Ginger A vs. Ginger B: What's the difference?

And no, I'm not talking about my adorable red-headed friends, I am talking about JEANS!So recently, I have been having some jean trouble. I made 3 pairs of Ginger Jeans, view A (the lower rise - stove pipe version), and they all fit pretty well. My first pair ended up being a bit too big, my second pair is pretty much perfect although a little on the low side, and my third pair is great (I raised the rise by 1"). I had heard/read lots of amazing things about view B, so I decided to give it a go. As you might imagine, they were a little too high for my petite and round figure, but still the fit was pretty good. So by this point, I thought I was good to go to cut into my beautiful Cone Mills denim, and this is where the trouble began. I shortened the rise of view B by 1 inch and off I went. Unfortunately (and surprisingly), the fit was not so good. Who knew lowering the rise would make such a difference in fit? Not me, obviously. ;) Luckily, I was able to salvage them. I'm not 100% happy with the way they fit, but they are definitely wearable. They won't be my garment of choice for road trips or large meals though.  Anyway, I decided that I must have made some type of cutting error, or a seam allowance error, or that it might be the difference in denim and decided to try again. I cut out two more pairs (why cut out two pair, I don't know) and once again ran into similar issues. One pair I was able to save and one I couldn't (I haven't decide whether or not they deserve a blog post). Yes, I like to learn my lessons the hard way. Anyway, this sent me on a mission to figure out what went on. The first thing I decided to do, was to compare the pattern pieces of view A and B. For some reason, I never really thought that there would be much difference between the two views. I though the rise would be different, the yokes might be a little different, but I didn't really think that the crotch curve would be different. I don't know why I thought that? Anyway,  there are definitely some differences, and although subtle, they can change the fit. So I thought I would share this info with you, in case you are having any issues with fit and in case you are curious as to what went wrong.  You should also know when looking at these photos, that both my patterns are altered, view A by a 1 inch increase in the rise, and view B by a 1 inch decrease in the rise. So here we go, view A:

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And view B:Can you a see a difference? I didn't actually measure them, but from looking at the photos, you can see that view A has a little bit shorter crotch curve, and there seems to be a bit more space in view B. The difference is especially noticeable in the front - it's a bit straighter too, if that makes sense.

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You can also see that View A is bit straighter in shape, view B is curvy and the pocket shapes are slightly different. Here are the patterns overlapped with view B on top.

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So only slightly different, but it's enough to really affect how the jean fits. Now lets take a look at the back:

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So again, only slightly different, but enough to make a the jeans fit differently depending on your body shape. View B is on top again, and you can see how view A is much straighter than view A.

Okay, so how does this translate into fit on my body (I say my body, because that's what I'm working with here). Well briefly, if the crotch length is too long, then you'll know it because you'll have that drop-crotch, penguin kind of thing going on. If the crotch length is too short (like view B was on me), you'll wind up with smile lines, possible camel toe, and maybe even a bit of wedgie at the back (all technical terms I might add).  The other thing to take note of, is where the waistband sits on your body. I think this has caused a lot of my fit issues. Where the waistband sits with my modified view B, is right across my chubby tummy. This causes the the fabric to pull and strain causing some crotch issues. Anyway, let's have a look at the two views made up, view B is on the left, and my latest view A is on the right (I am in love with how my rainbow topstitching turned out - so glad I tried it).

Front Comparison

So it might be a little bit hard to tell, but see how there are less lines in the pair on the right? Remember that I did do some make-shift crotch alterations during the sewing view B so my fit issues aren't nearly as obvious as they were during my initial try-on, where as I did nothing of the sort for view A. Also notice that the waistband sits just slightly lower, which I think it more flattering on my figure, not to mention more comfortable. Also, notice how much flatter the fly is sitting in the view A pair on the right, and no pulling. I would say on the view B pair, the waistband is right on my belly button, and with view A it sits just under my belly button. You can see that the fabric is straining a little over my belly with view B too.

Side One Comparison

Oh I should also mention that I made the legs the same on each pair. I love skinny jeans, so I used the view B leg for both pairs (although I made the view A pair slightly shorter), and keep in mind the denim is different. The pair on the left is Cone Mills denim, and the pair on the right is Girl Charlee denim. I also don't get too worried about those back leg wrinkles. They don't really bother me, and you will always have some wrinkles because you need space to move.

In looking at these butt pictures now, I could probably scoop out the back crotch curve a tiny bit which might get rid of some of those drag lines right under my butt, but again, I'm not overly concerned about it as it's not affecting my comfort.

Back Comparison

So my flaws are a bit on display here, but in looking closely at these I think the shorter yoke is more flattering for my shape (which is probably because I am petite, I'm only just 5'2" folks). I feel the wider yoke is squeezing my chub just a little bit more than in view A, this is probably because of my tummy pulling the fabric at the front, which is making it tight across the back. I do, however like the curviness of view B. You can see that view A doesn't curve quite as much at the back which is causing a teensy bit of gaping at the waistline. Plus there's something wonky going on with that one belt loop, but that was probably just a sewing mistake made in my excitement to get them finished. I'm impatient!

Side 2 Comparison

Okay, so what now. For me, I think that if I make view B again, I will keep the rise the same as in these pictures, but I'm going to do a bit of an alteration to give me just a touch more room across my belly. How would I do this? Well, I think I only need about a 1/2" or so total so I have a couple of choices. I could add a little bit of extra to the seam allowances on my front pattern pieces, 1/4" would probably do it (if you plan on doing this, don't forget to add to your pocket pieces and waistband too). Remember that whatever you add, will be doubled because you will have 2 front pieces, so if you add a 1/4" to your front pattern piece, you will end up with 1/2" total. The choice would be to do a bit of a slash and spread method. On the front pattern piece near the middle, I would cut a slit about 2 inches long (the length would be dependent on where my belly curves back into my body), spread it by about 1/4" and then tape some paper behind it.  Kind of like a dart you don't sew. This would give me extra room over my belly without changing much anywhere else. You could also do this, right where the fly extension meet the front piece, you just have to be careful not to let your fly extension get too far off grain. I think the key to pattern alterations is that you have to think about how it will look in 3D. You are wrapping these flat pieces, around a round body. So that's what you are making space for. Does that make sense?

I will definitely be making view A again, and I think that I will use my view B pattern pieces to add a bit more curve to the yoke and outside seams without touching the rise or the crotch curve itself. I also might try curving the waistband just a little bit more and that might be enough. We'll see how that works out.  There are defiantly more Gingers in my future. I love this pattern and while it is work, I am really enjoying the process of fitting, and with each pair, I get just that much closer to the Holy Grail of perfect fitting jeans. Plus I find sewing jeans quite satisfying. So please, if you haven't tried Ginger, don't let any of this scare you off. Fitting is not scary, it's just work, and in the end, it's totally worth it to have a TNT pattern, that you can just cut out anytime and know that it will fit perfectly.

Anyway, in no way, am I an expert, and if you are and you think I am totally nuts, please feel free to let me know. I was lucky enough to get some great help from Lisa (who is quickly becoming my fitting guru) and @maxitonia on Instagram, and I have read tons of articles and watched a great video or two. I also have Pants for Real People on order (I have Fit for Real People already and it's my go to book) and I look forward to learning more. I am hoping that by sharing my experiences you might learn something, but also that it might spark some ideas for you and your fit problems.

While I don't have any tutorials that I have written myself to share with you, I do have some great links for you:

http://www.afashionablestitch.com/2011/sewalongs/in-which-i-finally-talk-about-the-word/

http://www.afashionablestitch.com/2011/sewalongs/discussing-at-length-crotch-length/

I love this video by Professor Pincushion for lengthening and shortening crotch, it involves a fair bit of tracing, but I think it would be totally worth it (also she has the coolest fingernails):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jnVVhuoh7Y

So there you go. I hope this post helps you, and as always if you have any questions or if I can help you in anyway on your journey, email me, or leave a comment. I am pretty much sewing obsessed so I love talking about it, and I love to help.

And of course no post of mine would be complete without some gratuitous pug butts:

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Happy Sewing Everyone!

PS: One more thing (seriously, can this post get any longer?), would anyone be interested in a Tips for Sewing Jeans post from me? I know there are a number of those out there already, but I have sewn 8 pairs now, which means I have learned some things about construction a long the way, and sometimes its good to hear things from different points of view. Anyway, let me know what you think, I'm happy either way.

The Cone Mills Gingers and My Me-Made Me Pledge

Hey Everybody! What's chippin' your potato? We are back in BC, and enjoying lots of rain and overcast weather. And even though it's grey, it's still quite warm and looking out at White Lake is so lovely that I never want to leave. Anyway, I think it's official, I am Ginger Jeans obsessed!  Or as one of my lovely instagram friends (@carlalissa) pointed out, a few bars above obssesed (psychotically involved perhaps?). If you follow me on Instagram, you'll know I've been sewing up a jeans storm and having lots of issues along the way. I mentioned in my last Ginger Jeans post, that I had finally worked up the courage to cut into my Cone Mills denim (it's from the original jeans kit Heather partnered with Workroom Social to sell). So this is that pair. Anyway, I was pretty happy with how my View B (the highwaisted skinny) jeans fit overall, but I wanted to shorten the rise just a touch. So I lowered the front by 1 inch at the lengthen/shorten line in on the front leg pattern piece, then I shortened the back leg 1/2" at the lengthen/shorten line, and I also shortened the back yoke by 1/2" (I had to make my own line because there isn't one). I thought that if  I removed the whole 1" from the back leg alone, the yoke would be really disproportionate and look weird.

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So off I went sewing. Of course I like to live on the edge, so I didn't baste everything together and test the fit before I jumped in. This was probably a mistake, but I thought I was safe because I had made these up before and this denim seemed quite close in weight and stretch to the Girl Charlee denim I used for my last pair.

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I got to the stage where both the front and back were done, I sewed up the inseam with topstitching and then decided to baste the side seams and try them on.

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All of the sudden, there seemed to be some weird crotch issues going on. There was way too much fabric, and weird smile lines. I thought that maybe I had made a grave cutting error, or maybe I had used the wrong seam allowance somewhere. But after some double checking, I couldn't find a mistake. It was really quite weird.

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So I grabbed the seam ripper, ripped out all of my inseam topstitching which was a big pain (I never did redo that inseam topstitching) and some of my beautiful front fly topstitching (I was convinced it was my best topstitching so far, so it was really hard to rip it out), and then I made some "on the fly" alterations. I took in the front crotch curve (to try and get rid of excess fabric) as much as I could with the zipper being there, and that seemed to help quite a bit. It's still not perfect and there are still lots of wrinkles, but the dark denim is pretty forgiving and they are still very wearable.

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So the question is, what went wrong? I think there are a couple different variables. The denim is different. And I have to say amazing. The Cone Mills denim is lovely to wear, feels really sturdy but not stiff, soft but not wobbly, and it retains it's stretch really well. I can easily wear this pair for 4 or 5 days and they won't bag out. So there's that. But after further investigation (and making 2 more pairs - yes really) I think it has a lot more to do with the crotch curve, my shape, and the rise alterations that I did. I won't get too into it right now, because I am planning a separate post where I will go into much more detail, but I have discovered that where your waistband sits on your body can drastically alter how pants fit (I know, some of you might be like "Hello Heather, of course it does", but I never thought about it like this) and even tiny changes to the crotch curve can make huge differences too.

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I also really struggled with my topstitching thread on this pair. When I initially tried them on and discovered my fit issues, a bunch of the topstitching popped. I'm sure you can imagine how I felt - the fit wasn't right, the topstitching popped, I almost tossed these in the bin! But I couldn't let them win - sometimes it's good to have a stubborn streak! Anyway, it was extremely frustrating, and I had to go back and re-do some of it.  I even had to go back and re-do more after I washed them once, which is really not fun on assembled jeans. I've never had this happen to me before, and I have worn and washed all my previous pairs a ton and the topstitching has never popped, or broken like this. I think it might be the Gutterman Topstitching Thread included in the kit. It was my first time using it, and it was a bit weird. Maybe it's made for industrial machines? I've used other Gutterman topstitching threads and they've been fine, but they come on a different looking spool than this stuff, so I'm not sure if it's different. Anyway, I'm not going to use it again. I would love to know if any of you that bought the denim kit had this same issue. When I went back and replaced some of the popped stitching I used Coats & Clark denim thread and it worked just fine.

Oh one more thing: My Me-Made May pledge! May has really snuck up on me - how can it be May already!! I followed along with everyone on Instagram last year, and I loved it. It was so fun to see everyone rocking their handmade wears (wares?) and seeing how people actually wear the garments they make and incorporate them into their wardrobes - I am a big fan of the daily outfit photos too. I would have loved to play along last year, but I didn't have enough wearable garments, and to be honest I didn't know what it was until about a week in. This year, I am proud to say that I rock me-made clothes pretty much everyday, and my wardrobe of RTW just hangs in my closet looking sad most of the time. Anyway, if you want more info about it, see Zo's (the creator) post here. And here is my pledge:

I, Heather of Where Heather Grows, sign up as a participant of Me-Made-May '15. I endeavor to wear at least one me-made garment each day for the duration of May 2015!

Will you be playing along this year? I would totally encourage you even if you can only wear one handmade thing a week. It's a fun challenge and I think it's kind of cool being part of a group making a really big statement. Anyway, if you search the hashtag #mmmay15 on Instagram you are sure to see lots of cool outfits and find lots of amazing and inspiring makers. It's actually how I found a lot of the blogs and sewists that I follow now. Hope you have had a lovely April!

High-waisted Ginger Jeans (View B)

Hey Everybody!! How's spring treating you? (Or Fall I suppose depending on your hemisphere). Or I've heard some of you out east are still suffering with winter. Blah!! Come on Mother Nature!! It's starting to warm up in Cowtown (Calgary), but right now we are at the cabin at White Lake (near Salmon Arm in British Columbia) and it's super springy here. There is still a bit of a chill in the air, but it's sunny, and as long as you stay in the sunshine, it's feels warm. Anyway, I've been going jeans crazy! I want to make all the jeans! I finished these bad boys about a week or so ag0, and I am now working on another slightly modified pair using my kit denim. Yep! I finally worked up the courage to cut into the beautiful Cone Mills denim I purchased from Closet Case Files months ago. I am really excited to see how it wears, but so far it feels wonderful. But enough about that, let's get to the pair at hand: the High-Waisted Gingers. I have wanted to try out Version B of this pattern for quite some time now. There have been all kinds of amazing looking high-waisted Gingers out there, and every time a new pair popped into my blog feed, I thought "I gotta try those".  So I finally put the pdf together (which went swimmingly, by the way), traced it off, cut it out and got to work.

Full disclosure: I would never tuck my shirt in like this, but I wanted you to be able to see just how high-waisted these bad boys are, and how they look on a round, smooshy, vertically challenged figure such as mine. I made a size 10, and didn't change anything except to shorten the legs (at the lengthen/shorten line) by 2 inches.

Unfortunately, when you can see the whole jean, I don't think it is the most flattering garment for me. I think rather than suck things in, they just squish things around. That being said, I think they look great with my t-shirt untucked. I also think if I would have went with pocket stays, that may have helped quite a bit too. From now on, I will always make pocket stays!

I do totally dig the vintage/retro feel of the high-waisted jeans, especially with cuffs and paired with my chucks. (Shanny is going for the money shot in this pictureˆ - she's such a ham.)

Here's the back, again I think they look great with my t-shirt down, but not so much with my t-shirt tucked in. The yoke is much to long for me, and the pockets need to be moved up a tiny bit.

I think with some minor tweaking, this version will look really great. I'm just a bit too petite/short-waisted for it as is. My plan for the next pair is to shorten the rise a little (about an inch), and for the back I will take that same length out of the back leg and the yoke (so 1/2" each).

The fabric I used for this pair is some of that designer denim that Girl Charlee has been selling. It's my second pair using their denim, and I am happy to report that it's really nice. The recovery is great, and it seems to stand up well to multiple washes. I don't think they have this exact fabric in stock anymore, but they do have some other ones that look promising.

Something I did differently with this pair is that I used a different topstitching thread. Instead of going with my usual Gutterman topstitching thread, I used some heavy weight, lavender Sulky thread (specifically it's called Premium Sulky Heavy 12 Wt. Mercerized Cotton - it comes in tons of colours which is awesome). It worked great! I had way less issues with my machine being finicky and getting thread caught in the bobbin area, and it was so much easier to make bartacs with. I also used a topstitching needle, instead of a denim needle and I think that really helped too.

So I could easily end this post here, and you could go off thinking that everything is hunky dory over here in the Where Heather Grows sewing land, but that would not be true. After I wore these jeans for a couple days, I decided that the waistband was just not comfortable. It felt great when I was standing, but when I sat for more than about 10 minutes they felt really uncomfortable. The waistband was digging into my belly, and I just didn't like it! I had used denim for both my waistband and the facing (which I didn't do on my previous pairs - I used quilting cotton for the facing), ao I decided that this was the problem. The denim was making the waistband too stiff. I debated just leaving it, but then I thought, "No way, then they'll just sit in my cupboard and I won't wear them". And otherwise these are a perfectly wearable pair of jeans, and the curiosity cat part of me really wanted to know if changing the waistband would help. So off I went, I cut myself a new waistband (I'm short so I had extra denim leftover) and a new facing out of some quilting cotton. Then I patiently and carefully unpicked the waistband. Everything was going great until I pulled up the zipper, and completely pulled the zipper pull right off!!

I was so choked! Anyway, still not wanting a pair of jeans I worked so hard on to go to waste, I proceeded to repair the zipper. I did a google search, but I couldn't find a way that I would be confident with, to put the zipper pull back on. So I unpicked the whole fly, and inserted a new zipper. It was not easy, and I ended up having to redo the topstitching around the fly (four times!!), but I got it done. Then I installed the new waistband, and I am happy to report, they are much comfier!! Yay!!

Unfortunately, I have started work on another pair of Gingers (yes, those kit denim ones I mentioned above) and I am having all kinds of problems with them too. I'm not sure what went wrong, but I was thinking that everything was going great, my topstitching was looking awesome (probably the best I've ever done) and then I got to the place where I could try them on. The topstitching proceeded to come loose in a couple different places (what's up with that?) and for some reason, the fit in the front is all screwed up (I'll spare you a photo but lets just say there is a toe of the camel variety and it is very unwelcome!). I do not know what I have done. I didn't change anything with the crotch curve, and I don't know what is going on with the topstitching. The only thing I can think of is that the topstitching thread that came with my kit is either a) too heavyweight for my machine or b) faulty. And I must have screwed up a seam allowance or something for the fit. Anyway, last night was a dark night full of feeling sorry for myself, ice cream, and wanting to cry over my horrible sewing skills, but after some great pep talks from my Instagram buddies (thank you all so very much!), and a good night's sleep, I am feeling much better. I'm going to try and salvage this project, but in the end if I can't, then I'll just throw it in the bin and move on. I mean, it's only fabric (and yes it's really gorgeous Cone Mills denim fabric) but no one's going to die if they end up in the trash. I mean it's not open heart surgery or something like that. And we all know I have lots more jeans, so I don't have to go naked. Anyway, I think it's really good to share my fails, and my faults too, so there you have it!

Sending you all lots of good sewing vibes and hoping you aren't having any disasters like me (but if you are, trust me it will get better!).

Forever in Blue Jeans...Ginger Take 3

Do you ever have those days where things just don't work out? That seems to be the story of my week with photos. I'm just in a bit of a funk. I finished these jeans on Sunday afternoon and have made several attempts to photograph them, but I am just not happy with how I look in the photos. I finally decided today, after 4 attempts that I was just gonna go with it. I mean come on, I made another pair of Ginger jeans!! I can't just hide them away from my blog because I'm having a bad hair/skin/shoe day.  So with that in mind, I am presenting you with quite a mish-mash of photos, but I think this combo showcases my latest Gingers quite well.

This is Version A again. I made a few changes this time: I lengthened the rise by 1 inch, and I lengthened the front crotch curve by 1/4" (I thought I would start small). I had a few smile lines on my last pair, so I thought that might help, but I don't think it made much difference; the lines are still there, they are just a bit straighter now. I might add another 1/4" next time, but I'm not sure. I'm pretty happy with the fit as is, so I don't really want to mess around with it too much more.

I also slimmed the leg down by an inch. I took 1/4 inch off each side seam on each leg, grading to zero about mid thigh. This made the legs skinny, but not super skinny like my last pair. I quite like it, although I am struggling with shoe choices. I have these cute booties, but they just look wrong, and I don't always want to wear tall boots. Yeesh! First world problems. But seriously what kind of shoes do you were with stovepipe legs?

For something different, I went with blue topstitching thread. I really like how it turned out. My machine had some troubles making barracks with this time, and I'm not really sure why. I'm thinking that maybe this thread was just a pinch too thick, or I might need a slightly thicker needle. Anyway, I took what I could get so the barracks don't match and are a little bit longer than I would have liked.

This lovely dark stretch denim came from JoAnn's in Palm Desert. We were in California back in November for a work thing for John, so we hit JoAnn's and we found lots of great fabric. I know that some of you American sewists don't think too highly of it, but I found a number of great bottom weight fabrics (at good prices) and some great flannels and shirtings too, plus I got a wicked deal on Olfa blades for my rotary cutter (half-price - and they were regularly priced half of what I pay for them here). So I have nothing but love for JoAnn's myself. (For my fellow Canucks, JoAnn's is like a combination of Michaels & Fabricland/Fabricville, i.e. Crafter's Heaven.) Anyway, I think this denim is awesome. It's stretchy, has great recovery, and it's kind of brushed on the wrong side, so it is super soft and it feels like pyjamas! Hooray for pyjama jeans!

As you can see, this pair isn't as highwaisted as the pattern's Version B, but they still hit just below my belly button. I really want to try Version B, but I'm afraid they might be a bit too high for this petite lady. I'm afraid the waist would sit right underneath my boobs, and I'm not sure that would be very flattering. But who knows? The 70's are making a comeback right? I may still give them a go just to see. I also went a bit rivet crazy on this pair. I changed the coin pocket so that you would see both sides of it (basically I just folded it under and topstitched) so that I could have more rivets! You can't see it, but I put rivets on both corners of both back pockets too.

I'm not sure I am in love with the high-waistedness. I can't decide if it's really flattering, or too mom-jean. You pretty much never see my waist anyway, cause my tops usually cover it, so it's not really a big deal, but I'm still not really sure about it. I probably just need to get used to it. I also went with the built in pocket stays as described in Heather Lou's  sew-a-long. I think they do make a difference in taming the tum, and adding a bit more structure.

As you can see I have also made 2 more Linden Sweatshirts. I opted for the short sleeved, hemmed version this time, but I'm not entirely sure it's for me. Super comfy, but I think my figure benefits from the hem band, so I may just stick with the long-sleeved version. Or maybe I'll just add a hem band next time. I have already professed my love for Linden in my last post, but I have to say it again, it's a great pattern. I whipped these up on my serger in just over an hour, and they are so comfy!! Both are made out of hacci sweat knits I had in my stash, but I think they are both from fabric.com. So that's it for now.

Do you have bad photo/blogging days? How do you cope, and/or what do you do to get out of the funk? Also have you made Ginger Jeans yet, if not, what's holding you back? 

The Liberty Print Archers

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have noticed that I have become a bit Archer crazy this month (and you'll also know that I now have blue hair), actually you can probably just tell that from my blog too. Back in my pre-sewing days, I always had trouble finding button-up shirts that fit me well. It seemed that if they fit me well in the shoulders, then they didn't really fit across the bust (or sometimes across my belly), and if I found one that fit across my boobs, then I was swimming in it everywhere else. I think that's why I love sewing these shirts so much. It's a real accomplishment (in my mind anyway) to have such a great fitting button-down - so maybe it's not an obsession, maybe it's love. Anyway, a couple of months ago, I saw a photo from Kelly's (of Cut Cut Sew) instagram feed of an Archer assembly line. She had FIVE shirts all cut out and ready to sew. FIVE!! For some reason that had never occurred to me. Cut out and sew multiple complex garments all at the same time? Yes please!! So I picked out 4 fabrics from my stash (actually I picked out 6, but decided that might be a little extreme), and proceeded to cut out 4 shirts.

Unfortunately, I didn't consider thread. There is a considerable amount of topstitching with this pattern, and I couldn't decide on a thread colour to match all four, so I decided to do them two at a time. So without further ado, I present my first two Archers of 2015 (don't be surprised to see many more this year):

Have I told you how much I freakin' love this pattern? It took me a few tries (and some research) to get the fit just right, but now that I have it, I definitely consider this a TNT pattern. In fact, it's my uniform. This shirt and a pair of Ginger jeans and I'm set!

Both fabrics are Liberty Tana Lawns that I got at Shaukat Fabrics in London. I've had a number of Liberty tana lawns in my stash for quite sometime, but I haven't had the courage to cut into them. I am so glad I finally took the plunge as they were a dream to sew with and they are even nicer to wear. So soft and dreamy - I finally get what everyone has been raving about.

I've already talked about fitting in a previous post, but here's a recap. My tried and true version of this pattern is a size 6 (chosen based on my high bust measurement) with a full bust adjustment that adds about 1" and a bust dart. This gives me a nice fit all over and it's still very comfy. I also shortened the sleeves by about an inch and a half.

For the peachy floral one, I went with teal pearl snaps from Snap Source (have you tried snaps yet, cause they really are the bomb), and for the navy floral  one, I used some shiny buttons I bought at my local Fabricland. I also played with the pockets a bit. For the peachy one, I made pointy pockets (you can barely see them) and for the navy one, I went with the regular ones that come with the pattern.

So there you have it - my first projects of the new year! It was fun to make them like this, and I also mixed and matched fabrics so that they all have contrasting inner yokes, under collars and collar stands. I realize now that I didn't really get any good shots of that, but I'll get some for when I post about the other two.

Hope this New Year is treating you all well so far.

PS: Are any of you sewing friends participating in #rigelbomberjacketjanuary? If not, it's not too late to jump on board. 

JEANS! I Made Jeans!!

I made Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans to be exact - and I'm pretty tickled with myself. Can you tell?

I would love to tell you that I am a pants fitting wizard and I make pants all the time getting the fit perfect, but I think we all know that just isn't true. This pattern did all the work for me. I feel like Heather Lou drafted this pattern just for me; the fit is amazing! I honestly did nothing to it, well I shortened the legs by 3" but that's it! This is how it fit me right out of the envelope...err..computer pdf file. You know what I mean.

I took these photos when these babies were fresh out of the wash so there is something going on with the one leg in the picture above, but I assure you it's just cause I didn't straighten them out as I was super excited to get them photographed. Upon looking at these photos, I know there are some wrinkles in the front and the back, but I'm not anxious to mess around with anything as I think the fit is so much better than any RTW jeans I have. But that being said, if you have any advice for me, I would love to hear it.

I made version A - the mid-rise stovepipe leg version. I am a little scared of the high-waisted version as I am so short, but after making this version and seeing all the awesome high-waisted versions out there I may just give it a go. My top-stitching isn't perfect, but I'm quite happy with it, and unless you get up close and personal, you probably won't notice any wonkiness. I added bar tacks to the back pockets as I didn't have any rivets on hand for this pair, and I really like how it turned out. You want to see another picture of my butt now, don't you?

I made a straight size 12, and while the fit is pretty spot on, I find them a little loose after wearing them for awhile as jeans always seem to stretch out. They are perfect when the first come out of the wash, but after about an hour they stretch out quite a bit. I took these babies with me when we were away last week, and after about 3 days of wear they were pretty baggy, so for my next pair I plan to size down. In my experience, that's just the way jeans are. On my hunt for the perfect fitting jeans over the years, I've worn high end designers like Citizens of Humanity, J Brand, Paige, 7 for All Mankind, AG, and I've worn Jessica Simpson, Gap, Old Navy, Next, Top Shop, and Joe Fresh (and many, many others). All of them stretch out with wear, so I always try to start with a snug fit. I'm sure going down a size will fix this issue.

I bought this denim from Corrine at The Sewing Affair and it's awesome. It's a gorgeous dark wash, and it's super comfy and soft. After sewing with it, and wearing it, I would definitely recommend it. It's a great weight for jeans, but I imagine it would work perfectly for a skirt or a jacket. I really want to make a denim jacket; know of any good patterns out there?

The leg on this jean is great (although I usually wear something a little skinnier in the winter as it makes them easier to tuck into boots). It's slim and it looks great cuffed too. I should also mention that I interfaced the waistband with a medium weight fusible interfacing. I love this feature. It makes the waistband maintain its shape. I have a round belly and I usually find that after wearing a pair of pants for awhile, the waistband folds over and kind of bunches up, but that isn't a problem with a little bit of stabilization (is that a word?). It's so awesome to be able to make your own jeans and add little things like that. I also used my rainbow variegated thread to serge all the seams, which looks awesome if I cuff them, and I used a really light weight cotton to line the waistband and for the pockets. For my next pair I will use a little bit heavier cotton as I think it will wear better next to the heavier denim over time.

So there you have it: my Ginger Jeans. I really enjoyed the jean making process and I am just in the process of cutting out another pair (I took a break to blog - FINALLY); I see many more pairs in my future. I am so happy I bought this pattern because it fits me so well. I am now having dreams of cords and chinos, and even dress pants, the possibilities are endless! The instructions with this pattern are really good and the sew along is great for visuals. If you have ever been intimidated by sewing pants, this is a great pattern to quell your fears (well it was for me anyway). And don't be intimidated, it's just sewing. Go slow and sew one seam at a time, it's easy when you break it down step by step. (Another great tool I would recommend is the Pants Construction class by Sandra Betzina on Craftsy. It's awesome and has lots of tips and tricks. Plus Sandra Betzina is a hoot and a wealth of knowledge.)

Have you sewn jeans, or pants before? How did it go? Got any fitting tips and tricks to share? Do you have a favourite RTW (ready-to-wear) pair of jeans that fits perfectly or have you always been searching, like me?