Hey Everybody!! How are you all? I'm doing alright. I'm still not feeling 100%, but I'm getting better. The dermatologist knew exactly what my skin issue was: psoriasis (I know right, yuck! And lucky me đ it's an autoimmune disease so when my skin flares up, I feel the inflammation all over my body with aches and pains). Anyway, it's kind of a relief to finally know what's going on, and the doc gave me the stuff to get on the mend, (and bonus: it seems to be working. Yay!). It's taking some time, but things are healing and I'm slowly getting back to normal. Phew!
So this post has been a long time coming. John took these photos for me almost a month ago, but even worse, I made these jeans back in January! January people! Why haven't I posted them in the last 8 months??! I have no idea. Ha ha!
Anyway, these are the Hot Patterns Weekender Boyfriend Jeans, and I made them before the Morgan jeans were even released, and then once I made the Morgans, these kind of got cast aside. I was actually pleasantly surprised when I dug these out again, as I do like the fit. They need some minor adjustments that would make them even better, but really it's a very well drafted pattern.
These are a size 14 and they are made out of a 10oz stretch denim. I'm not entirely sure where it came from as I didn't mark it down in my notes, but it's leftover from a pair of jeans I made John. The only real adjustment I made to these was to shorten the legs by 2 inches, and I straightened out the front crotch curve slightly. As you can see, the front crotch is a little to long for me. I really love the rise though, it seems to hit a little higher than my Morgans, but still comfortable. Anyway, if I make these again, I'll just pinch that extra depth out. Lauren has a great photo of that adjustment here (it's close to the bottom of the post), if you're interested.
I do see in my notes (yes I keep notes for every project I make, and I'm so glad I forced myself to make it a habit) it says that I tried these on without the waistband, and they were a little bit too baggy, so I increased the seam allowance at the side seam by 1 cm (3/8"). So I probably could have gotten away with making a size 12.
The other thing I did, was distress them a little. This was the first pair of jeans I tried distressing on, and I didn't actually decide to do it until they were already assembled. So I just took the sandpaper to the legs, which gives them a bit of a worn in look and also softens up the denim. I think they came out well.
So there you have it. FINALLY! It's hard to say which of these boyfriend jeans I like better (these or the Morgans), because I like different things about each one. The Hot Patterns jeans, have very minimal instructions, but you could easily just follow along with the Ginger Jeans sew-a-long and your jeans would turn out just fine, so don't let that scare you. I think the Morgans are a bit more of modern cut, and I know that both of these are called "boyfriend jeans" but honestly, they're really just what they used to call a relaxed fit jean. Super comfy and super stylish. I've been wearing my Morgans pretty much non-stop (my second pair) and I'm in the process of making myself a white pair. So maybe that's your answer. I seem to be reaching for the Morgans more often. đ
Also, I should mention that I'm wearing a Union St Tee here too (scooped neck, elbow length sleeves in size medium) made from more gorgeous cotton jersey knit (the exact colour seems to be sold out, but it's just like this one) from L'oiseau Fabrics.
Anyway, do you like boyfriend jeans? Have you made a pair yet? Which one's your favourite?