Burda jeans vol 2

When I made my polka dot jeans I knew I'd make that pattern again when I get my hands on some denim. Do you know that in Polish jeans means both a type of pants and type of fabric? Anyway, I got some dark blue denim at Spotlight some time ago and decided to sew pants in between my Granville shirts ;)

The main reason it took me couple of months to make this pattern again is the sizing and using fabrics with different properties. Since the polka dot fabric was really stretchy and my denim has minimal stretch I decided  to size up. They are still a bit tight but just give me a week or two - I've lost 6 kg since April so I think I will be able to wear them soon.

Unfortunately this denim is not the best quality. It is a bit thin and it can get damaged pretty easily! Unpicking stitches left marks on the fabric and I am not impressed about that. Once I realized that it's not what I wanted it to be I kind of lost my interest in making my jeans perfect. I just wanted to finish them! I have some issues with the trouser legs around my knees. There is some strange bagging and pulling probably because my full thighs and calves. I tried to google it but all the fitting advice for trousers refer to crotch area... The rest seems to be ok, at least for me.

My fly zip is much better than a previous one! Yay! Also the waistband has improved - I used proper waistband interfacing which helped a lot! It was impossible to use my buttonhole making foot so I improvised and used zig-zag stitch to make one myself. Not fully happy with the placement and the look of it but it's functional. Also this time I used proper "jeans" button. I finished the pocket edges with "Hug Snug" rayon tape - Kat gave me some to try it out. And while I didn't love it I think it gives me more options and I'll be getting some for myself sometime soon.

Now I just need to find some nice denim and do it all over again...

Is there an English name for this tiny pocket? In Poland it is sometimes referred as "kondomówka" which means condom pocket :P

 And here are some detail photos:

My belt loop placement is all weird but well - it's functional ;)

Hug Snug finish - not very even I admit. I need more practise!

Fun pocket piece

I made jeans!

2015 is going to be a year of pants I decided. After I made Antoinette pants I wanted to tackle something a bit harder. I was contemplating buying Ginger Jeans pattern because I keep seeing it everywhere and it seems to be working on different body shapes. Then I realized that the technical drawing is almost identical to Burda jean pattern (3/2014) I've seen it around on a few blogs and it seems like a good pattern to try.

It was a good choice. The pattern is well drafted and everything matched well. There are step by step instructions that are actually quite useful. It would be great if that was the standard for Burda!
I used bengaline with quite a lot of stretch that was not easy to work with but a lot easier than I expected to be honest! I had my walking feet on the whole time and used fresh needle for stretch fabrics. There is a little bit of puckering on the back yoke but not when I wear it.

Regarding fit I don't really know what to say... I cut size 42 with a little bit of extra width in the calves area. They are bit loose in the waist. I was hoping I can get away with making belt loops but I do have to add them sooner rather than later. It would be better if I took the waistband in to be honest but that requires quite a bit of work and those jeans were supposed to be a muslin so I don't think I will. I reckon that the stretch of the fabric is concealing fitting issues so it will be interesting to make them again in less stretchy denim.

I need to find some tutorials on fly-zip and waistband sewing. As you can see on the photos I messed up a bit. My sewing machine refused to make a button hole so I sewn in hook and bar closure. The waistband is not interfaced enough for that so it doesn't look that great :/ Just for fun I decided to use a piece of rayon for the pockets. I like it a lot!

I am working on quite a few things at the moment but I will be making those again in foreseeable future. I hope to make this pattern my TNT because everyone needs good fitting jeans, right? Next time I'll make it in denim and make the waistband piece a bit wider. And of course I'll read more about fly-zips ;)