I am overwhelmed with emotions after finishing my first pair of Ginger Skinny Jeans. I’m astonished I could do something like sew jeans and I’ve shed a few tears of joy, because I’ve never had a pair of jeans fit so well.
Notions
- Store: Threadbare Fabrics
- Fabric: 9.5 Oz Cone Mills S-Gene Denim in Indigo
- Notions: hardware kit
I was super intimidated by all the topstitching, but in the end it was one of the easiest things to do. I bought a Babylock Jane straight stitch machine for Christmas hoping it would help motivate me to sew jeans and overcome my fears. I’m so glad I had two sewing machines set up, my old machine for construction and my BabyLock Jane for topstitching. I also didn’t have to futz with tension on my machine to get it to use topstitching thread. Bonus!
The other way I motivated myself was to buy and watch Closet Case Patterns Workshop: Sew Your Dream Jeans. She has some excellent tips, and it was just nice to watch her make jeans and not worry about carefully reading the instructions that came with the pattern. I followed her video instructions and didn’t even bother reading the PDF instructions that came with the pattern. That’s how thorough the video workshop is!
I particularly enjoyed being told when I could baste fit a second time. The front pieces are sewn together, and then the back pieces are sewn together. Before sewing the front and back pieces to each other, you can quickly baste fit a second time to make sure any edits you made were appropriate. In my case, I needed to make more adjustments.
The alteration I made after my first baste fitting was a ⅜” thin thigh adjustment on my front legs. When I did a second baste fitting, I realized that my ⅜” thin thigh adjustment on the front pieces could be increased to ¾” instead. I’m glad I took the extra time to double check fit along the way. The other little alteration I had to do was remove ½” in length. I always cut my pants longer. You can always shorten a pattern, but you can never lengthen it.
Couple of things I will do differently the next time I sew a pair of Ginger Jeans. First, I will need to curve the waistband a little more.
Second, I used denim for both the outside and inside waistband, and I did not interface either. That was a mistake. Next time, I will interface the outside denim and then use the same funky quilting cotton as my pocket for the inside waistband. Using denim for both adds a lot of unnecessary bulk. I definitely need more structure to the waistband, so adding the interfacing will be necessary.
Third, I will make sure I have a hard metal surface for placing rivets. The hardest part of making jeans was the rivets. I made the mistake of using hardwood instead of metal, so the end of the rivet wasn’t mushrooming but just puncturing through and embedding itself into the wood. Luckily, we have a Tandy Leather store in Salt Lake City, and I can get a 2 lbs. mini anvil for $20.
The last little trick I would do is use an alternative method for constructing the waistband. Closet Case Patterns already has a post on their blog about the way I really like sewing together a waistband: https://closetcasepatterns.com/how-to-sew-a-jeans-waistband-alternative-method/. With my Sewkeyse double-sided tape, I’m able to secure the open top easily before I topstitch around the edge.
Review of Alterations
Summary
Thank you everyone that’s followed along my Ginger Skinny Jeans sewing adventures. You can check out the full story from start to finish here:
HandmadePhD 
Thank you for posting this whole experience from start to finish! I have bookmarked all of them and YES I do have Heather’s video tutorial as well so I have NO excuses now and seeing your final product with the yet a couple of more things you would do next time in my arsenal I should be good to get to it. Amazing result – love your jeans honestly. The fit is amazing but your topstitching! Now that’s a work of art in the colours you’ve chosen as well.
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I really wanted to be absolutely open about what it takes to make a pair of jeans and not just show the final perfect pair. Fitting clothes is being absolutely honest about your body and realizing it is an effort to get things to fit well. But it is SO worth the effort! Thanks for following along and I love all your wonderful comments.
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Love your whole jeans-making series! It was so fun to follow the process. Your alterations diagram are also A+++!
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Thanks for commenting!! The diagrams were something “special” to hopefully help people with their alterations.
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Your process was truly inspirational! I have never attempted pants in my sewing career. THIS year they are in my planner! Not jeans yet, but I am motivated to try something new! Thank you for all the great posts including all the adjustments and WHY they are needed!!! I really appreciated your hard work! These jeans look amazing on you! The top stitching is stellar!!! So well done!!! 🙂 Congratulations!!!
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Best of luck on your pant goals this year!! I’m on the edge, but I think the next pant I’m going to sew and debut on my blog is the Lander Pant from True Bias. When I was first learning how to fit pants I poured over blog posts after posts, so now it’s my turn to return the favor!
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Wow! What a great looking pair of jeans. It’s like watching Bob Villa but better because I want to make pants and not put a new substrate under an 1812 barn (yet, haha). Your details are really encouraging that I shouldn’t give up on my pants fitting. I am wondering how the lines/wrinkles interfaces with your center-line-movement series.
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This was before I realized the importance of the center-line stuff obviously. My “knock-knee” alteration was trying to get rid of the same folds that appear at the knee when the grainline is off center. My alterations would look much different with my current methods. I need to make jeans, but it may be awhile since I’m forever going to be WFH and don’t need anything other than comfy pants.
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Based on your articles and photos, I think I have been undoing good work on my muslins. I would make a muslin, fit it, then put it over a commercial pattern to check grainline and other things, because I wasn’t sure I did it right/well and I would “re-true” things I thought were randomly wacky, but probably were addressing center-line. Then the fit would be off on the incorporate-and-make-new-muslin-to-progress. So I was sort of one step forward, then one step back. But treading water no more! 🙂 Onward, ho! I got some Schoeller Schussmeister. I was eyeing it, and yours is the only review I found who has sewn with it. I am cuh-razy about citron-chartreuse lately.
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It’s so easy to undo good work and it’s exactly that, that has pushed me to figure out “core” principals of fit. Pants were always a little harder than shirts for me. Center grainline placement is very similar to slope of your shoulder for shirts. If it is off, the garment is never going to fit well.
I love my Schoeller Schussmeister fabric. The pants have been wonderful for winter hiking and I’m about done making matching vests. I don’t see a lot of people sharing their outdoor gear sewing, so I understand it is hard to get an idea. Best of luck on your pant fitting journey!
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