Jeans Saga Update

Here I am--back on the jeans project--not wanting to be outdone.

( left to right above:  Silhouette pattern, Burda WOF pattern, rub off pattern via Kenneth King method)

OK, before the denim one on the left, I left you with the following Silhouette jeans pattern muslin:

From there came the denim version (left one of the opening photo).  This version was made from the turquoise muslin which is/was the latest version of the Silhouette Lana's Jean pattern. See photos below of the fit of that version.  Not bad, but I still was searching.  I was probably getting to the "over-fitting" stage.

So, I turned to Burda. Ii went searching for a jeans pattern in my stash of Burda World of Fashion magazines.  The only one I found was 4/2010 #120.  I traced and cut a size 40.  Changes I made to this muslin included 1) took in side seams .5"; 2) took about .25" dart in front crotch to get rid of those small wrinkles you see; 3) took just shy of .5" dart in back bum.  Made another version with these changes and it was pretty good, but the fabric was nasty poly.  Sorry no photos.  I think I like this version better that the last Silhouette version.  Legs are slimmer in the thigh area.  Still playing and looking for "better."  Why do I do this to myself???  Below is that Burda version.

Then came the "rub-off" version.  I purchased the craftsy.com Kenneth King class, "Jeanius" in which he teaches step by step how to make a pattern from an existing pair of jeans.  Great class in my opinion.  I didn't have a pair at the time that I wanted to copy but.............

While at Walmart earlier this week, I saw a rack of Wrangler jeans.  I didn't remember them carrying Wranglers before.  So, I pull a couple of sizes and try them on.  Thing was, these had 1% lycra.  I had been working on non-lycra jeans, but I thought the fit of these looked pretty good.  Why is it that they seem to look better in the mirror that when you snap a photo?  These are very long so that's causing some of the leg wrinkles near the floor.  (Sorry about the dirty mirror - that doesn't  show up as bad in person as it does in photos.)  Also, since they are black, hard to photograph.

Well, I thought, why not? and tossed them in the basket.  I wanted blue, but the only ones they had that fit me were black.  Black catches everything at my house--especially the white hair of one of my dogs.  Oh well.  I thought, I'll use these to make a copy the way Kenneth King teaches.

You'll notice that I haven't removed the thread basting yet.

Following are photos of the first draft from this method:

Keep in mind the original pair was 1% lycra so I let out the side seams about 5/8" on each side to get this fit without lycra.  I did not put the waist band on this pair as I was in a hurry to get a feel for the fit.  Not bad.

What I have taken away from this exercise:

1.  There are wrinkles in the back under the bum in ALL of them, including the RTW Wranglers.

2.  I need some wrinkles to be able to walk and sit down.  Debbie left the following comment on the 10/14 post.  "Overfitting. Been there, done that! I spent 2 months fitting the Jalie stretch jeans last winter. I finally got the fit where I wanted in the waist and hips and ended up removing too many of the wrinkles in the back thigh. The result is a jean that looks good but I can't sit down in them! Turns out you need some of those wrinkles!"

Bluemooney reminded me in her comment,"I noticed that in the jeans video she said that you don't want a segue from butt to thigh with no wrinkles.

Perfect fit, with no wrinkles, works with looser trouser fits, but for close fitting pants, like Debbie says, you need to be able to sit! Moving around in your jeans stretches them out and makes them sag, anyway. Best not to stress."

3.  Thanks Debbie, and Robyn; I needed those reminders!  I can sit comfortably in all three pairs of these jeans.

4.  I will put the waist band on the rub-off pair and see how they feel.  

5.  Right now, I like the Burda and rub-off best.  They "feel" the best on.  The Silhouette pattern feels OK, but I think I extended the back crotch too much on that last pair so the waist feels a bit high in the back.  Easy enough to remedy, but I also feel the legs need to be narrowed more. In the original trace of the Silhouette pattern, I traced a 12 from the waist to the hip and then narrowed down to a size 10 from hip to hem.  Perhaps I should cross down a couple more sizes to narrow the legs if I decide to use this pattern. Burda and the rub-off pair are already there with more narrow legs.

6.  I'll  probably just continue to buy jeans (in the blue colors of Lee or Wrangler) when I can find them and they fit as well as the pairs I already have.  

7.  In order to get other colors - red and/or purple - I'll use either the Burda pattern noted above or the  rub-off pattern.  Actually, I'll likely use the Burda since I won't have to draft pocket patterns/facings, etc. 

8.  Now I just have to find red and purple denim.  hmm.

9.  I actually enjoyed the sewing experience.  I enjoyed the top stitching.  For the blue pair, I used two strands of regular thread in tan for top stitching since I couldn't find any top stitching thread in the stash.  I'm just sure I have some, but where is it???  I sat up the Singer 403A mechanical machine to sew all the top stitching.  Worked well.  Didn't have to keep changing threads while sewing.  Just move from one machine to the other.

10.  This exercise has been educational as well as fun.  For once, I took my time to work with many muslins without getting too frustrated.  (Usually, I'm in a hurry in everything I do.)  I've actually enjoyed the journey this time.  Yea for me!

Now, until I find red and purple denim, what next?  To be determined.