsy has one that teaches the reverse engineering method with Kenneth King teaching–and it looks good). Which is fine, but I don’t feel I need help with every step, so I hesitate spending money on them. After all, I have made pants with front zippers before (a looong time ago–when I easily fit a size 3/4)

But I want to do this. Badly. She needs pants in a bad way (and I can’t keep the few pairs clean fast enough–I’m just not that good at being a house wife). Plus at $20-30 a pair on sale, I’m not really feeling the love there. It’s also pretty uncouth to wear the same exact pair (style, color, make) everyday (it’s starting to look like she owns only 1 pair and just wears them  everyday).

So what are some of the obstacles?

Pattern–need a good fitting, reliable pattern

Denim is thick, thick, thick…I have a strong fear of needles breaking. Gives me the chills thinking about it.

All that top stitching. Now I love top stitching–I over do it sometimes. But to top stitch over all those layers of that thick denim–scary!

It seems hard to make them look “ready to wear” like the kind in the stores–you know “professional.” No tween wants to wear “homemade” looking clothes–so old fashioned; that’s, well, completely uncool.

Oh, and that zipper fly. (no need to elaborate)

I think my list could go on and on, which starts me re-thinking the project and $25 is looking like a better deal after all. But I am strong willed person. I don’t like social injustice (which the fashion industry and clothing manufacturers are marinating in), and I don’t like to believe I should give something up without trying.

So here’s my thoughts in moving forward…I have a pattern that I think I can trust to be decent (Ottobre). I’m going to do my first attempt in a stretch corduroy fabric. It’s a little less thick and can be easily sewn into skinny jeans style. AND my kiddo is not afraid to wear color 🙂  If all goes well, I think I will attempt a denim pair.

So I will document my adventure into elusive sewing land here. I will do my best to show pictures of every step, and promise not to delete any posts if the sewing project goes south. I will own it: the good, the bad, or the ugly. Whatever it may be.

Here is a sneak peek at the project plan: