First off, let me just get this out of my system …
I MADE JEANS!!!!
And do you know what? It was really easy and satisfying! Top stitching is fun! And you should have seen me celebrate when I attached my first belt loop! It was a bit embarrassing, actually, haha!
I made my first foray into jeans making by making the high waisted Ginger Jeans. This pattern is amazing. I used this insane fabric mostly as a kind of (not very) wearable muslin, to get a feel for the construction and fit of the pattern, as well as whether I’d need to make any major adjustments before I started cutting into my real fabric (Which is white. Basically the exact opposite of this print.).
But do you know what? I LOVE THEM! They are loud and obnoxious and ridiculous, but they are AMAZING! The fit is incredible! The only change to the pattern I made was to grade from an 8 at the waist to a 10 at the hips (and down the rest of the legs). This denim is fairly lightweight, and could stand to be a bit stretchier (I don’t have any information on the lycra content, so I just gambled on it), but I can definitely see myself getting some wear out of these.
As I mentioned, I made the high waisted View B, including the pocket stays, which are HELLO amazing for comfort and keeping everything nice and smooth. I used the denim for both sides of the waistband, but omitted the interfacing to give the high waist a softer more comfortable feel, as suggested by Heather in the instructions.
I turned the legs up 2.5″ and hemmed them at that level, but to be honest I think I could have gone a little higher for this pair. Less is definitely more when the print is this loud, and a little more ankle might be the way to go (I turned the hems under for the photos, so you’re seeing a slightly higher hemline than they really are).
I’m also super glad that I managed to avoid any weird crotch flower placement. I’d love to say that was totally intentional and the result of painstaking planning … But the truth is it worked out totally by chance, haha!
So there you have them. My insane floral Ginger Jeans. For my next version I’m not planning any further changes. I’ll stick with the 8 waist/10 hip and see how we go. I’m hoping my white denim is a little bit stretchier, so I’ll have to see what that does to the fit, but it shouldn’t need any drastic adjustments.
Details:
Pattern: Ginger Jeans by Closet Case Patterns
Fabric: Lightweight floral denim from The Remnant Warehouse
Size: 8 waist, graded to 10 hip
Modifications: None, other than size grading, as above.
Notions: Jeans button, 7″ jeans zipper, topstitching thread, denim needles
Cost: $19.42 (Fabric) + $14 (Pattern) + $1.75 (zipper) + $4.50 (topstitching thread) + $1.15 (jeans buttons) = $40.82
I also have quite a bit of denim left over. I have zero idea what I’ll do with it. I’m pretty sure I don’t need more than one garment made out of this floral madness!
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