Jean-making Archives

Tips for Perfect Topstitching!

18 May 2023 by Amy

Topstitching is one element that really takes your sewing project to the next level. The hallmark of well-sewn clothes that will take a beating is straight, neat stitches that reinforce high-stress areas and direct attention to style lines and details. While the stakes can be high (think contrast topstitching on jeans) there are a few tips and tricks that can basically guarantee you perfect topstitching every time. Let's dig into it!

What is Topstitching?

Topstitching is any stitching on your garment that is meant to be visible. It may be purely decorative (to highlight design details ) or it may be functional (to add strength and stability to seams), or it may be some combination of the two. Generally topstitching is sewn as a straight stitch, but you can also use the decorative stitches on your machine to add detail and dimension to your projects. Look at the style lines of your pattern when adding decorative topstitching. What parts of the garment would you like to highlight?

When making heavy-duty garments like jeans and workwear the topstitching is mostly functional. It helps to reinforce seams on areas of high stress and ensures the piece can withstand washing and heavy use. Flat fell seams are an enclosed seam finish that includes topstitching to finish them - you can read here to learn more.

Follow the pattern's instructions for topstitching suggestions but as you gain confidence and understanding you can always add your own! A simple silhouette can often be elevated with contrast stitching along seam lines, and experimenting with tone-on-tone vs contrast thread can make a drastic difference in the final effect.

Marking Your Topstitching and Using Guides

If your pattern includes guides for topstitching, trace the guide onto your fabric using a removable pen or chalk and simply sew along the line! If you're new to topstitching or if the topstitching is in a very visible area, this is the most foolproof way to ensure perfection. We often include guides for areas like a fly front to make this step easier for you.

If you want to skip the step of drawing in your lines you can use a guide on your machine, whether that's a sewing machine foot or the needle plate on your machine bed. Before you get started, identify what the distance is, for example, 1/8" away from a seam line, or 1/4" away from a stitch line. Then practice on your machine until you figure out the ideal settings.

Some ways you can use machine guides to get even stitches:

For sewing narrow distances (ie. 1/8" away from a seam line), center the seam line on your needle and shift your needle to the desired amount - just make sure your needle plate can accommodate a shifted needle.
For wider distances, use your machine feet as a guide instead. A 1/4" foot is super helpful for 1/4" wide lines of topstitching, but most wider feet also have guidelines marked on them, so you can use those guides to align with your seamline or stitch line.
For very wide distances, 1/2" or more, refer to the marks on the needle plate, or use masking tape to mark wider distances on the bed of your machine. You can also use the long thin metal shank included with most walking feet for an even wider guide.

Topstitching Thread Tips

Choose the right weight for your project. If you are using heavier-weight fabrics like canvas or denim, use a heavier thread designed for topstitching. With lighter-weight fabrics, you can stick with an all-purpose polyester thread.
Choose the thread colour and weight based on how much you want it to contrast and how confident you are! Select a regular to lightweight thread in the same colour as the fabric or one shade darker for a subtle contrast. Choose a heavier thread in a contrasting colour for topstitching that stands out.
Select the thread fibre content based on the fabric. Polyester thread provides stretch and strength when sewing knits and wovens. You can use cotton topstitching thread for certain applications but keep in mind it won't last as long if going through frequent washings.
An easy hack: Two regular-weight threads may be threaded through the needle eye for more obvious stitching. This may require a larger-eye needle, such as a topstitching needle. You will also need another spool to hold the second thread.
If you are sewing with topstitching thread, only use regular thread in your bobbin (in a coordinating colour). It helps get better tension, reduces bulk and avoids snarled threads. The exception to this rule is if you're sewing with an industrial machine, which is designed to work with heavy-duty thread in the bobbin as well.
Try to use regular thread for bar tacks! It can be challenging depending on your machine to get beautiful bar tacks with topstitching thread, so try a contrast or coordinating thread in a finer weight for these stitches.
If you want to add extra dimension, try cording! Zigzag over narrow cotton cording with a fine thread to achieve a super professional look. Buttonholes on jackets or jeans especially benefit from this treatment.

Gutermann topstitching thread // Closet Core Patterns

Needles for Topstitching

Always use a fresh needle for topstitching to get the best results!

Topstitching needles have a longer eye to accommodate thicker threads.
Embroidery needles have a wider eye to accommodate decorative threads and may be used on woven fabrics and most knits.
Twin/double needles create two parallel rows of straight stitching on the fabric’s right side and the zigzag stitch underneath gives this stitch mechanical stretch. This needle is designed for hemming knits and creates a super polished look.
Stretch/jersey ballpoint needles are designed to slip between knit loops and can be bought at different weights depending on the thickness of your knit. We like these universal ones for most projects.
Denim needles are designed to penetrate very thick woven materials. We use these Organ needles in a size 16/100 when topstitching jeans.
Universal needles, the most commonly used, are adequate for many applications. As long as you can fit the thread through, it will work on most fabrics.

Machine Feet for Topstitching

Use an edge-stitching or stitch in the ditch foot if you have one, which is a presser foot with a vertical guide blade. The guide aligns with the edge of the seam - move the needle to one side to give you perfectly even stitch lines at a consistent distance from the seam.
Presser feet with fixed or adjustable vertical guides help with accuracy.
A 1/4 inch patchwork foot has a guide on the right. Since 1/4" is a common distance between lines of topstitching on pockets and jeans this might be a good investment! If you are sewing your topstitching on a separate machine (a nice option if you have it) this would be a good foot to have on that setup.
A walking foot is a good choice when sewing knits or very bulky fabrics with lots of layers like quilting.

Stitch Length and Tension Tips

Check and adjust the tension before you start sewing. The right thread tension is necessary for sewing clean durable stitches. Heavier thread often requires higher needle tension. Practice on a scrap until you get nice, even lines of stitching, and remember to switch to a regular thread in the bobbin if you're struggling with tension.

Longer stitch lengths make it easier to achieve nice even stitches but can be trickier around corners. A stitch length of 2.5-3 is a good all-around length. Increase that to 3.5-4 when sewing thicker threads and fabrics, but keep in mind, that longer stitches can be tricky going around corners.

Perfect Topstitching Tips

Start topstitching areas of the garment that are not too visible as you will get better with practice.
Avoid backstitching at the beginning and end unless the instructions call for it - most start/stops of topstitching will be caught in a seam anyway. If you must start or stop topstitching in a visible area, keep backstitching to a minimum, hide the beginning with a bar tack, or pull the threads to the back and tie them off to conceal them completely.
Leave a long thread tail and hand sew it back into the seam or tie it off and trim.
Try and sew all topstitching seams in one pass for a clean look - it doesn't look great to start and stop in a visible area. If you must, pull your threads to the back where you stopped sewing and tie a knot. Start sewing *precisely* next to this stitch (no backstitching) and once the stitch line is done, go back and tie the threads from where you started for a nearly seamless-looking line.
Sew all parallel lines of topstitching at one time to keep the lines smooth and avoid puckering or rippling.
Whether using a guide on your foot or on the machine bed, look at the fabric at the guide rather than the needle, or as I like to tell my sewing students: look where you're going, not where you've been.
Try and sew slow and steady. Take it easy on the gas! Feel free to use the wheel as you take off and land (as it were) and go super slow as you approach corners.
Keep the needle down to hold everything in place when pivoting your sewing.
Add tear-away stabilizer to any areas that are shifting around. Tools like glue sticks and temporary adhesives are handy for more delicate fabrics that don't want to lay flat.

Tips for Topstitching Heavy-Duty Fabrics

Always test on a scrap of fabric topstitching through as many layers as you will be stitching your seams.
Take it slow, especially when sewing through multiple layers, and manually turn the hand wheel for additional control.
Use a hump jumper to level the presser foot as you sew a bulky seam and avoid skipped stitches.
When sewing jeans, things can get thick! If you're experiencing jams, try gently hammering those areas where 4 or 5 layers are meeting up. Stick the layers between a towel to avoid anything marking the fabric.
Practice, practice, practice!
Here are 33 back pockets designs to practice with for your next pair of jeans! And here is a post on where to put those pockets once you've designed them!

Do you have any topstitching tips? Tell us in the comments!

How to Sew Flat Felled Seams Two Ways! {Video}

28 March 2023 by Heather Lou Leave a Comment

Learning to create durable, strong seams is a great skill for garments that you want to stand the test of time. Flat fell seams are one of the sturdiest seam finishes you can sew, and add strength and longevity to clothing. Typically found in jeans and workwear, they can be used on any garment where you want a strong, enclosed seam with an attractive topstitched finish. Their unique construction results in a professional and neat look inside and out! In this blog post, we show two different ways to create flat felled seams - this might just become your new favourite way to finish your next pair of jeans or jean jacket!

What is a Flat Fell Seam

A flat fell seam is a very strong and durable seam finish where the seam allowance is completely enclosed with no visible raw edges and then sealed with a line or two of topstitching. Flat felled seams are traditionally used for hardwearing garments that require a durable, long-lasting finish such as jeans, jean jackets, overalls, and other workwear. While French seams are also a clean, enclosed seam, flat fell seams are anchored to one side of the garment with 1-2 lines of stitching, making them incredibly stable and strong. In this post, we are talking specifically about sewing flat fell seams with jeans when you need two lines of topstitching, but if you prefer a simpler finish, check out this slightly simplified post for sewing flat fell seams on the Kelly Anorak.

Where to Use Flat Fell Seams

In general, it's easiest to flat fell straight seams. When making jeans, you can flat fell the following areas:

Attaching yoke to back leg, seam pressed down.
Attaching back legs together along seat curve.
Inseam or side seams, but not both. Once you sew the legs into a tube, it's basically impossible to topstitch both in place, so pick one or the other for your flat fell. In ready-to-wear, it is generally the inseam that is flat-felled, and it is always pressed forward towards the front leg.
The front curve is almost always finished with a "faux flat fell" (more on that below!) rather than a traditional one, probably to reduce bulk and make the zipper fly installation easier.

It is possible to flat fell curved seams, but they are a bit trickier. You may need to notch the trimmed/shorter seam to get it to lay flat. Either way, use lots of pins to secure before topstitching!

Flat Fell Seams vs. Faux Flat Fell Seams

In a traditional flat fell seam, one side of the seam allowance is trimmed down so the other seam can be wrapped around it and stitched in place. Before the advent of sergers, this was the strongest way to finish a seam. Nowadays, you can get the look of a flat fell seam without all the labour simply by trimming your seam allowance, serging or zigzagging the raw edges, and then topstitching in place from the right side. We call this a "faux flat fell seam" since it looks like a traditional one from the right side of the garment.

Flat Felled Seams - Traditional and serged finishes. Front. — Flat Fell Seams - Front

Flat Felled Seams - Traditional and serged finishes. Back. — Flat Fell Seams - Front

Before we go into the details of the construction for flat-felled seams, here are a few tips for topstitching.

Topstitching Tips for Flat Fell Seams

Beautiful topstitching is crucial for durable flat-felled seams - here are some tips to get super professional-looking and long-lasting results.

Use heavy and durable thread for your heavy-duty fabrics, just as you would use thinner thread for lighter fabrics. If sewing denim or canvas, look for heavy-duty, extra strong, or denim topstitching thread.
Remember the fabric, thread, and needle trifecta. Adjust the size of your needle according to the fabric and thread used.
If you're using topstitching thread, use regular thread in the bobbin unless you're using an industrial machine. You'll have a much easier time adjusting the tension and getting an even stitch.
If your machine doesn't love topstitching thread (or you ran out!) a quick and simple alternative to re-create the look and strength is to use two strands of regular thread when threading the needle.
Balanced thread tension is crucial for achieving clean durable stitches. Heavier thread often requires higher needle tension. Practice on a scrap until you get nice, even lines of stitching.
Longer stitch lengths make it easier to achieve nice even stitches, but can be trickier around corners. A stitch length of 2.5-3 is a good all-around length.
Use an edge-stitching foot if you have one. The guide aligns with the edge of the seam to give you perfectly even stitch lines.
Take it slow, especially when sewing through multiple layers, and manually turn the hand wheel for additional control.
Use a hump jumper to level the presser foot as you climb or descend a seam to keep the presser foot level.

How to Sew a Traditional Flat Fell Seam

If you prefer to learn by video, check out our quick Youtube video for this technique. Otherwise, read on!

To start, ensure your seam allowance is a minimum 5/8" wide. If your pattern uses 3/8" seams, you'll have to sew a faux flat fell instead.

Sew the seam at 5/8" with right sides together. Trim one side of the seam to 1/4", trimming the side that you intend to press towards, ie. the side that will eventually be topstitched in place. Use duckbill scissors to trim, or a rotary cutter if the seam is straight.

Flat Felled Seams - trim one seam allowance — Trim the side of the seam that you intend to press towards

Fold the long seam around the shorter trimmed seam. Press flat. If you have a clapper, use it to help "seal" the seam in place.

Flat Felled Seams - trimmed seam allowance — Seam trimmed

Flat Felled Seams - Press the long seam allowance over the trimmed seam allowance — Seam trimmed

Press the seam to one side while maintaining the folded seam allowance.

At this point, it's time to topstitch the seam in place. It's easier to sew from the wrong side since you can make sure you're catching the folded edge of the seam with your stitching, but unless you are extremely precise, it may not look even on the right side. For this reason, we prefer topstitching from the right side. Pin the seam in place from the right side to ensure it's laying flat.

Flat Felled Seams - Pin the folded seam allowance in place | Closet Core Patterns — Pin the seam allowance from the right side

For that classic "jeans look" you'll want to sew two rows of topstitching. Start topstitching 1/8" from the seam line - an edge stitch foot is very helpful here.

Flat Felled Seams - Topstitch the seam allowance close to the seam — Stitch close to the seam

Flat Felled Seams - Topstitched line close to the seam — Stitch close to the seam

Sew another line of topstitching approximately 1/4" away, making sure you are catching the folded seam below. You should be able to feel it with your fingers as you go. If your machine is skipping stitches or getting stuck in all the layers (denim is thick after all!) try a new, sharp needle. You can also try gently hammering the seam from the wrong side to flatten it out, or use regular thread in lieu of topstitching thread.

If you don't want a double line of topstitching, simply skip the first row at 1/8" as described above, and stitch one time 1/4" from the seam line to anchor the flat fell in place.

Flat Felled Seams - Topstitched seam allowance, front. — Traditional Flat Fell Seam (right side)

How to Sew a Faux Flat Fell Seam

This method works for seam allowances that are 3/8"- 5/8" wide.

To start, sew the seam at the seam allowance with right sides together, and use your serger to finish and trim the seam to 3/8".

Flat Felled Seams - Sew and serge the seam allowance. — Serge the sewn seam allowance

Flat Felled Seams - Sewn and serged seam allowance. — Serge the sewn seam allowance

Press the seam to the side to which you want to topstitch. Pin the seam in place from the right side to ensure it's laying flat.

Flat Felled Seams - Sewn and serged seam allowance. Pressed open. — Press the seam allowance to the side

Start topstitching 1/8" from the seam line - an edge stitch foot is very helpful here. Sew another line of topstitching 1/4" away.

Faux Flat Felled Seams - Topstitched seam allowance. Front. — Faux Flat Felled Seam. Right side.

Faux Flat Felled Seams - Topstitched seam allowance. Back. — Faux Flat Felled Seam. Right side.

Flat Fell Seams Video Tutorial

If you're a more visual learner, check out this short video to see it in action!

Practice Your Flat Fell Seams with These Patterns!

Practice your new skill set! Jackets, jeans, even button-down shirts can all be finished with flat fell seams. Strong seams will mean these clothes just get better with age... like both fine wine and sewists!

Jude Jeans | Flare and Bootcut Jeans Pattern | Closet Core Patterns — Jude Flare Jeans

Ginger Skinny Plus Sized Jeans | Closet Core Patterns — Jude Flare Jeans

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Sewing Stretch Pockets for Jeans

21 February 2023 by Heather Lou Leave a Comment

To celebrate the recent launch of our Jude Jeans, we’ve come up with a great hack that will add comfort to the pockets of your stretchy jeans so you no longer have to break them in! Adding stretch pockets to your stretch jeans will ensure your jeans move with you. They will sit flatter and smoother on the body and show less when using thinner denim or twill. You can add these to many jeans and pants patterns and we'll show you how!

Ginger Jeans Pattern usinG Italian denim // Closet Core Patterns — Ginger Jeans

In this tutorial, we're showing an example using a pocket stay from our Ginger Jeans. A pocket stay is a pocket lining that extends across the body and is sewn into the center front zipper. This has a bit of a shapewear effect and helps add structure to the front of your pants. However, if sewn from a non-stretch woven it can be quite rigid and uncomfortable - sewing it from power mesh creates stretch and comfort.

With that said, if you're sewing a traditional folded pocket (like the one included with our Jude Jeans) you can still sew them using stretchy power mesh. These will have less of a shapewear effect since they are not sewn into the center front, but they will be softer and thinner than regular lining fabric.

(Left) Traditional folded pants pocket (Right) Pocket stay

How to Draft a Pocket Stay

If you'd like to convert a regular pants pocket to a pocket stay, you need to draft two pieces.

Pocket stay bottom: overlay your pocket pattern piece on the front leg, lining up the waist and side seam. Draw a curved line from the bottom of the pocket extending into center front.

Pocket stay top: For the top, trace this shape again, but now trace the pocket shape on the front leg onto the pocket stay. Remove this section. Remember to copy the notches as well. You have now drafted a two-piece pocket stay!

(Left) Top pocket stay (Right) Bottom pocket stay

Supplies You'll Need to Sew a Stretchy Pocket

Pants pattern with lined pockets (the pocket lining should not be visible from the right side - this technique works great for jeans and trousers where there is a separate pocket facing)
1/2 yard of power mesh (also called power net or stretch mesh)
A walking foot is optional, but will help layers feed evenly under your presser foot
A medium-heavy stretch needle can help prevent skipped stitches

What is Power Mesh?

We recommend using power mesh (sometimes called power net) for your stretch pockets, as this fabric is very firm and stretchy, but also strong and smooth with great recovery. It is typically made from nylon or polyester and is also used in bras, underwear, and shapewear for supportive undergarments. It comes in a wide variety of colours and prints. You can choose a nude, or something fun for your pockets!

Remember, stretchy fabrics like power mesh should be cut with the Direction of Greatest Stretch (or DOGS) going around the body.

Cutting

Cut the pocket lining pieces out of power mesh, with the DOGS perpendicular to the grain line indicated on the pattern pieces - this ensures the stretch of the fabric runs horizontally around the body where you need it. Cut the rest of the pieces as indicated by your pattern instructions.

Assembling the front pocket // Ginger Jeans View B // Closet Core Ptterns — Cut front pocket pieces // Ginger Jeans View B

Assembly

Follow the normal construction of the pockets following the pattern instructions. Sew the pocket facing to the bottom pocket stay. In this case, we also have a coin pocket!

Sew pocket lining to the top of the front leg at the pocket opening.

Flip over, press and topstitch a double row along the pocket opening.

If you're sewing a stay, sew the top to the bottom of the pocket stay along the bottom edge. if it's a traditional pocket, simply proceed with sewing the pocket as directed in the instructions.

Power mesh pockets for stretch jeans // Closet Core Patterns

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My Jenny Overalls with Center Front Buttons

29 May 2018 by Heather Lou Leave a Comment

Whenever I design a new pattern it's always an effort on my end to whittle down the ideas. My brain goes a hundred miles an hour and I can always think of a dozen variations we could add. For our Jenny Overalls it was especially hard; when I drew up the technical drawings I had pages and pages of options, but in the end, we are limited to the number of pattern pieces we can fit on a tissue sheet and also not making the instruction booklet like a hundred pages long. All of this to say, I really considered making these center button front overalls one of the options until I reined myself in at the last minute. I couldn't get the idea out of my head though, so I made myself a pair to test the idea.

Okay, so how are these different from the original pattern? First of all, I split the bib in half and added a fold over facing to act as a button band. The fly becomes fully functional, the waistband opens in the front, and then the overalls can be taken on and off by unbuttoning the buttons. In lieu of the curved slash pockets, I drafted a patch pocket instead, which gives these a bit more of a utility vibe. Alex asked me yesterday if it was annoying to go pee while wearing them and honestly the answer is no. Once the buttonholes get worked in a little bit it takes 3 seconds to just unbutton the whole thing in one go, although you could also replace buttons with snaps, and then it would be even faster and you could feel like a basketball player in tearaway pants. Or a male stripper in a handyman uniform. Whatever floats your boat.

I made these in a heavy-ish denim leftover from our last round of denim kits. I think it was a 12 oz? I love how structured they are - they make the wide leg feel very jaunty and intentional. I used a contrast gold topstitching, and antique brass buttons to match the overalls buckle (our hardware kits for Jenny include enough buttons for this version if you add the little button bonus). It occurs to me that you could also skip the buckle for a cleaner look and just sew the straps directly to the bib; I think that would make these feel more jumpsuit-y. Size-wise I made a 14 through the hip and leg, graded to a 12 at the waist/bust.

Also, it's very important to note that I LOVE THESE FIERCELY AND WITHOUT RESERVATION. I brought them to Europe and they were my most worn garment while I was gone. They feel very on-fashion, so it's what I wore when I was shopping in fancy stores in Stockholm and wanted to look like I had money to spend and they shouldn't get nervous about me pawing all the merchandise (does anyone else get sweaty in nice shops? Like, they will see through you and know you're just there to take pictures of everything in the dressing room and have no intention of buying anything? I've learned over the years that wearing a cute outfit really helps with this fake shopping anxiety). I brought a few close fitting tees I would interchange, and dressed them up with wedge sandals or down with my Chuck Taylor hightops. I taught in them, went out in them, lazed around in the park in them. They are my favourite me-made garment right now and I'm excited to just beat them up and try to get a good fade going on the denim.

Tips & Tricks for Sewing Jeans Buttonholes

21 March 2018 by Alexis Leave a Comment

Hey everybody! We are happy to end our "No Fear New Jeans" month with a special post on sewing jeans buttonholes. Your buttonhole is one of the very last details to finish before you can take your Ginger or Morgan jeans out into the real world for a spin, and a surprising number of people feel complete panic at the thought of disfiguring their brand new pair of handmade pants with a potentially less-than-perfect buttonhole. The whole point of our jeans-making months was to encourage everyone to eliminate "fear" from their sewing vocabulary. So say it with us... a buttonhole is NO. BIG. DEAL!

Getting friendly with your sewing machine and its manual will take away a lot of the insecurity when it comes to sewing buttonholes. There are also lots of video tutorials for all makes and models of sewing machines, so do your research before getting started. Practice a few times before you get started to help with any lingering anxiety you might have. Like all things sewing, you get better the more you practice.

GRADING & PREPPING SEAMS

When you are attaching your waistband, be mindful of your eventual button and buttonhole placement when you are grading your seams. Some sewing machine's buttonhole feet have trouble climbing over thick layers of denim, so grading the waistband seam allowance will help keep things flat. We try not to grade anything more than 1/4" along the waistband seam since being too aggressive here can create holes if the denim frays.

Another way to reduce bulk in this area is by hammering down the seams so they will flatten and fit more easily under the buttonhole foot. Yes, we said it... literally pound the heavy seams down with a hammer to flatten them! You'll want to place your jeans waistband face down on a hard surface like a cast-iron pan or a piece of heavy board to protect your table or floor. Hammer from the inside of the jeans to protect the outer fabric from damage. The area that needs the most flattening is where the waistband is sewn to the fly front at center front.

MARKING THE BUTTONHOLE SIZE AND LENGTH

Measure the button you will be installing to determine the required length of the buttonhole. The general rule of thumb is to add 1/8" of length to either end of the opening, but after sewing a few practice buttonholes, you may find you need a longer hole if your fabric is very thick and if the profile of the button is very wide. If you have an automatic buttonhole function, you should be able to set the length of the buttonhole on the foot itself. Again, make sure you do a test run first to ensure the finished buttonhole is long enough.

The buttonhole should begin about a 1/4" from center front, and should be centered horizontally along the left side of the waistband. Mark the position of the buttonhole with a removable marking tool before sewing.

BUTTONHOLE TIPS & TROUBLESHOOTING

Many sewing machines get cranky sewing buttonholes on jeans. It's a complex stitch at an area with a lot of thickness, so there are a few things that may help make the process a little easier.

Try using regular thread for your buttonhole. Even our high-end Bernina can struggle to make buttonholes with topstitching thread. Choosing a contrasting colour makes it feel more intentional, or buy regular polyester thread in the same colour as your topstitching thread if you want it to feel more cohesive. You can also match the colour of your denim if you want something as unobtrusive as possible.
Check your bobbin case; if it has a little arm with a hole in it, thread your bobbin through that. This helps create nice, crisp tension with a buttonhole/bar tack stitch.
Invest in a buttonhole cutter! These sharp little chisels help cut beautiful, sharp incisions in between your button hole stitching. Seam rippers are less accurate and often aren't sharp enough to cut through multiple layers of denim.
Before cutting your buttonhole, thoroughly soak the front and back with a fray check product; this will help prevent fraying down the road.
Even if your waistband isn't fully interfaced, ensure you interface the area where your button and buttonhole will go. Since you are cutting a hole in the fabric and adding a lot of pressure with daily wear, the area must be stabilized.
When practicing your buttonholes, adjust the tension if necessary. You want a nicely balanced stitch, without any of the bobbin threads being pulled to the front.

Sometimes despite all your best effort, you may have a hard time getting a nice buttonhole with your buttonhole foot. They generally have a fixed height and they can get "stuck" on the thick seams you'll encounter at the waistband edge. If this is the case for you, keep reading! We have explained a few different methods to help make buttonholes without a buttonhole foot below.

SEWING A CORDED MACHINE BUTTONHOLE

One really fun feature of our Bernina's 3A Buttonhole foot is the possibility of adding cording to the buttonhole to add stability and to enhance its profile. A hidden "filler" thread is sewn under the beads of the buttonhole. The Bernina 3A foot has pins specifically intended to keep this cording in place while stitching. If you don't have a Bernina, check your machine's manual. It may have a similar function!

We used a scrap of topstitching thread for our cording. Choose a colour of thread that will match the regular all-purpose thread you're using for teh buttonhole itself. Hook the cording over the back pin of the buttonhole foot, and wind the ends around the two front pins. The cording should be taut and stay in place on its own.

Once the cording is hooked through the pins of the buttonhole foot, carefully position your waistband in place. Drop the foot down with the needle and corded centered over the position of the marking you made. When sewing a corded buttonhole, start the buttonhole at the position where the button will be sewn- you want the loop of the cord sewn to this position.

Once the buttonhole is sewn, remove your work from the machine. You can trim the regular polyester thread tail ends. Gently pull on the ends of the cording to pull them to the inner side of the buttonhole.

Thread the ends of the cording to the back of the buttonhole using a sharp wide-eyed needle.

Tie off the cording ends and thread them through the waistband to conceal.

The cording adds a nice raised profile as well as some added strength to your buttonhole.

SEWING A MANUAL BUTTONHOLE WITH A ZIG ZAG STITCH

If you have an older machine that doesn't come with a buttonhole foot, or if your buttonhole foot just won't cooperate with a thick waistband, you can sew one manually using your machine's zig zag stitch by changing the width of the stitch for the bartacks and beads of the buttonhole. This method does take some practice, but one of the advantages is being able to customize the width of the buttonhole to accommodate a wider button.

The settings will vary depending on your particular machine, but here is an outline of the settings that we used with our sewing machine:

Step 1: Sew the beginning bartack using a wide zig zag stitch, stitching 5-6 times over the same place (width 5 mm, length 0 mm).

Step 2: Switch to a narrower stitch (width 2 mm, length 0.5 mm), raise the needle and presser foot, and gently shift your work so the needle will drop down precisely at the left edge of the bartack. Sew this short, narrow zig zag stitch the length of your marked buttonhole to form the left bead.

Step 3: Switch back to the same settings you used for the first bartack (width 5 mm, length 0 mm). Shift your work again so the needle will drop down at the left edge of the first bead you sewed. Stitch 5-6 times over the same place to form the buttonhole's end bartack.

Step 4: Change you setting back to the bead zig zag settings (width 2 mm, length 0.5 mm) and drop your needle down precisely at the right edge of the end bartack. While pressing the "reverse" button, sew the right bead by stitching backwards the whole way until you reach the first bartack.

Sew a few practice zig zag buttonholes so you get the hang of knowing what position the needle will be in when finishing each step. Thsi way you can shift the work and reposition the needle for the next bead or bartack without pulling too much.

SEWING A JEANS BUTTONHOLE BY HAND

If you have wrestled with your machine and it refuses to make an automatic buttonhole, a hand-sewn buttonhole is an option. This is also a great way to repair a buttonhole that has frayed from wear and tear or one that was damaged by accident when it was cut open.

Start by marking the position of your buttonhole in the usual place. Using a matching thread and a short stitch on your sewing machine, sew two lines along either side of the buttonhole where the beads will be sewn, backstitching at the beginning and end to secure. (We used a red thread for this step so you will be able to see it in the photo).

Use fray check on the area and carefully open the buttonhole with either a buttonhole cutter or a pair of sharp scissors. Denim frays easily, so using a matching lightweight thread, carefully sew an overcast stitch (or whipstitch) around the edges of this opening to prevent excessive fraying and to maintain the size of the opening. (Again, we have used a red thread instead of a matching thread so it is visible in the photo).

You can easily experiment with making a keyhole buttonhole with this method. A professional tailor would punch a hole with a special tool, and then cut the opening with small sharp scissors. You can also adjust the width of the buttonhole, which is practical when you'll be installing a thicker jeans button. The general rule of thumb is making the opening as wide as the profile of the button you'll be using.

The stitch used to sew the actual buttonhole is called a blanket stitch. Thread a very sharp needle with topstitching thread and tie a knot at the end of the line of thread. You want to cut a piece of thread long enough to sew around the buttonhole, but not too long that it will tangle as you work. On the right side of the waistband, feed the needle through the bottom inner corner of the opening. Bring the needle back up along the bottom edge of the buttonhole, with the knotted tail of the thread placed on the inside of the stitch. Before pulling the needle through the fabric, loop the thread around the tip of the needle, as pictured below.

When you pull the needle through the fabric, you'll find that winding the thread around the tip of the needle will create a little bump or "purl".

Repeat the blanket stitch around the opening to create the buttonhole. You want to space your stitches as evenly as possible, making sure they are all the same length and width apart. Hand-sewn buttonholes are traditionally corded, using a special thread called "gimp". This provides extra stability and added profile to the finished buttonhole.

When you reach the loop of the buttonhole, continue sewing while carefully angling each stitch around the corner.

When you are finished sewing around the buttonhole, sew a wide bartack at the end of the opening to secure.

Stitch through the bartack a few times and pull your needle through to the back of the waistband to tie off and secure your thread. Our buttonhole was quite thick because the topstitching thread; using regular polyester thread would result in a thinner profile.

And that's it! Hopefully you'll find this post helpful the next time you're ready to finish your jeans. Any other tips or tricks you find helpful when sewing jeans buttonholes?

Repairing Jeans with Invisible Mending

27 February 2018 by Amy Leave a Comment

It's such a bummer when your favourite jeans finally succumb to the fate of all pants and rip through the seat. Or the pocket. Or worst of all, the crotch! That bummer becomes a full-on tragedy when they are your favourite pair of handmade jeans. The horror! The hours of work! The perfect fit! Fear not, fearless jeans sewists. We got you. After our inspiring interview with master denim repair master Indigo Proof, we have a tutorial for you today that walks you through how to repair jeans with (nearly) invisible mending. Hopefully by the time you're done, you can get some extra life out of those babies (if you prefer more organic repair, check out our post on visible mending with patches and sashiko!)

The example we are using is one of Heather's first pairs of Ginger Jeans, so you can imagine these have seen quite a few years of wear. And in this case, in two spots, right at the inner thigh.

You will need:

Darning or embroidery foot
High-quality cotton interfacing
An array of thread colours to match your denim (2 to 3 is ideal). Cotton-wrapped polyester is suggested (like this), but polyester will also do. 100% cotton is not strong enough.

SUPPLIES NEEDED

If you have a darning or embroidery foot (similar to the one used for free motion quilting) now is the time to get it out! Using a darning foot makes it easier to see what you're doing, but in a pinch, you can try using a straight stitch foot as well. You will need to be able to disengage the feed dogs on your machine (call off the dogs!) so that you can move your mending both back and forth under the needle. The interfacing helps stabilize and reinforce the weakened area, and the multiple thread colours will let you match the original colour of the denim along with any fading. Generally speaking, warmer versions of the colour will be more difficult for the eye to see. These charcoal-grey jeans were actually more of a mushroom colour at the tear so make sure you check things out in good strong natural light to ensure you're getting a good match.

UNDERSTANDING DENIM

Denim has two directions: a vertical thread (warp) and a diagonal thread (weft). Since you are usually mending a horizontal tear you want to first work in the warp threads and then weave in some diagonal threads to finish. If this is a new concept for you, hold your repair up to the light so you can see which threads are missing and this will help you wrap your head around the task at hand. It also will inform how big you want to make your interfacing patch as you want to extend your mending at least as far as the thinning of the fabric. Otherwise you will be chasing your tear sooner rather than later.

APPLYING INTERFACING

Now it's time to cut your interfacing. As I said before, you want to make sure the piece is big enough that you can extend your stitching out past the hole.

Iron it on using a high-heat iron and no steam. Press for at least 20 seconds. I used a tailor's ham for the seat mend since it had some curve to it.

RESTITCH THE WARP THREADS

Load your bobbin with a mid-range colour and the top with the "middle" colour of your denim; from here on out you really only need to change your top thread. Take a little time to try some stitching on a scrap piece and get yourself acquainted with the free-form back-and-forth stitching. Stitch up and down (the warp) from left to right using the grainline as your guide. You want to avoid moving too much diagonally at this stage. Imagine you are replacing the missing/broken threads and make sure you extend well above and below your hole to blend things as much as possible.

If there are any "runs" in your repair area (the white lines) you can stitch along these essentially replacing the missing thread which goes a long way to making the mending even more invisible.

Every now and then take your work to a window and see how things are going. If you're repairing stretch denim, you'll notice the stitching can distort the fabric since you are essentially making stretch denim into non-stretch with your stitching. It is really easy to get carried away and this method requires a less is more approach. It is also REALLY annoying to pick this work out (if not impossible) so it's better to stop and see if you need more than regret it after.

RESTITCH THE WEFT THREADS

Once you're satisfied with your first layer you can choose a darker or lighter shade to work in the diagonal. Lay a strand or two over the work to get a sense of the effect.

A note for tears on or near a seam: try overlapping your stitching onto the seam without touching the topstitching. If there is wear along the seam, you may end up creating a new hole once you're done. If the tear is very bad, open up the seam, darn the area and then re-sew the seam and replace the topstitching. In this case, I just ran right up to the top stitching; hopefully that will go a long way to reinforcing the seam.

After I worked in the slightly darker colour on the diagonal I gave this a good press with some steam which helps to integrate the threads and also snap back the stretch denim that had started to pucker. Do this periodically while you're working (especially with stretch) to get an idea of how things will settle.

While not totally invisible (we can't all be sorcerers like @indigoproof) I would say this is fairly unnoticeable, and I can already see how I would get better at it with practice. Luckily there are always more holes to mend and more opportunities to play around with patching them up! Have fun trying your hand at this and make sure to tag us with your magical fixes so we can see what you wizards manage to conjure. Abracadabra, and happy mending!

Master Denim Repair & Jeans Restoration with Indigo Proof

21 February 2018 by Heather Lou Leave a Comment

Is anything worse than a non-intentional hole in your favourite pair of jeans? Having the crotch essentially explode (especially when those jeans are me-made) is always a heartbreaker. It's for this reason that I fell in love with Rain of Indigo Proof. Based in Portland, Rain is a denim conservationist in the finest sense of the word. Her business gives jeans a second life; she isn't just repairing, but actually restoring and making the clothing her clients send her stronger and better than ever. She's known for her practically seamless thread matching; she essentially re-weaves the damaged fabric with a darning machine, and does it with such skill the repair becomes almost invisible. Her Instagram account is a catalog of true magic; the before and afters blow my mind every.single.time.

Making a pair of jeans is a big time and labor commitment, so we want to help you get as much life out of your me-mades as possible. Today we're interviewing Rain about her process and business; whether you hire her for your next jeans repair, or just take some inspiration from her truly astonishing work, I hope you enjoy what she has to say about the art of denim restoration.

How did you get started with denim repair?

I studied Fashion Design at MassArt in Boston, and right after graduation I moved out to San Francisco in search of my next step. I loved design, but I always felt the traditional trajectory of getting a fashion degree to go work for some huge company doing flats on a computer never fit me - I wanted to get my hands dirty and sew for a living. While doing contract sewing work around the bay area I got the opportunity to "try out" on a darning machine at the men's denim store Self Edge, and ended up spending 3ish years repairing hundreds of jeans and experimenting with new and better ways over the course of time. The longer I did it, the more ways I would try to achieve better results. I'd get back jeans I had worked on the previous year, and I could see where the repair failed, how the repairs I did lasted, and I’d try more ideas for how to do it better. Two years ago I started Indigo Proof, to be able to further push the limits of what a high-quality repair can be and to accept repairs from all over the world via mail-order. Now I’m growing my business so I can handle the increasing demand and share a little bit of what I’ve learned over the years with an apprentice; it’s a new phase and I’m excited for the future!

What do you love about what you do?

There are so many things I love about repairing denim. I have become so obsessed with denim as a textile, and being able to see the denim innovation from brands like Naked and Famous and Pure Blue Japan firsthand really makes me geek out. Then the fades! I always say I have the best collection of worn and faded denim that I’ve never worn! Most jeans I repair start raw, so the way the jeans have faded is completely personal to the one wearing them, no two fades are the same for two different people - even on the same brand and model worn and washed the exact same number of times. What's really cool is seeing multiple pairs from the same person; the unique fade patterns are the same across different fabrics and fits. I also love connecting with my customers and learning the stories of why they choose repair, and what is so meaningful to them about that one pair of jeans. A lot of my customers keep a “denim diary” written on the jean itself on a pocket bag, which could be a wear count tally, major life events that happened while wearing them, dates of washes and repairs, or even personal notes to themselves. Getting to be a part of the lifespan of those jeans and knowing they can continue it after repair makes doing this worth it.

What are your favorite jeans and denims to work with?

Like I mentioned earlier, probably one of the coolest things about my job is how much unique denim I get to work on, and I get to stay up to date with what's new in the denim scene. I love heavyweight denim; Iron Heart’s flagship 21 oz denim uses such thick warp and weft threads that the darning I do sinks into the weave really beautifully and it makes the repair super seamless. I get to see a lot of crazy irregular weave, colored weft and slubby selvedge denim - and sometimes the faded colors are so beautiful I have to take a minute to just admire them. I also really appreciate the understated vintagey fades of a worn pair of shrink-to-fit 501’s; it's a classic look for a reason. I’m also not a snob though! I work on all kinds of denim, from pre-distressed to stretch to rigid 25 oz denim, and love it all!

What is your basic process of mending a pair of jeans? Do you use patches or interfacing? Special thread?

I use a cotton wrapped poly thread; it has the softness of 100% cotton but doesn't break like cotton thread does. I typically work on jeans that are mostly 100% cotton, but I use a poly-core thread for durability. Why repair something with a thread that’s going to deteriorate? I've tried repairing with a lot of different backings when I was starting out, but I've found using a quality cotton interfacing makes a huge difference in how the repairs apply to the fabric, and really makes them last. I remember when I was learning how to tailor a wool coat back in school, my professor asked us to hand her some interfacing (it was that gray non-woven synthetic fusible stuff) and she ripped the entire thing in half and as it became dust in the air and floated to the ground in ragged pieces said, “Do you really want to make your clothes with this??” Everything matters in construction, even the parts no one sees on the outside.

Our readers spend hours making their own jeans and want to make them last as long as possible. Do you have any tips to make jeans more durable during the construction process?

I think about this all the time when I'm repairing; I probably know all the secrets to making your jeans last longer! I can't stress this enough but if you use your front pockets a lot, and especially if you're making men’s jeans, you have got to stop using that lightweight poplin and switch to a medium-heavyweight twill fabric. Thin pockets are such a pet peeve of mine in production, it just seems like such an easy thing to do right in the first place. I'd also recommend seaming your jeans using a 5-thread serger because it's so much easier to open it up and repair than a flat-felled seam. Also make sure you interface the fly button area, and spend a few extra bucks to get a nicer zipper, or try doing a button fly. If you’re making lower rise jeans, try sewing your belt loops so the spot where they are bartacked or secured on the bottom are over the yoke seam or are reinforced underneath - one layer of fabric is too thin for the stress of belt loops being pulled up a million times.

If you don't mind sharing, what type of machine do you use for mending? Do you have any suggestions for someone who would like to mend their jeans using a home sewing machine?

I use an industrial Singer darning machine called the 47w70, a machine that was produced in the early 1900’s. It is no longer manufactured, and although there are other “darning” machines, this one is the heavy hitter in the denim world; you’ve probably seen lusty pictures of it on the internet. However, what most people don't realize how similar it is to a typical straight-stitch machine, with just a few key elements missing like feed dogs, a fixed foot, and set stitch length. You can emulate a darning effect on a home sewing machine using a darning or embroidery foot and dropping the feed dogs. Try approaching repair with a mind to how you constructed the garment, and think about long-term wear reinforcement, not just fixing holes. Catch damage early before it grows catastrophic; it’s much easier to repair a thinning spot than an enormous gash on the seat, and the repair will lay more naturally.

I hope you're feeling as inspired as I am to tackle that pile of jeans mending! If you'd like to hear more from Rain, I recommend checking out her website FAQ; there is some great info in there!

To help you on your way we'll be back with a few tutorials on visible and invisible mending over the coming week.

How to Sew a Jeans Waistband | Alternative Method

19 February 2018 by Alexis Leave a Comment

Hey guys, Alexis here! It goes without saying that here at the studio we sew a lot of jeans. Between samples for photoshoots, the many half-finished demonstrations for Heather's teaching, and the excitement of making a few me-made pairs to test out this year's batch of Cone Mills denim kits, our hands and the pristine "IKEA white" surfaces of our brand new office space are quite often stained indigo blue. While we never grow tired of sewing up Gingers or Morgans around here, it's easy to get stuck in a "set" way of doing things. One of the best things about sewing is constantly learning new and fun techniques, so we're excited to show you an alternative way to sew a jeans waistband. This method helps reduce the bulk of the seam allowances around the corners where the waistband is attached to the fly front and makes a really clean finish both on the inside and the outside. Whether you are a veteran jean-maker and can sew a waistband with your eyes closed using our original method, or if you are just getting your jeans-feet wet, we are excited to share this different way of sewing a jeans waistband with you.

After sewing your inseam and side seams, stay-stitch around the waist of the jeans at 1/2" seam allowance. This will help prevent the waist of the jeans from stretching out when you install the waistband.

Sew a line of stay-stitching at a scant 5/8" seam allowance along the top edge of both waistband pieces. (One of our waistband pieces is interfaced. This is optional, depending on if you want a stable, non-stretch waistband).

Press the top edge of each waistband piece in along the stay-stitching line you just sewed.

With right sides together, pin the unfolded edge of the outer waistband along the waist of the jeans, matching the notches along center back and at the side seams. (If you have interfaced one of your waistband pieces, this will be your outer waistband.) Sew the waistband to the jeans at a scant 5/8" seam allowance.

Now pin the unfolded edge of the inner waistband to the inside of waist of the jeans, matching notches. The right side of the inner waistband will be touching the wrong side of the jeans, and the jeans will be sandwiched in between the two layers of waistband.

Using your original stitch line as a guide, sew through all layers at 5/8" seam allowance. Go slowly and carefully when you are sewing over the zipper teeth to avoid breaking your needle.

When you have sewn both waistbands to the jeans, flip them up to double check that the waistband is sewn evenly on both sides of center front.

If your zipper tape extends past the waistband seam allowance, trim it down and remove any excess zipper teeth by pulling them out with pliers.

Trim down the excess waistband so that only a 5/8" seam allowance extends past each side of center front.

Unfold the top edges of the waistbands and pin them together along either side of center front. We will sew the short ends of the waistband closed with a 5/8" seam allowance. You may draw in your stitch line with chalk if you wish to have a guide.

Start sewing along the edge of the waistband, keep your needle down to turn the corner, and continue sewing along the chalk line you drew in as a guide. Ensure the fly is kept out of the way of your stitch line, and that you are only sewing through the two layers of waistband.

The short ends of the waistband should now be sewn together, with the seam as close to the fly as possible without catching it.

Trim the corners of the waistband down so that you will have a nice crisp corner when you turn the waistband right side out. Now is the time to grade the waistband seam as well. The outer waistband should be left as is, the jean seam allowance should be trimmed down to about 3/8", and the inner waistband seam allowance should be graded to 1/4".

Turn the waistband right side out, using a point-turner if necessary to sharpen the corner. Press the waistband up and away from the pants.

You should have a beautifully finished 90 degree corner on either side of the waistband. If one side of the waistband extends further from the fly front than you would like, now is the time to readjust before the top edge of the waistband is closed and finished.

To close the top edge of the waistband, fold the raw edges in along the line you pressed earlier. It can be tricky to fold these edges in at either corner along center front. If you open the waistband and flatten the seam allowances, this will help things lie flat.

Give the entire waistband a final press. The final step will be to topstitch all around the waistband to secure it and to close the top seam.

You can pin the top seam of the waistband closed with pins or with Wonder Clips, or you can fuse some Wonder Tape or Steam-a-Seam tape to make sure it doesn't shift while top-stitching.

Ready for the final step! If your denim is very thick, you may still need to hammer down your seams a little bit so your machine can handle the multiple layers.

Topstitch around the entire waistband 1/8" from the edge. We like to start our topstitching at center back, so the beginning and end of our stitch line will be concealed by our back belt loop.

Go very slowly as you approach a corner, and keep your needle down while you lift your presser foot to carefully reposition your work. When you are reaching a corner and are concerned about turning your work at the correct 1/8" distance, you can "cheat" a little by shortening your stitch length. Just remember to correct the stitch length after you have turned the corner so your topstitching is evenly spaced along all edges.

If you make a mistake or if your needle breaks, remove your work leaving a long thread tail, and thread the ends of your stitching through to the back. When you are ready to start sewing again, carefully drop your needle down exactly where you stopped sewing, and weave the beginning thread to the back. This will avoid ripping out rows of perfectly nice topstitching and wasting your valuable sewing time!

There you have it! A beautiful alternative waistband finish for your me-made jeans. Carry on with making your buttonhole and installing your hardware and you are just a hem away from a new pair of jeans.

Here is a close-up shot of the guts of one of our beloved Morgan samples to compare the inside finish of our original waistband method and this alternative one. Even with careful pressing and sewing, the inner seam allowance peeks out a little. This alternative method reduced some of that bulk and made it easier to topstitch around the waistband easier. Hooray! I have an unfinished pair of Sasha Trousers in my UFO pile at the moment and I look forward to trying this technique again!

Have you tried this method before? Do you have a preference for one over the other?

Ginger Jean Inspiration

13 February 2018 by Heather Lou Leave a Comment

I was flabbergasted to realize this week that our hashtag #gingerjeans has almost 9000 hits on Instagram! It is an absolute treasure trove if you're looking for inspiration for your own pair, so I thought I would share some of my favorite Ginger Jeans from the last few months. Jeans might be considered "basic" but the way you guys make them your own never ceases to astonish me.

PARTY JEANS

Indigo is probably the go-to choice for most pairs, but I love seeing fun prints and colours used to make the ultimate party jeans.

BACK POCKET MAGIC

I have seen some truly inspired back pocket designs this month; I am 100% copying the Wonder Woman design on my next pair, and I like seeing what those of you with a yen for embroidery are getting up to.

GREAT FIT

Some of these ladies nailed it on the first try, others had to put a bit of time into getting the fit they wanted, but all of them look absolutely fantastic.

PERSONALIZATION

There are so many sneaky ways to make jeans your own. Adding embossed patches, choosing fun linings, embroidering yourself secret messages... and sewing on pearls! The list never ends.

PATTERN HACKING

Your jeans don't need to be just... jeans. Love these hacks for Ginger shorts, a Ginger skirt, and a moto-inspired pair.

GINGER FLARES

I've been seeing more and more of our Ginger Flares cropping up - so chic!

Introducing the Mid-Rise Ginger Jeans Pattern!

23 February 2017 by Heather Lou 11 Comments

When we started working on our new jeans-making workshop, I wanted to offer a fun jeans pattern option, especially since many people already have the original Ginger in their pattern stash. I immediately thought of offering a mid-rise jean pattern, since my hacked mid-rise Gingers are some of the most worn in my closet (you can see an example here).

As a result, we've had a lot of requests from you to offer our Mid-Rise Gingers as a pattern outside the course, and we decided to save you some pattern hacking time and do just that: you can now purchase this PDF-only pattern in our shop. Because almost every pattern piece had to be drafted and regraded, it is a standalone pattern rather than a "variation". Unlike our Flares (which only include the leg pieces), this is a complete pattern you can use on it's own.

So what's changed? The Mid-Rise Gingers sit about 1.25" lower than our original high rise. It doesn't sound like a huge difference, but the devil is in the details with jeans (I like to explain the difference between my work as a pattern designer and my past career as an interior designer as a change in obsessive scale - rather than losing sleep over a half foot, I now think and fixate on increments of a quarter inch).

These are drafted to sit just below your belly button, and in my opinion are the most comfortable rise - not so low that you grow a muffin top, not so high that they dig into your tummy when you sit down (or have eaten a massive meal: me, everyday).

I also think this proportion looks great on everyone. While fashion rules are meant to be broken, a mid-rise works well for short and long torsos equally, if that is something you are concerned about. The yoke height is a little shorter than the high rise, resulting in a perfectly proportioned seat. The pattern also includes my favourite pocket style, the slimming pocket stay (which extends from the side seams into the center front yoke, like comfy hidden spanx). Like the original Ginger Jeans, it comes with skinny or stovepipe leg options.

Fyi, the sample I made and modelled in the shop is the mid-rise with a stovepipe leg, cropped by about 1" (I am 5'-6" and a size 12 for your reference).

I hope you'll enjoy adding these to your denim wardrobe!

GET MID-RISE GINGER JEANS

ps. Of course, if you're comfortable with modifying patterns you can pretty easily hack your existing Gingers into a mid-rise. This pattern will either save you the hassle, or appeal to those of you who held off on our original pattern because a low or high rise isn't your bag, baby.

Free Downloadable! 33 Back Pocket Designs!

23 November 2016 by Heather Lou 25 Comments

Happy Hump Day everyone! Today I'm excited to finally share this nifty free downloadable we've been working for the last few months. Over the years I've done a lot of hunting, researching and people/butt watching, trying to find interesting designs for the back pockets of my Morgan and Ginger Jeans. I thought I'd gather all those ideas up into one package for you; next time you're making a pair of jeans you can just print out one of our templates and use it to topstitch some fun back pockets! This PDF includes 33 back pocket design templates, along with instructions for transferring the design to your denim. Download them in our Sewing Resource Library below! You'll need to sign up for our newsletter to get the password, but you can access all our free patterns, fitting guides and downloadables there.

How to Access Files

To download this free PDF pattern or resource, you will need members-only access to our Sewing Resource Library. To get access, subscribe to our newsletter using the "Sign me up" button below. We will then send you a welcome message with the password and you can download your free goodie!

Sign me up! I AM ALREADY SIGNED UP BUT FORGOT THE PASSWORD Access the Resource Library

Golden Hour Ginger Jeans (Plus some teaching wisdom I've learned...)

6 July 2016 by Heather Lou 50 Comments

I wasn't sure if I should share this recent make. I mean, at this point I've sewn, photographed and blogged so many Ginger Jeans (hacked, flared, zipped, you name it) that it I worry it's redundant. While this current iteration is pretty classic as far as jeans go, they're special to me because I made them during a workshop while teaching other ladies how to make their own jeans too. I am always particularly fond of workshop samples for that reason; they're a tool that keeps giving back (to my booty).

And look at all that long hair! I don't miss you AT ALL. I highly suggest hacking it all off if you're bored with your look. It will grow back, promise.

These Ginger babies are made from the same Italian denim I used to make my recent flares. Turns out the recovery isn't so great (which makes me very glad I didn't use them in any of our kits) but the finish/wash is exceptional so I don't mind getting them back into fighting shape by washing them every 2 wears or so. It's been a while since I made a true high-waisted pair, so I returned to this old favourite. The only change I made was to narrow the yoke by about 1/2" (transferring the 1/2" to the top of the back leg). Lately the height of the yoke has been bugging me so this was a simple, proportional fix. I also went up a size since it's been many moons since I could comfortably wear any of the many size tens I made in the past. The nice thing about sewing is that a little weight gain is only ever an excuse to sew more stuff.

As I mentioned. these were made during a recent Ginger workshop I taught at Fabrications in Ottawa. I love these weekends. It's so much fun to hole up for a few days with like-minded people and crank out jeans in my version of a friendly sweatshop.

I've discovered how much I love teaching; for a control freak, it's kind of the perfect gig, and it's always nice to be given the opportunity to deliver a Friday Night Lights-esque pep talk at the beginning to try to release some of the nerves and tension people have about tackling more complicated sewing projects. I've been teaching enough lately that I thought I'd share some of the top tips that come up again and again in class...

Ginger Jeans workshop — Class photo from Camp Workroom Social

Put down your seam ripper. Seriously, PUT IT DOWN. Unless you sewed the crotch of your jeans to the hem of your pants, methodically ripping out slightly less than perfect topstitching is a waste of time. Don't get mired in chasing the perfection dragon. Just move on to the next step.
If topstitching scares you, choose a matching thread. No one will ever see your first time wonky stitching.
Be mindful of your tension settings. If you're switching back and forth with regular and topstitching thread, you'll have to adjust your tension accordingly. Get in the habit of adjusting it each time you switch spools.
I see you with that seam ripper! You can't hide from me! Let it go!
If you need to stop stitching halfway through a topstitched line (like at the waistband for example) don't fret! Just pull the thread through to the back and knot it securely. If you start your next stitch precisely next to the last one and pull that thread through as well, no one will ever know it's not a continuous stitch line!
Don't have a pint of beer on your lunch break. Trust me on this one.
Use a nice sturdy fabric for your pocket linings. Silk and rayon are not great choices for your first pair.
There is no amount of donuts that a pocket stay won't help hide.
Donuts make a great sewing companion in the afternoon when you start getting sleepy.
Before topstitching your waistband, stitch a little bit of thread into the corner so you have something to pull on to help feed it through your machine.
If you can't get the tension right with your bar tack, thread the bobbin thread through the little hole in the bobbin arm.
Switch to regular thread for your buttonhole. I'll probably end up sewing it for you in class since we'll be in a rush to finish, but read this post and practice at home.
The finished result will be far more meaningful than any of its minor flaws. Jeans are the sum of their parts so PUT THE SEAM RIPPER DOWN AND FINISH THEM!

Ginger Jeans workshop 2 — Jeans babes at Fabrications

Do you have any jeans making tips I can share with my students this weekend?

Unselfish Sewing // Jedediah Jeans for my Honey

26 May 2016 by Heather Lou 73 Comments

Warning: a smokin' Frenchman is coming your way. Literally, he lit up a dart when I pulled out my camera to take pictures of his new jeans so pardon the French New Wave cliches coming your way (it's a minor miracle that I finally managed to quit my social smoking habit after a few years with this walking advertisement for cigarettes, but I FINALLY DID IT SO YAY FOR MY LUNGS!)

After my post last week about the breathtaking sweater my aunt knit for me, it's probably appropriate that I share some of the (rare) unselfish sewing I've done this year. These jeans have actually been over a year in the making. Last Christmas I tried to surprise him with a handmade pair, but they turned out to be comically too small (never casually ask your male partner what pant size they are and then expect that to be a useful metric for making them anything, FYI).

He has been fixated on a pair of custom overalls for some reason, and keeps nagging me to make him some; because the mental image of a full grown non-farmer man in overalls makes me giggle uncontrollably, I compromised with a new pair of jeans. This time around he knew it was in the works, and I took proper measurements and even made a muslin.

Since there are so few men's patterns on the market, I was very happy to use the Jedediah pattern from Thread Theory. While the draft is for a classic chino pant, it was very easy to modify them into jeans by changing the slanted pocket on the front leg into the typical jean pocket opening, and then modifying the pocket facing accordingly. I cut a straight 36, and while the fit was perfect through the waist, I had to make a few alterations to the leg. We found them to be quite "hippy" on him, so I took out quite a lot through the hip, and then about 1/2" through the entire side seam to make them more of a skinny jean.

I'm quite happy with the overall fit, although I would sew the pockets slightly closer together next time. I would also like to experiment with taking more out through the back thigh since he's used to wearing a slimmer cut jean. I also totally skipped the fly front instructions in lieu of my personal method, which I demonstrated to my Ginger Jeans class at the workroom in Toronto a few weeks ago.

The denim was one of the Cone Mill options I was auditioning for our last kit that didn't make the final cut. I wanted to make him a pair of "raw" jeans so I didn't wash the denim before cutting and sewing it together, hence how crisp it appears in photos. However, it will soften up considerably over time, and if he doesn't wash them for a few months, they'll start to show the natural fade that comes when you really break in a pair of raw jeans. I'm excited to document the changes!

I let G pick out the topstitching thread and hardware, and he went with the copper finish from the fly front kits for sale in our shop. I have to say, I am in love with my rivets. They are far and away the best quality I've found so far, and unlike stuff I've used in the past, the post never breaks through the rivet cap when I install them at home on my mini anvil (this used to happen ALL the time; must be a different grade of metal).

The little "One of a Kind" labels are from Sewaholic. I keep meaning to make some to sell in the shop but haven't settled on a label company yet (or maybe because I just can't get "Hand F*cking Made" out of my head as a possible label option).

Guillaume has been my blog photographer for the last few years and is well acquainted with some of my tried an true outfit poses. This is him showing me how its done:

In the end, my demanding customer was very happy with his new jeans (especially now that his APC pair have finally disintegrated at the crotch despite my many attempts at mending them), even if they aren't the overalls he dreamed of. Now hopefully he'll leave me alone for a while so I can get back to sewing for myself.

Have you ever made anything for your partner? How did it go?

How to Install Jeans Hardware at Home! (A video!)

19 May 2016 by Heather Lou 5 Comments

Hey guys! We've been experimenting with some video stuff around the studio. For some things you really can't beat a moving image to quickly and easily explain tricky steps.

Now that we're carrying a line of jeans patterns and our new jean hardware kits, I thought it would be fun to shoot a video explaining how to install jeans hardware at home. This is one of the things about jeans making that can be a little intimidating (hammers! metal things!) but it's actually my favourite part... It's the moment where the things you've been labouring over turn into professional looking jeans. If you're nervous about installing hardware, this video will hopefully demystify the process for you. Enjoy!

Jeans Fitting Adjustments for Your Best Fitting Jeans!

3 May 2016 by Heather Lou 75 Comments

Want to make a great fitting pair of jeans? You absolutely can, and this post on jeans fitting adjustments will help you get there, whether you're making our Ginger Skinny Jeans, Morgan Jeans, or any jeans pattern on the market. Below I walk you through the most common fit adjustments, what they look like, and how to fix it. Pants fitting is always a bit of trial and error, but hopefully this post will help! If you need more help with fit or construction, check out our jean-making online sewing class. We cover everything in. much greater depth and can give you more one on one fitting help if you need it. Looking for denim? We've got the best stuff at Core Fabrics.

We've also made all of this information available in a PDF ebook you can download and save for later. To access it, you'll need to sign up for our newsletter below; we'll send you the password to our members-only Sewing Resource Library where you can download all our free patterns, fit guides and downloadable sewing resources. Already a subscriber? Check the yellow footer of the last email we sent you and you can find the password there!

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GENERAL ADVICE FOR JEANS FITTING

Oh jeans. Does anything strike more terror into the heart of a sewist than these two tubes of fabric? Sometimes I'm not sure if people are talking about jean fitting adjustments or the apocalypse, for all the fear and anxiety tied up in it. We all want our best-fitting jeans, but here's the thing...

Chill out. While I think it's commendable that a lot of people strive for fit greatness, I think far too many of us get so caught up by drag lines that we can't see the forest for the trees (or the jeans for our knees!) Nobody else is paying that much attention to the back of your thighs and you're still looking better than you do in RTW, so just take a big, deep, cleansing breath and be okay with it not being 100% perfect. If you need a reminder of why perfection and fear will ruin your sewing, read this post and stop talking yourself out of trying new things or enjoying the things that you make.

Here are my recommended suggestions and order of operations for testing jeans fit:

Make a muslin! Try to use a similar fabric to your final jeans for the most accurate results (ie. if you're making stretch jeans, use a stretch woven with similar stretch). At the bare minimum, quickly baste your pieces together before doing any final construction or topstitching so you can catch problems early. Always baste your waistband on to avoid stretching the waist seam.
In a well-lit room, take pictures of the front, back, and side with your butt at eye/camera level. I find looking at pictures helps you be more objective and spot things you might not notice in real life.
Start with the front. Is the crotch laying smooth against the body? Do you see any frown or smile drag lines radiating from the crotch? Any camel toe? Is the fit good through waist and hip or are you feeling/seeing some tension lines? What about the leg - is the fit through the leg good? Too tight? Any weird lines around the knees?
On to the back. Is the waistband gaping? Is it the yoke or just the waist? How is the bum - too tight, too loose? What kinds of lines do you have under your bum? Again, how do the legs feel - too tight, too loose? Any lines around the knees? Do you feel enough room in the calf or is it riding up?
Note or draw any drag lines you see, or any general feelings about fit (ie. legs too loose, waistband gaping etc). Try to make adjustments while you're wearing them, or take note of what you'd like to change, take them off and pin or baste adjustments as needed. With your muslin you can try shaping the legs, take in waist or hips and remove wedges from a gaping back. If you have enough of a seam allowance, you can also let out seams where needed. This is a step-by-step process so take your time. I suggest starting with front/crotch adjustments before tackling the back. Adjustments to the legs should come only after you've dealt with the waist/hip/crotch area first.
Many adjustments don't require cutting a new muslin or pattern pieces, but the following do: full calf, knock knees, bow legs, lengthen butt/crotch, add width to thigh, full tummy, gaping yoke or waistband.
Copy any adjustments over to your pattern pieces. Use a measuring tape or ruler as a guide when transferring.

You can repeat the muslin process as much as you need to, but I generally move on to the final pair after no more than two rounds of adjustments, otherwise you can easily lose steam. It's important to actually wear jeans as well, and see what changes you need after actually living in them. Maybe that drag line you noticed the first time won't bug you once you're actually wearing them.

My biggest piece of advice is to ALWAYS baste your side seams and test the fit before sewing them for real, each and every time. Denim varies SO much that I often find I need to let out or take in jeans with each make. For non-stretch jeans, it's important to actually wear your first pair for a full day before you come to any conclusions. Denim can relax a great deal and things you notice when you first try them on might become non-issues once you've stretched out your seams a bit. This is especially true with that back seat curve! I find it a smidge tight on my prodigious booty whenever I make a new pair, but its generally feels perfect after it loosens up after a few hours.

WHAT IS GOOD FIT?

Good fit is different for everyone. For some, it might be a totally smooth, drag-line free pair of jeans (as nearly impossible as this is to achieve!) For others, it might simply be a pair that fits their waist/hip ratio, or has enough room for their tummy. Personally, good jeans fit for me is a balance of comfort, appearance and function. They should not dig in or feel uncomfortable. They should have a minimum of drag lines in the front crotch and bum area. They should be easy to sit and bend over in. Anything over and above that is just a bonus. For those of you who like visuals, here is an example of a pair of Ginger Jeans on me that I think has nearly perfect fit:

The front crotch is quite smooth - there is a slight drag line on one side but nothing to lose any sleep over (probably the result of slight body asymmetry). In the back, the waistband sits close to the body with no gaping. The butt fit is great. There are some horizontal lines under the bum but in a skinny jean like this, you need them for sitting ease (or else you can't bend over!) The legs fit well with enough room in the calf.

What about fit that needs a bit of work? Let's look at an example:

For these Ginger Jeans, the overall fit isn't bad although we do need to make a few tweaks. There is a little bubble at the front crotch and it's not immediately clear to me if the front inseam needs to be taken in a smidge (around 1/4") or if we need a round pubis/camel toe adjustment. I would start with the inseam and if the problem persists, try scooping out the crotch curve for a camel toe adjustment. It's also possible we need to add a small wedge to the center front seam for a full tummy adjustment. I am seeing some lines around the knee, and in the back the issue becomes more apparent. Our model has slight knock knees, which makes the inner seam of her leg longer than the outer seam, which is why you're seeing that bunching along outer back knee. The butt fit is pretty good, but I've tried pinning out a wedge on the left side to see if she needs a small seat adjustment - you can see that doing that has helped reduce the diagonal lines right under her left cheek. I could do that by removing a wedge along the seat curve, or remove a wedge at the inseam for a fast fix. There is some puckering along the side seams that came from a pretty drastic graded hip curve, so we'll try and smooth that out as well. There may be a few more tweaks, but I would try the above before trying anything else.

JEANS FITTING ADJUSTMENTS

Here's how to understand the following graphics: in the technical flats on the left side of each graphic, I have highlighted the drag line in grey. On the right side, the fit adjustment is indicated by a pink dotted line. I've taken this advice from the books Pants for Real People, Fitting and Pattern Alteration and my own experience fitting hundreds of people. Some of these alterations can be more involved than I show here, but these are quick and dirty tips to get the fit up to snuff without too much fuss.

SHORTEN CROTCH ADJUSTMENT

If you see lines radiating downwards from your front crotch, it is likely too long for you. Simply shave a little off your inseam on the front thigh. Work in 1/4" increments - small adjustments make a huge difference here.

LENGTHEN CROTCH ADJUSTMENT

If you need a little extra room in the crotch, you'll have diagonal "smile lines" radiating from your crotch. Add a little to your front inseam to lengthen your crotch curve.

ROUND PUBIS ADJUSTMENT (AKA CAMEL TOE)

Also known as a prominent pubic area, I fully admit that this is a weird name for a fit issue but it sounds better than "Oh camel toe" doesn't it? If you find your pants cleaving to you in an unwelcome way (also manifested as vertical drag lines around the front crotch), simply scoop out that front crotch a little. It adds depth to the crotch curve, making more room for you. A 1/4" or even 1/8" can make a difference here.

FLAT PUBIS ADJUSTMENT

If your pubic bones is set a little further in, you may get horizontal wrinkles across the front crotch. Fixing this just means drawing a shallower crotch curve in, again working in 1/8" to 1/4" increments.

FULL TUMMY ADJUSTMENT

If you have a full tummy, you may see diagonal drag lines radiating from your stomach. The side seams may also come forward around the stomach, along with a little tightness in the crotch. To correct, slash along the center front to the hip and spread to add length and width through the abdomen area. You may also find you need to add a little length to the crotch curve by letting out the inseam.

FULL SEAT ADJUSTMENT

If you have a fuller bottom, you may notice drag lines all pointing to that back crotch seam and your back waistline may be tugged down. Essentially you need to add length and width to the backseat curve. The proper way to do this is by slashing and spreading in various spots to add length to the lower crotch extension and the center back, but you can also just add a little to the inseam and top seam as I am showing here (#quickanddirty). You may also find that you need a deeper seat curve - if you scoop out that curve more, please note you will have to add a little to the hip since you are removing width across the hip with this adjustment.

FLAT SEAT ADJUSTMENT

A flatter seat is indicated by bagginess under the bum and diagonal drag lines pointing to the hip. To correct it, try removing width from your inseam. You can also try shortening the overall length of the back rise by taking a wedge off the top (the proper way to do this is by slashing and spreading so that the top edge stays the same length).

LOW BUTT ADJUSTMENT

If the curve of your heiny sits a little lower than the pant has been drafted for, you'll find horizontal drag lines under your seat. Simply scoop out that seat curve a little bit to make room for your bum.

SWAY BACK ADJUSTMENT

If you have a sway back, your pelvis tilts forward, forcing your bum out and creating a shorter distance between waist and top of the bum. This generally manifests in pooling or folds of fabric at the lower back. Fitting & Pattern Alteration has a complicated adjustment for this involving numerous slash and spread adjustments, but I think you can do a #quickanddirty adjustment by taking a wedge of the top pant (or folding out the amount from your pattern piece and redrawing your seams). I've also found that you can take a quick wedge off the CB (including the yoke) to prevent gaping if that is also an issue. This will change the pitch of the pants so keep that in mind!

FULL THIGH JEAN FITTING ADJUSTMENT

If you need more room in the thigh, your pants will tell you with diagonal drag lines or wrinkles pointing towards your crotch inseam. Extend your back crotch at the inner thigh to give yourself more room.

THIN THIGH ADJUSTMENT

If your thighs need less room, you should see vertical drag lines along the back of your thigh. Taking width off the back inseam will help; you may also need to remove a little from the front inseam as well.

FULL CALF ADJUSTMENT

If you're spotting horizontal drag lines above the back of your knees, you will need more room in the calf. Cut your pattern as indicated and swing seams along your lower leg out to create more width along the back of your calf.

KNOCK KNEED ADJUSTMENT

If you're a little knock kneed (possibly the cutest sounding fit issue) you may find that the fabric is tight along your inseam and looser at your side seam. You'll notice diagonal drag lines radiating from along the side seam above and below the knee. With this adjustment you need a little more length at the inseam and a little less at the side seam. To achieve this, slash to a center point in the center of the thigh on either side and rotate the entire upper pant so that you are reducing the length along the side seam while slightly adding to the inseam.

BOW LEGGED ADJUSTMENT

Most jeans are cut straight in the leg so if your knees bow out, you'll notice drag lines radiating out from the side seam around your knee and calf. This is the exact opposite adjustment we made for the knock-kneed; you need more length on the side seam and less on the inseam. To achieve this, slash to a center point in the center of the thigh on either side and rotate the entire upper pant so that you are adding to the length of the side seam while reducing the length of the inseam.

Phew! Hope you find this helpful. Again, if you need more help, our Sew Your Dream Jeans sewing class is a great place to start!

Praying for Spring in Ginger Flares

13 April 2016 by Heather Lou 66 Comments

I worry sometimes that I bemoan Montreal weather a little too much on this blog, but guys, this city is playing so hard to get with spring right now that I'm pretty sure it's been reading The Rules. Every day I wake up and take a hopeful look outside, and then resign myself to getting gnawed on while trying to put balloons on Harry's feet, all so he doesn't freeze his tootsies off in some gulag-inspired combination of slush, black ice or freezing rain. I feel like I've never been more co-dependent with Montreal and her mercurial moods since getting a dog; I'm outside for a few hours a day whether I like it or not, and most of the time she's giving me the finger while not returning my phone calls.

When we caught a little glimpse of sunlight on Saturday, we rushed outside to get some photos of my new favourite outfit even if there was still a little snow on the ground. I even threw on my Hasbeens clogs for the first time since September, a silent protest against the Sorels I've bene trudging around in for months (we also shot the new pattern that day, hence the high quality of my hair game - my kingdom for a wavy blowout every single day....)

I've been trying to pack in some spring wardrobe planning and making, and this pair of hacked Ginger flares was high on my list. I've had this particular denim earmarked for flares for over a year now and I was so excited to finally cut into it. A mid-weight Japanese stretch denim, it has just the right amount of body for the flared leg, and just enough stretch to get the painted-on, "I'm an extra from Dazed & Confused" look I was going for....

(Editor's note: If you'd like to make your own flares, we have a super versatile pattern called the Jude Jeans that includes a midrise bootcut and high-rise flare leg!)

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Ginger Jeans // Construction Details & Pretty Guts

29 March 2016 by Heather Lou 23 Comments

Ginger-Jean-construction-details — one // two // three // four // five // six // seven // eight

One of my favourite things to do when I'm lying in bed and trying to make the transition from dead-eyed sleep zombie to sentient human being is to scroll through CCF hashtags and see what you guys are making. Since #gingerjeans has now been used over 1800 times on Instagram (so, so crazy) I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the beautiful detail and in-progress shots (aka Pretty Guts) you guys have shared over the last few months for your Ginger Jeans. Whether it's embroidered pockets, hand-sewn buttonholes, striking topstitching, inspired fabric choices or simply meticulous construction, it's mindblowing how many ways you have made this pattern your own. Your collective creativity is awe-inspiring!

Here are some of our favourite Ginger Jeans details from Instagram....

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Sewing Indie Month: Hacking A Ginger Jean Skirt With Blueprints For Sewing

1 September 2015 by Heather Lou 15 Comments

Sewing Indie Month is upon us, and I am really pleased to welcome Taylor from Blueprints for Sewing to share a truly epic Ginger Jeans hack on the blog today. Taylor designs patterns inspired by architectural styles (check out her Cabin Dress and A-frame skirt) and being the former interior designer that I am, I was positively gleeful when I saw that her sewing patterns look like actual blueprints! That font and me go waayyy back.

Taylor did a really clever hack job on Ginger, turning her into the denim skirt of your dreams. She also prepared step by step pics for creating a sort of reverse back pocket in lieu of the regular one. I was super impressed when I saw how thorough this tutorial was! Thank you Taylor!

Taylor: For my Sewing Indie Month guest tutorial, I decided to develop a hack for the Ginger jeans pattern. I’ve been intrigued by Ginger since it was released. I’m a lifetime member of the can’t-find-jeans-that-fit-club, so much so that I didn’t wear/own any blue jeans between the ages of 13-26. I recently succumbed to the power of the stretch pant - a concept I’d previously found appalling - when I was able to get an acceptable fit from a pair of high waisted jeans infused with lycra. And they were comfortable too! The obvious next step, now that I have discovered I actually like jeans, is to make my own.

Ginger is an excellent pattern. I love the pocket stay on the high waist version. It makes for such a smooth silhouette yet remains comfy! I’ve got a pair of Ginger shorts and jeans on my self sewing roster, but I wanted to play around with the pattern for my SIM contribution. I toyed with a few shorts hacks, but they didn’t quite work out. Coming up with tutorials for a pattern that is already a pretty complete package is a challenge. But eventually, inspiration struck.

I used to live in high waisted denim skirts in college - both self made and RTW. Numerous bike rides and parties all but destroyed them and I’ve been thinking about another one ever since. I figured this tutorial would be the perfect opportunity to create a go-to jean skirt pattern. The picture above shows my ‘uniform’ at 20, as well as my preoccupation with antiquated media.

Here I am in my new jean skirt, still preoccupied with antiques, though I’ve traded video for sewing.

Transforming a pair of pants into a skirt is pretty straightforward. Sure, it can be done with finesse, but most of the time it’s quick and dirty: rip the inseam, cut away the curve, and sew it back together. I remember doing this as a tween, complete with patchwork. However, when starting with a flat pattern - as opposed to refashioning a pair of blue jeans with ripped knees - one can be be a bit more sophisticated and a bit less bohemian.

Since the jeans-to-skirt concept is pretty simple, I decided to create a unique back pocket similar to the welt pocket technique on Cabin as an option. I’m calling it a reverse pocket. I also include instructions for eliminating the back yoke and replacing it with darts. An optional step, it gives the skirt a bit more formal of a look. I think in future versions I’ll keep the yoke (it helps balance out pockets visually on a high waisted skirt) but if you decided to eliminate pockets or replace with a welt pocket, darts might look nicer. (In this tutorial I’ve redrawn some of the lines to make them clearer. In each step, red lines are what you need to draw and blue lines are what has previously been drawn )

This pattern hack uses view B, the high waisted version, but should also work for view A.

Start by tracing the Ginger front piece, beginning at the end of the crotch seam curve and ending somewhere along the side seam (we’ll fine tune this in a later step, so for now just draw in 12” or so of the side seam.)

Draw in a guideline connecting the notch at the waistline near the fly extension to the dot near the beginning of the crotch seam. This is your center front seam.

Since this is the sewing line, rather than the cutting line, we’ll want to add back the 5/8” seam allowance.

Measure from your waistline down to where you’d like your skirt to end. I measured 18”. There’s a waistband and seam allowance and hem allowance to consider here, but for the most part they will all cancel each other out. You can take the time to do the calculations to get an exact hem length (Skirt length + 5/8 SA + hem allowance - waistband height), but just measuring from the waistline will get you pretty close if you want a 1” hem. You can always start long and hem once you have the skirt finished. Since this skirt is quite snug and has no kick pleat, it will definitely work best as an above the knee skirt.

Starting at the waistline, extend the line you’ve just drawn so that it equals your desired skirt length.

Using a square ruler (L shaped or large gridded rulers work, but you can use any right angle paired with a ruler in a pinch) draw in the skirt hem, ending just past the side seam you’ve drawn in.

Flip the square around and align it with the skirt hem. Slide the ruler over until it just matches up with the widest part of the side seam before it curves back in again. Unless you want a really wiggly skirt, you’ll want to have the side seam run straight down after the widest part of the hip, rather than curving back in again.

Your finished skirt front should look like this! All pocket lining pieces can be used as is. Make sure to transfer all your notches!

Now, onto the back! Trace the Ginger back leg piece onto paper starting with the double notch at the crotch seam and ending along the outer leg seam (just estimate how far down the leg to draw, we’ll be determining the skirt length like we did for the skirt front.)

If you plan on sewing the back yoke, skip down to drawing in the center back seam. You can use the existing yoke pattern as is.

Draw in the 5/8” seam allowance along the top seam of the back leg and the bottom seam of the yoke (both feature a double notch.) Overlap the two pieces so that the drawn in seam lines match up. They won’t match up all the way across - this is how the shaping magic of the yoke works - so align them starting with the center back seam.

Find the place where the back leg and yoke seam separate and mark this spot with a pin. If you’re using a cutting mat, push the pin in slightly to hold the paper in place. Otherwise, hold the pin lightly with your finger.

Trace along the center back seam of the yoke, then trace along the waistline, ending at a spot that is slightly closer to the center back then the location of the pin. The taped seam of the PDF pattern was in just the right spot and I suspect this guideline could work for other sizes as well.

Next, pivot the yoke piece using the pin to hold it in place, aligning the 2nd half of the seam line and the side seam. Draw in the rest of the yoke piece, ending at the same spot on the waistline seam where you ended while drawing the first part of the yoke. There should be a gap between the two sections of the traced yoke at the waistline.

Your drawing should look like this:

Draw in the dart by connecting the two open ends of the drawn in yoke with the pin point you used to draw it.

Starting at the back waistline, extend the center back line to the length of your skirt front +1” (The pattern has a higher rise in back to avoid that dreaded waistband gap!)

Align your square ruler with the center back seam and draw in the hemline, extending just past the side seam.

Flip the square around and align it with the bottom hem, sliding it over to meet the widest part of the side seam. Connect the side seam to the hem.

Re-draw a new grain line parallel to the center back seam.

Cut out both pattern pieces and proceed with cutting the rest of your Ginger pieces. You can follow the exact same sewing instruction steps: treat the now straight CF and CB seams as though they were the curved crotch seam and skip sewing the inseam.

ADDING REVERSE BACK POCKETS

If you’d like to step your sewing game up a notch and try out some reverse back pockets, here’s how to do it:
Trace an additional pocket piece and trim away the seam allowances, including the 3/4” allowance at the top of the pocket.

Draw out your pocket location by lining up the SA-less pocket piece with the pocket markings on the back piece and tracing around it. Check to make sure that you like the placement of your pocket, because once we start on the reverse pocket, there’s no going back! Heather has a great post on back pocket placement here.

Once you’re satisfied with your pocket placement, grab both back skirt pieces and pair them with the corresponding pocket. The curved side of the pocket should be closest to the center back seam.

Put one pair aside so the pocket and back piece don’t get mixed up. Starting with the first pair, mark the 5/8” seam allowance on both sides of the pocket piece, but not the top and bottom. Trim the seam allowance down to 3/8” on both sides, leaving top and bottom as is.Finish the edges of your pocket. If you are finishing your pocket edges with a serger, simply trim the two side seams while serging the pocket.

On the top of the pocket, measure 3/4” from the edge and mark this line. Draw a parallel line 1/4” below the 3/4” line. This rectangle is the sewing guideline for the pocket opening.

On the corresponding skirt back, use a pin to mark each corner of the pocket placement. Flip over the skirt back and use the pins to position the back pocket interfacing piece where the pocket opening will be. Remove the guide pins after tacking down the interfacing lightly with your iron, then fuse to the fabric. (You can use the back pocket interfacing pattern piece provided.)

With the pocket positioned upside down with the right sides together, pin through the top left corner of the rectangle marking and then through the pocket marking on the skirt back. Then, pull down on the pocket so that the pin is going straight through both pieces. Pin the right corner this way as well and add additional pins if necessary.

Sew around the rectangular pocket marking. Use a small stitch length when sewing around the corners. This will give you more precise control AND provide more reinforcement at the corners.

Here’s the moment of truth: cut into and across the middle of the stitched rectangle, then cut in a diagonal line to each corner. You’ll want to cut as close to the corner as possible without cutting the stitching.

Turn the pocket piece to the inside of the skirt back. Press the pocket piece flat to create a nice rectangular window. If the corners are puckering, try pulling and stretching the fabric a bit at these points while pressing. You may also want to try clipping closer to the stitching line at each corner.

Sew around the pocket opening, about 1/16” to 1/8” away from the opening edge. Since you’re using a stretch denim, it may get a bit wavy. Using a larger stitch length will reduce this effect and pressing afterwards will help flatten it out.

Flip the skirt back over and press the back of the pocket, pulling down lightly on the pocket piece to eliminate any fold over at the top edge where it is sewn down.

On the right side, align the seam allowance-less pocket piece with the window. If your chalk has already worn off from testing the placement, draw this pocket line in again. It may be slightly bigger/smaller so just estimate as you draw.

Starting at the corner of the pocket opening, sew along the chalk line ending at the opposite corner. Before sewing, you may want to flip the skirt over to ensure you’ll sew through the pocket piece underneath, otherwise you’ll end up with a hole. Pin it in place before sewing if necessary. Sew a second line of stitching 1/4” away from the first. If you like, you can do a special curved detail here.

There you have it! A reverse pocket! If you’d like a pocket embellishment, you’d want to topstitch this on before creating the pocket, after tracing the pocket outline.

I’m overall pretty pleased with this skirt as a wearable muslin (the fabric was from the bargain bin at one of my favorite fabric dives, with a pretty high polyester content). I think for the next version I’ll try to find some brown denim and cream topstitching thread to try and recreate one of my favorite college skirts.

I’m looking forward to bringing my favorite college look into the next decade. Pairing it with a t-shirt from Everlane and my recently made Laurelhurst Wrap is a good start!

Wasn't that an epic pattern hack? Thanks again Taylor! I clearly need to get my butt in gear and make a Ginger skirt now....

Plaid Archer Shirt + Waxed Ginger Jeans

15 April 2015 by Heather Lou 50 Comments

It's time I wrap up "my grey period". Spring has FINALLY arrived in Montreal so I promise, no more stricken/traumatized instagram posts of April snowfalls. Someone recently pointed out that they/I were getting increasingly unhinged. It's been warm out ALL week, and I've been riding my bike around town with the wind in my hair and a big goofy grin on my face like everyone else in this beleaguered city.

Today let's take a look at the last of my winter makes so I can focus on making a billion things out of all the crazy printed rayons I've picked up recently. Although to be honest, looking at these photos makes me quite sad since I lost one of the earrings I'm wearing, a white gold pair I've had for over ten years. Total ranty sidenote but: How do you all DEAL with earrings? It doesn't seem to matter what type of closure I use; earrings are like a bickering married couple and one is always taking off for greener pastures without warning. A few hours later I'll notice it's missing and yell at the other one for not cluing me in that there was marital discord when I could have done something about it.

Ahem.

If this fabric looks familiar, it's leftover from one of my Carolyn pajama samples. I love this flannel; so cozy and soft and destined to be a plaid Archer for cottaging and sugar shacking (sugar shacking being the time of year when Canadians pile into log cabins on maple farms to induce stage 2 diabetes while pouring cups of syrup on heaping plates of deep-fried breakfast foods).

The construction of this baby is nothing to write home about. I cut the pockets and yoke on the bias and did my best to match the plaids - so satisfying. The only hiccup I ran into was trying to source pearl metal snaps. After a lot of digging around I found them locally but for the highway robbed price of 6 for $8. As a result, I didn't end up putting one at the top collar or along the cuffs, hence the rolled sleeves. Since then I've discovered it's much better to purchase them in bulk on Wawak; I just bought a 50 pack of Gingher pearl snaps for under $10. Now I just need to pull out the snap setter and install the ones I skipped the first time. Rachel just posted a great DIY on snap buttons if you'd like to do the same.

The jeans are yet another pair of Gingers, with a denim I was testing that didn't end up making the cut for our kits. I was really hoping to find a great waxed denim to sell by the yard and this one isn't bad, but I wasn't impressed with the recovery. I can get about two wears out of these before they start bagging out which isn't good enough for you, my darlings. And then there is the gloss factor - I'm seeing a lot of back of leg lines that aren't normally there in regular denim. Regardless, they feel pretty rock and roll. And also very winter. I doubt I will be pulling these out for another 6 months, at least. GIVE ME ALL THE SUMMER DRESSES.

Details: Archer shirt with white plaid flannel, Ginger jeans with waxed denim, Steve madden ankle boots (similar here), Lipstick: Revlon Colorburst Matte Balm

Ankle Zipper DIY

12 March 2015 by Heather Lou 11 Comments

Based on the enthusiastic reaction to my latest pair of Ginger jeans, I guess I'm not the only one with a yen for 80's Guess-era ankle zippers. It's fun doctoring up classics with new details, and I'm constantly pinning and imagining new ways to tweak the Ginger pattern.

This isn't a really hard mod but it does require some precision. First things first, we have to stabilize the fabric. Before you sew your outer side seams, apply 1" wide interfacing to the ankle seams, roughly the length of your your zipper.

I suggest ironing the hem up as if you're finishing your jeans. This lets you know where your zipper teeth will end.

Once you've got the interfacing bonded to both sides of the leg seam, lay your zipper next to it so that the "top" of the zipper is aligned with the final folded hem of your jeans. Mark where the zipper stop at the "bottom" of the zipper will be located with a horizontal line. Draw in your 5/8" seam allowance above the zipper. In order to expose the teeth of the zipper, we have to increase the seam allowance. My zipper teeth were 1/4" wide, so I added just over 1/8" to the seam allowance to create a little 3/8" rectangular opening for the zipper when the seams are pressed open. Draw your new seam allowance on the leg as shown above.

Once you've got these lines drawn on both legs, sew your side seams using a straight stitch, stopping at that horizontal mark that indicates the start of your zipper. Backstitch to secure. Finish your side seams. In this case, I serged the side seams together until a few inches above the zipper location, and then finished each "free" seam with its own serged finish. This creates a weird joint where you go from side seams being sewn together and pressed to the back, to side seams being pressed open, but you won't really notice on the inside.

After the seam is sewn, snip a triangular notch from below your horizontal zipper mark to the corner of your new seam allowance

This snipped notch will let us fold the new seam allowance further back to show the exposed zipper teeth.

Press the side seam open and the snipped notches up. Fold your new seam allowance in on each side of the un-sewn side seam (approximately 7/8") and press. You want to create a nice, square opening at the top so ensure all those little corners are lying nice and flat.

Ensure the space you created in the seam is wide enough to see your exposed zipper teeth.

If you want to baste the zipper to the seam allowance first, go ahead. I found it easier just to pin the zipper into place and then topstitch it directly. To do this, only pin one side to start, since it can be tricky to sew if both sides of the zipper are pinned. Start on one side and sew all the way around, about 1/8" from the pressed seam allowance. At the top, just above the zipper stop, leave your needle down as you are turning to get sharp corners. One the other side, I didn't bother pinning; I just fed the zipper into place as I went.

To secure the zipper tape and those little notched seams in place, sew a bar tack just above the zipper stop, and then finish hemming your jeans. This is what it will look like on the inside:

And voila! A little ankle zipper to fulfill all your Guess girl fantasies!

Hope y'all found this helpful. I'm considering making another pair with the zipper on the inside seam since I love the way it looks when it's unzipped. Have you been experimenting with any other jeans hacks I should know about?

Ginger Jeans with Ankle Zippers

10 March 2015 by Heather Lou 60 Comments

Hi everyone! I finally managed to snag some pictures of my new pair of Ginger jeans with ankle zips. They make me feel like Sandy in Grease after she gets the Pink Ladies bad-girl makeover.

These Gingers were made using some black Italian stretch denim I was testing for our sale. Unfortunately I didn't get them finished in time, so we didn't list them since I couldn't personally vouch for the recovery. While they don't have quite the same bounce-back factor as the Cone Mills, I'm still really happy with this fabric. It's borderline impossible to find good quality black bull denim (which just means the fabric was dyed after weaving) and this stuff has a nice hand and a decent amount of stretch. Although frankly, it's also a cat hair magnet, which means I basically go through a roll of packing tape before I leave the house so I don't set off allergic reactions from bystanders.

I love these and have worn them tons but I am kicking myself for not interfacing the waistband. I let the waist and hips out a little (too much baguette and cheese this winter, no regrets) and didn't want anything binding me at the stomach. However, I think an interfacing designed for knits would have been perfect. Since I faced the waistband with the same fabric, there is just too much stretch and they get too loose around the waist after a day or two. I am seriously considering ripping it all out and putting in a new waistband but if I'm honest, I'll probably just belt them after the second or third day.

For this pair, I played with the rise. I wanted something in between the low and high-rise, so on View B I lowered everything by 1". In the back, I split the 1" between the yoke and back leg to maintain a nice bum proportion. I also used slightly wider pockets than I included in the pattern because I think they're more flattering on my caboose. If you'd like to play with them for your next pair, you can download the piece here.

For topstitching thread I used a dark navy; I like the subtle tone on tone of the stitching. The rivets and button are from our denim kits and I also sewed a black leather patch to the back waistband, just for funsies. The ankle zipper is a fun touch. I love the pop of brass and the exposed teeth, and I'll be sharing a tutorial on how to do it yourself later this week.

Anyone else feeling goth these days? Something about all the overcast days and buckets of snow (yes, still) makes monochrome the only option when I'm getting dressed. Tell me I'm not alone!

Details: Ginger Jeans pattern, silk tank (similar pattern here), shoes: Hasbeens Fredrica, lipstick: Rimmel Kate Moss Collection 105

Installing Jeans Rivets & Buttons | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

29 November 2014 by Heather Lou 9 Comments

Ahhhh.... the final post in our rather epic Ginger Sewalong series! I worried at times that I've been guilty of information overload but I hope I've helped to demystify the jeans making process for you. It's been fun, hasn't it? Making jeans is the best.

A few pieces of business before we proceed with the last step. Please be sure to upload your finished or progress pics to the Flickr page if you'd like to be included in the giveaway, or use the hashtag #gingerjeans on Instagram. You can also email me your blog posts or link to them in the comments. If you've been following along but are still unsure about this whole jeans making thing, you may want to look into taking an intensive Ginger workshop with me at next fall's Camp Workroom Social. It's going to be hella fun and I'm happy to lovingly hold your hand in person.

Now, on to the final step which will take your jeans from "I made these" to "I FRIGGING MADE THESE!" While you can use a regular button for your jeans, and skip the rivets all together, nothing really pulls this project together like a hammer and some brute force. Here's what you'll need:

Metal rivets (get a few extra to practice with)
A jeans button (again, practice with an extra one first!)
A hammer
A nail to make holes, or an awl
A scrap piece of wood
A sheet of strong metal like steel or a cast iron frying pan - you need something that won't dent when you hammer in your rivets
Wire cutters
Optional: a rivet press

Check out my post on sourcing supplies if you need help finding rivets and buttons. As I said, it's better when possible to get all metal buttons and rivets. Some buttons have hollow plastic bases which I just don't think are as strong over time. As for rivets, they generally come with a solid or hollow post. I prefer rivets with solid metal posts because they are easier to trim down to size. In the photo below, the solid posts are in silver.

First up is the button. I highly suggest you practice on a scrap before going at your final jeans (hence why we are including an extra button in the Ginger Jeans denim kits). Do up your zipper and use a pencil to mark the location of the button. I always place the button on the left side of the buttonhole like you see below. No sense in centering it unless you want to give yourself a little breathing room at the waist.

You now want to make a hole in the waistband where you marked the button location. You can use a hammer and nail, but I prefer using an awl.

Push the button back through the hole you made.

Now, on your spare piece of wood, place the button with the hole facing up, and turn your jeans over. Line up the button back post into the button hole. Try to keep this as straight as possible. With your hammer, give the button back a few light thumps. Once it catches and you're sure it's going in straight, hammer it in until it's fully locked.

That wasn't too bad, was it?

On to the rivets! The location of your rivets is really up to you but traditionally rivets are placed in 5 locations: along the topstitching where the front pocket meets the leg, the top corner of the coin pocket and the outer courners of the back pockets. Use your awl or hammer and nail to make your holes. You may need to use a little force - it can be tricky to make a big enough hole through numerous layers of fabric. I wiggle the awl in and out on both ends to make enough space. Try to make the hole in between your topstitched lines so you're not severing that stitch.

Insert your rivet posts in the hole you just made. Take a look at how much of the rivet is poking through - if it's more than a milimeter or two, you'll want to trim it down with wire cutters. If the post is too long it will be hard to hammer in straight, and it may also dent or break the surface of the rivet once it has been hammered in. If you don't have wirecutters, you can also "pad" the difference by adding a few layers of scrap denim to the rivet and trimming around the rivet post (see Tailor Taylor's post for how to do that here). This is an example of what can happen to a rivet that is too long for the denim.

For this pair of Gingers, I had to trim down the rivet tip about 1 mm. I basically just cut of the pointy tip with my wirecutters.

If you have hollow rivet posts, it is a little trickier to trim them since they have a tendency to flatten when you use wire cutters. Use pliers to squeeze them back into a rounder shape after you have trimmed them.

Once your post is ready, put the rivet face down on your cast iron pan or sheet of metal. Turn your jeans over and align the post into the hole as straight as possible. You can use your fingers to hold the surrounding denim taut, which helps to keep the post straight. Give a few gentle taps to connect them, and once you are sure it is reasonably straight, hammer until it goes all the way in.

Repeat everywhere you want to add rivets.

And that's it! You've officially made a pair of custom fit, beautiful jeans and I hope you're blaring I Wanna Dance With Somebody and shaking your booty. Thank you so much for following along and for all your comments and insight during the sewalong. You guys rule.

If you’d like more help sewing professional looking jeans, consider taking our online video class. The Sew Your Dream Jeans Workshop will give you the tools and techniques to design, sew, and wear your very own custom pair of jeans with confidence.

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Sewing Jeans Belt Loops, Hems & Jeans Buttonhole | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

28 November 2014 by Heather Lou 2 Comments

Okay sewalongers - we are FINALLY entering the home stretch! This is the second-to-last post before we hammer our rivets and buttons. Today we will be topstitching all the final details for our almost completed Ginger Jeans. If you are having any fitting issues or want to be included in the Ginger Sewalong contest, be sure to upload your photos to our Flickr group as I'd love to see your progress!

Today is a good day since we will not have to switch thread at all - you can keep that topstitching thread in for each step! First up, finish one raw edge of your belt loop piece (use a serged or overlock stitch). Once that's done, try and press that strip into thirds. You want your finished edge on the outside, as close to the edge as possible (if you're lucky your nails will also be stained with indigo dye like mine are below - the jean maker's manicure!)

Now topstitch the entire length on both sides. You are trying to catch the raw edge in one of those topstitched lines, but don't stress if you can't quite get all of it - these babies will be plenty secure once we're done with them.

Now cut the strip into 5 pieces approximately 3 1/2" long. Press each end under about 1/2".

Belt loops can be a pain in the butt to fasten since you are sewing through so many layers of fabric. It really helps to flatten your loops as much as possible to make it easier to feed through your machine. Enter the hammer. From the wrong side, give each end a good couple of whacks.

What I am about to suggest next may be highly controversial, but rules were meant to be broken. I have found that the easiest way to sew belt loops to jeans is by using a few dabs of fabric glue. This helps to temporarily anchor them while you are stitching them down. The location of the belt loops is as follows: one at center back, two just next to your front pocket topstitching, and two halfway in between your center back belt loop and the front ones. If you are using glue, let it dry for about 10 minutes before sewing on your machine.

If the idea of fabric glue gives you a Tim Gunn "Why I never!" feeling, you can also open up each loop, line them up on the top of your waistband and sew the wrong side down to anchor it before flipping them back to the right side. I don't have a photo of this to demonstrate, but you are basically just sewing the top half down before topstitching it. Either way, belt loops can be wiggly and it's much easier to sew them if they are anchored a little beforehand. Be sure to use your hump jumper or a piece of cardboard for this step to help your foot stay level.

When it comes to securing them to the belt loops jeans, you have two options. You can bar tack them in place, which is VERY strong, but not all machines want to bar tack through all that fabric.

Alternatively, you can just use a short straight stitch and backstitch about three times to really secure that puppy in place. I tend to hike up my pants by the belt loops so I've learned through experience that I like them to be really strong. Either way, try to line up the topstitching at the top of the belt loop with your line of stitching on the waistband. Mark with chalk if it makes it easier for you to sew.I try to stay roughly within my topstitching lines on the belt loop. I find it looks better than trying to sew the entire length of the loop.

Once installed, you can trim the excess on the inside of the belt loops to prevent fraying.

Next up, buttonhole! Take your jean button and center it on your waistband above the fly. Mark a line a little bigger than the button so you'll have room to get it in and out. I start the buttonhole about 1/4" away from the waistband stitching. Make sure you do a test run first to make sure your topstitching thread tension is cooperating. If you can't get a nice thread tension, use matching regular thread (or use a fun contrasting colour like Sallie did here).

If you have some Fray Stop, apply it before you cut your buttonhole open. This hole takes a lot of abuse and I find this product really helps prevent it from fraying too much over time.

Finally, we are going to hem our jeans. This is easy peasy. Just fold each hem up 1/2", press, fold again, and topstitch. Done!

Let's give ourselves all a long, loud slow clap. You've all done amazing work! I want to wrap this sewalong up this week so I will be back tomorrow to talk rivets and buttons. Happy Thanksgiving to my southern neighbors!

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Back Pocket Placement & Topstitching | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

27 November 2014 by Heather Lou 18 Comments

I would like to apologize right off the bat for the butt-apooloza you just got a ticket to. If there was a way we could talk about this without using my butt as an example, I would spare you, but al-ass. Butt stand-ins are hard to come by.

I think the power of a great pair of jeans is 50% back pockets. They can look great from the front, but if the pockets aren't right, you'll feel it every time you put them on. There are two main considerations, just like in real estate: location and size. The only people who can pull off small pockets are 12 year olds. The rest of us need something that is proportionate to our bodies. The Ginger pockets are about 1/2" wider than average, which I think works well for most butts, but the perfect location for them will be a little different for everybody. (Also, if you are thinking of adding some custom embroidery to your pockets, go download the templates we created for that!)

Earlier in the sewalong I instructed you to baste them to your back legs before topstitching. Now that we've got our waistband attached, we can properly do a butt assessment. If you have a large mirror and a hand mirror you can take a look and see how you feel about where they are now. You can also take a butt selfie (sharing it on instagram is optional).

I am going to share some butt selfies I took when I was in the research stage of this pattern to show you how much pocket placement matters. All in the name of science, folks.

Okay, so on the left we have a perfect case of "Mom butt". This is a pair of Not Your Daughters Jeans and they are totally living up to their name. Pockets placed high like this make your bum look about twice as long as it actually is. If you have a flatter behind and have jeans that do this you should burn them in a fire. The pair on the right is MUCH better. The pockets are set much lower and wider. This creates the illusion of a smaller, curvier behind, but since I have a bit of a booty I think they are a little too widely set.

On the left we have what I consider to be almost perfect placement. The pockets are correctly spaced and angled in slightly giving a nice curve, but are perhaps 1/4" too low (it is crazy how much of a difference a quarter of an inch makes!) On the right, the pockets are too small, too high and too far apart, giving the illusion of a much bigger, flatter bottom.

Here are some general things to keep in mind when deciding on pocket placement:

As a rule, the pocket should be centered on the fullest part of the bum.
Pockets that angle in create curves.
For wider bums, set pockets closer together.
For small bums, pockets can be set wider apart to create fullness.
Lower pockets are generally preferrable. Some people (small butts) can get away with setting the pocket below the crease of the bum, but in general your pocket should end around where your bum meets your leg.

With all that in mind, once you've figured out the perfect placement of the pockets on your Ginger Jeans, it's time to topstitch them in place.

Starting from the inside corner, sew a line of topstitching 1/8" away from the edge of the pocket. Use a hump jumper when you start, and backstitch twice at the beginning to secure. You can sew your second line of topstitching 1/4" away from the first, but I like to curve the second line at the corners for a softer look. Whichever you choose, marking the stitch line with chalk makes it a little easier to follow.

If you're not using rivets on your back pocket, you can also sew a little angled line at the top edge to reinforce the seam. You can see that on the left side of the pocket below.

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How to Sew a Jeans Waistband | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

26 November 2014 by Heather Lou 4 Comments

Today we're installing the waistband on our Ginger Jeans. There are a number of ways to do this but after making a dozen or so pairs this is my favourite method for getting a clean, strong waistband.

Gather your waistband and its facing. Like we discussed earlier, the facing can be cut from your denim or a stable lining. It really just depends on the effect you want. For this example, I am using two layers of my stretch denim with no interfacing since I prefer a softer, stretchier waistband for the high waisted version of Ginger.

To start, sew your waistband and facing together against the shorter curved side. Sew a line of stay-stitching along the seam allowance of your facing, and press the seam allowance towards the facing.

Press the seam allowance of the facing along your stay stitch line, and then fold your waistband along the top seam and press flat.

Pin the waistband to your jeans, matching the notches with your side seams and center front.

Sew the entire length of the band at your 5/8" seam allowance. When you are starting and ending the waistband, use a basting stitch, but a medium stitch everywhere else. We need to make sure the waistband is meeting up evenly when the jeans are zipped, so a basting stitch makes it easier to remove stitches if necessary. You will be sewing over zipper tape; you may use pliers to remove the teeth on your zipper that extend past your seam, but I never bothered. I just sew really carefully over the teeth and have never broken a needle.

Fold your waistband flat and do the zipper up. You want the waistband on either side of the zipper to be perfectly even. If one side is a little wider, remove the basting stitches and adjust. Once you are sure the band is even, you can sew permanent stitches along each end. If your denim is quite thick or you want to remove bulk, grade the seam. Leaving the waistband alone, trim the top edge of the jeans to about 1/4". Press the seams up and trim off the excess zipper tape.

If you haven't interfaced your waistband, you'll want to add a few squares where your button and button hold will go. I mark the locations with a pin and then press interfacing to the waistband and facing on each side.

Flip your waistband inside out and pin closed at the fly, so that all of the seam allowances are facing you. Using a ruler, draw a straight line along the ends of the waistband to align with your fly; this is your sewing guide.

Sew along this guide, trying to get as close as possible to the edge of your fly without actually sewing it. Trim your seam to about 3/8", and cut off an angle along the top corner.

Turn inside out with a corner turner if you have one, and press the waistband flat.

The trickiest thing about sewing your waistband is getting an even, squared off line of topstitching around the finished corners. Use a marking tool if it will help you know where to stop sewing. From the outside, pin your waistband closed, making sure the folded edge of the facing is laying flat inside your jeans.

We are going to start sewing on the left side of the jeans just above the fly topstitching. The facing can be a little fiddly here so pin as necessary to make sure it lays flat. Start sewing about 1/8" away from the edge and backstitch to secure. This part is highly visible so take your time.

Continue sewing all around the entire perimeter of the waistband about 1/8" from the edge, making sure you are catching the facing with your stitching (I try to hold the facing in place with my fingers while I'm sewing). This is a great time to pull out your edge-stitch foot. Try to do this in one step since it's really obvious when you start a new line of topstitching over an old one. When you get to a corner, keep your needle down, raise the presser foot, turn the fabric and continue sewing. At some point you will have the bulk of the fabric on the right side of the needle which is a little annoying. Stitch slowly at this point and try to keep your stitch straight. When you get to the very end, backstitch to secure.

Your waistband is now done!

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Sewing Side Seams & Back Pockets | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

24 November 2014 by Heather Lou 7 Comments

We are getting close to the finish line; today we'll be sewing our side seams. Can you taste the sweet, sweet victory?

In our last post we assembled our back legs and basted the pockets so everything should be ready to be joined together.

Starting at the inseam, pin the front legs to the back legs, right sides together. Make sure your topstitching is matching at the crotch junction, and then match the notches at the knees, pinning to the ankle. I like to start from the ankle and sew to the crotch for each side. If you've dropped the back saddle like I explained in my pants fitting post, you'll need to ease in the back leg to the front between knee and crotch.

Finish the seam using your preferred finish. If you are zigzagging or serging, you will need to secure this seam down. Press the seam allowance to the front, and sew one line of 1/8" topstitching along the entire length of the front legs.

Now sew your side seams, matching your notches. Finish the seam using your preferred finish. If you haven't tested that the waistband fits, baste it on now before topstitching, just to make sure all is well.

Once you're confident that the fit is good, press each side seam towards the back. To keep this seam in place, and to help strengthen your pockets, we need to topstitch one line of thread here like we did for the inseam. Using a marking tool, locate the bottom of the pocket lining and indicate how long you'd like your bar tack to be. You will sew a line of topstitching and then switch to your bar tack to secure the lining in the seam. Use your hump jumper or a piece of cardboard to stitch over the raised yoke seams.

And that's it for today - I was going to go over securing the back pockets but I think it makes more sense to do that once we've sewn the waistband and can properly assess the fit.

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Assembling the Back Jeans | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

21 November 2014 by Heather Lou 10 Comments

In our last post, we learned how to install the fly front zipper for our Ginger Jeans. Today is an easier day. We'll be attaching the yoke to the back leg, sewing the center back seam and basting our pockets into place.

To get started, pin each yoke to each leg. The longer side of the yoke is the CB seam, in case you get confused.

One thing to keep in mind is that you want to align your pieces based on where you will be stitching rather than the edges of the fabric. When you line up the pieces based on the seam allowance, you will have little wedges of the yoke that extend past the leg. However, after you sew the line and press your seam allowances down, you should have nice clean lines along the hip and center back.

Once you've sewn both yokes, finish your seam allowance with an overlock, zig zag or flat fell seam finish.

Press your seams down and sew two rows of topstitching along the top edge of your leg.

Normally this is the point at which you would topstitch your back pockets onto the legs. However, since this is likely the first time you've made these jeans, you don't know exactly where you want those pockets yet. Every bum is as unique as its owner, so I prefer to baste the pockets down for the time being. Once the jeans are more fully assembled, we can decide if the location works or not; if we need to move them around a bit, the basting stitches are easy to remove. Check out the post on back pocket placement for tips on how to best flatter your derriere.

Matching the small circle markings that indicate pocket placement, align the back pockets that we assembled earlier in the sewalong and sew a basting line around the sides and bottom of each at 1/4". Keep in mind that the slightly curved pocket edge should be on the center back side.

Once both of your pockets have been basted to each leg, line up the legs along the center back seam and sew at the 5/8" seam allowance. Complete using your seam finish of choice. Again, my serger was having timing issues so please forgive the shoddy serging in the pic below.

Press the seam to the left (or the right on the inside). I like pressing on my sleeve board to get around the crotch curve. Use your clapper if you have one to get those seams nice and flat.

We are going to add two rows of topstitching to this seam. There is a bit of a height difference where the yokes are attached to the legs, so this is when you may want to use your humper jumper or a piece of folded cardboard to help your foot sew an even line. As you approach the seam, prop the back of your foot up with whatever you're using and continue sewing. Remove the humper jumper after you've sewn over the thicker seam.

And voila! You back is now assembled.

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How to Sew a Fly Front Zipper for Jeans | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

19 November 2014 by Heather Lou 24 Comments

For a lot of people, the scariest thing about making jeans is the fly front. There are a lot of methods for installing them, and not all of them are easy to wrap your head around. We did a lot of research to find the best way to sew the Ginger Jeans fly front zipper, so hopefully these step-by-step photos will show you how easy it is to actually do!

Our method is a bit different than what you may have encountered before. In all our jeans patterns, from Ginger to our Morgan non-stretch jeans, we draft the fly extension into the actual front leg, rather than having it as a separate pattern piece you sew on later. If you're working with a pattern that does not have the fly extension drafted to it, check out our post on sewing a fly front zipper for trousers for instructions on adding it. That method is similar to this one, but the zipper position is reversed since women's trousers traditionally do up on the left side, not the right. However, all jeans zip on the right side regardless of gender (personally I find it so dumb that there is this distinction - can we please just make all coats, shirts and pants do up on the same side?!) I should also point out that if you are struggling with any of this, our Sew Your Dream Jeans online class walks you through all jeans construction from start to finish, and our sister store Core Fabrics has a beautifully curated selection of denim.

HOW TO SEW FLY FRONT ZIPPER

Before we sew our legs together, we need to finish the fly extension of the left leg. The fly extension on the right leg will be trimmed off eventually, so don't worry about it for now. Simply overlock or zig zag around the straight edge and as much of the curve as you safely can on your machine. When I'm serging, I try to fold the crotch curve out of the way and stop just before I reach the seam allowance.

Next, you will be sewing your two pant legs together at the front crotch seam. Starting at the center front notch, baste a straight line to the circle marking next to the bottom of the fly extension. You can draw a line with a ruler if this helps. You want a nice long stitch since you will be removing this stitching once your fly has been installed. When you reach the circle, switch to a medium stitch length, sew a few stitches, and backstitch just to the circle. Continue sewing normally along the 5/8" seam allowance.

Now it's time to cut a notch from the corner where your fly extension meets the regular seam allowance to the circle. Be careful not to cut into your stitching.

Finish that short crotch curve using an overlock or zig zag stitch - be sure to trim down to 3/8". This is the one seam that must be finished this way, even if you are flat felling your seams. Also, I have to apologize for my horrible serging in the following photos. My serger was having major timing issues when I shot this tutorial. Please don't judge me.

Press your fly extension open and your finished seam to the left on the inside.

Flip your jeans to the front, and sew two rows of double stitching to the right of the crotch seam, making sure your fly extension is lying flat and your finished seam is caught in the stitching. You can also sew just 1 row of topstitching along the crotch if you prefer the way it looks. Or, you can wait until your zipper is installed, go back and add the second row and stop sewing at the fly topstitching, finished off with a bar tack. It really is a matter of preference, so take a look at RTW pairs in your closet to see what works for you. I like the double line so that's what I've called for in the pattern.

Now it's time to insert your zipper. In the photos below, I am lining up the left edge of the zipper teeth to the center seam. I shot these pics before I sent the pattern out for testing, and a few people pointed out that they preferred their zipper to be set deeper in the fly so it doesn't peak out at all. If that's the case, align the left edge of your zipper tape to the center seam. Depending on the width of the zipper tape, this will set your zipper into the fly 1/2" - 3/4". It will not affect the size of the waist, just the location of the zipper. Make sure your zipper is face down.

Once your zipper is aligned the way you prefer, pin it into place along the right fly extension only. In general, I line up the bottom of the tape with the bottom of the fly extension. You want at least 1/2" between the bottom of the fly extension and the zipper stop since you will be topstitching here later and you don't want to hit the stop with your needle.

Using a zipper foot, sew close to the zipper teeth, ensuring you are stitching only to the right fly extension. You can sew another row of stitching along the right edge of the tape as well, but it's not mandatory since chances are your zipper tape will wind up being encased by the fly shield later on.

Flip the zipper and the right fly extension under. You will now have a strip of denim to the left of the front of your zipper. You may have a little more width than what you see here depending on where you aligned your zipper tape.

Stitch a line about 1/8" away from the folded edge of this strip using a zipper foot.

Flip your legs back so that the wrong side is facing you. If you grab the zipper and the right fly extension, you'll notice that you can now move it to the left. Fold it to the left as much as it will go without pulling the fabric. Pin it into place.

Sew close to the left edge of the teeth, and sew another row close to the edge of the zipper tape to secure it to the left fly extension only.

Your zipper is now sewn in! Round of applause. Turn your jeans over, and use the fly topstitching guide to trace a line on the front of your pants. Make sure the bottom of this guide is at least 1/2" below your zipper stop while still catching the fly extension below - I like to mark the location of the stop with a pin. It's really important you catch the extension below, or your topstitching won't have enough layers of fabric to stabuilize it. Trace another line 1/4" inside the one you just drew.

With the front of the jeans facing you, topstitch along those guides, making sure your fly extension is laying flat. Sew slowly around the corners, watching the needle rather than the guide to make sure your line has a nice curve. Stop stitching at the center front seam, and backstitch a few times to secure.

Almost there! Before we add our bar tacks to secure the zipper, we need to prepare the fly shield. Fold it right sides together and sew 5/8" along the angled edge. Trim to 3/8", snip the corner and press flat.

If any little corner pieces are peeking out you can snip them too.

Turn your jeans so the wrong side is facing you, and line up the folded edge of the fly shield to the finished edge of the left fly extension. Pin into place.

Depending on where you aligned your zipper tape, you may have to trim off a bit of excess fabric on the right fly extension. If you have a serger, sew the fly shield to the fly extension only, cutting off any excess as you go. If you're using a regular machine, you can finish this edge with a zigzag or overlock stitch, or wrap it in some bias tape. Again, please ignore my horrible serging below. Damn serger timing!

If you're serging, use a large darning needle to weave your thread tail back into your serged stitch so it doesn't unravel on you later.

From the front of your jeans, mark where you'd like your bar tacks to go. I generally sew them just above the where the topstitching curves, and just below the zipper stop. If you have any wonky topstitiching on your curve, you can hide it with some bar tacks!

Practice some bar tacks until you get the tension and width right. You can use regular thread in your bobbin, but you may have to tweak the tension to get a nice even stitch. I set my stitch length to .5 and my zig zag width to 1.5-2, which gives me a dense, strong bar tack. You basically want the same stitch you use for buttonholes here, so check your machine buttonhole function to get the right settings. When stitching, make sure your fly shield is lying flat - the bar tacks will help secure it in place.

Remove your basted stitching along the center front seam using a seam ripper to just above your topstitched lines.

AND YOU'RE DONE!! It can be a little confusing at first but once you get a handle on it, it becomes second nature.

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Assembling Jeans Pockets | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

17 November 2014 by Heather Lou 12 Comments

Last week we cut out all of our pieces, and today we are going to start assembling the front pockets. If you haven't basted your pieces together yet to test the fit, you can wait until after your front pockets are done - worst case scenario you have to take the hip or waist in a little and this way you can do it in one fell swoop.

When we left off on Friday, we had pressed the top edges of our three pockets down. Today we're going to start by topstitching them to get this step out of the way. Following my suggestions for getting straight double rows of topstitching, sew along the tops of your coin and back pockets.

Once stitched, we are going to press all the raw sides in. We won't be working with the back pockets for a while after this, but it's nice to just get this step out of the way. Using a seam gauge or ruler, press the three unfinished sides of the back pocket in 1/2" and press. One side of your pocket has a slight curve so make sure you are not pressing it flat! Also press the straight side of your coin pocket.

You can see in the above photo that the raw edge of the folded seam peeks out a little. Snip those corners at 45 degrees.

You can now put your back pockets off to the side, since today we will be focusing on the front pockets. Align your coin pocket on your right pocket facing, matching the little circle marking with the corner of the pocket and pin into place. After pinning, topstitch the straight edge to your facing, making sure you backstitch at the top to secure.

Now finish the raw edges of both pocket facings, either using an overlock or zig zag stitch. If your pieces get a little wavy around the edges, pressing them with some steam will flatten them out.

Once the edges are finished, pin your facings to the wrong side of your lining. The right side should be visible when you're putting them on - no use in wasting a pretty print inside a pocket! You are going to sew all around the edge of the facing. On the outside edges sew inside your seam allowance at around 1/2". Then sew close to the edge of the curved part of your facing. Since you are stitching a stretch fabric to a non-stretch fabric, your seams may pucker a little bit. If it bugs you, you can use a walking foot. I should have done that in this case. Please forgive my puckers.

Your pocket linings should now look like this.

It can be a little confusing to figure out which lining goes where. Hopefully this picture helps.

Flip the lining over so that the curved edge of the pocket opening matches the pocket opening on the front leg. Pin into place and stitch. I am using the right leg as an example here but repeat this step for each side to reduce switching from regular to topstitching thread.

Clip into the curve without snipping into your stitch line. I like to clip about every half inch or so I get a nice smooth curve. Flip the lining in and press the pocket nice and flat.

Once the lining has been attached to each leg, it's time to sew a double row of topstitching around the curved pocket edge. Sew carefully and as accurately as possible to get nice even lines. Be mindful of your lining as you are sewing. If it's not laying flat while you are sewing it will peek out after you've completed your topstitching.

Now it's time to finish the raw edge of the pocket lining. Fold your pocket lining over and align the bottom edge.You can do a french seam here if you like, but I am going to show you a serging trick to prevent this seam from unravelling. Start at the folded edge of the pocket. Once you serge a few stitches, raise the presser foot, bring the thread chain over, and align with your stitch line. You should be able to serge over your thread chain, thus preventing it from unraveling over time. The other end of your serging will be caught in a sewn seam so you don't have to worry about locking it in place.

Now that the bottom of the pocket is sewn, baste the top and side edges of your lining to the leg inside your seam allowance. If your pocket is a little wavy, give it a nice press so it lays flat.

If you are doing a pocket stay like we discussed last week, the process is a little different. You will follow the same steps to attach your facings to your linings, but I like to enclose the seams rather than leave them raw. Simple serge the lining pieces right sides together, flip right side out and press.

Once the top and bottom linings have been attached, sew your lining to your front leg as outlined above for the regular pocket lining. Once they have been topstitched into place, baste the lining to your leg by sewing about 1/2" around the sides, top and fly extension.

That's it for today! Now is a great time to baste everything together to check the fit. You should do this every time you make jeans, even if you've mastered the fit on a previous pair. Denim varies a lot and if you're working with something particularly, stretchy, it's better to find out before you start finishing your side seams. To test baste, use your longest stitch length and sew the yokes to the back legs, the back crotch seam, the inseams, the side seams, and attach your waistband (very important to prevent the waist from stretching out). You can catch a lot of possible issues at this stage and correct for many of them. Check the pants fitting guide if you need a little help working out issues.

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Cutting and Prepping Denim | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

14 November 2014 by Heather Lou 21 Comments

And heeeeeere we go! It's finally time to get cracking on our Ginger Jeans. First things first, you'll want to print out your pattern and assemble it. If you'd like help doing that you can check out my pdf printing guide. I highly suggest you cut your sheets with an exacto knife and a ruler - it shouldn't take long at all. Remember that you only need to cut the right and bottom edge, since you want an edge to glue or tape your pieces to. Please note that I have organized the pattern so that everything fits on two columns of paper, two sheets wide. You don't need to glue or tape along the centre seam since there is nothing dissecting that line - should make the process much faster to assemble!

To figure out your size, take a look at the sizing chart. The Ginger jeans have approximately 1" negative ease in the hip, and I would say that the fit is somewhat generous in the bum and thigh, but quite snug around the calf for version 2. If you are in between hip sizes, you shouldn't have a problem simply going down a size unless your denim isn't very stretchy. Be mindful of the waist - I would not suggest going down a size here. It occurs to me that despite my exhaustive prep for this sewalong I haven't prepared any photos for grading between sizes. Just keep in mind that the widest part of the hip is at the crotch pivot point if you need a reference for grading.

If you'd like to make the stovepipe leg skinnier for View A, rather than printing both versions and tracing the leg shape, check out Betsy's post on properly drafting a skinny leg. Basically you want to take an equal amount off of all seams. Taking approximately 1/2" off each seam, grading to just above the knee should give you the desired effect.

PREPPING FABRIC

Before we get started, make sure you have washed and ironed your denim (see the post on sourcing denim if you need more advice on how to care for your fabric). Once you have your pattern pieces cut out and ready to go, it's time to start a cuttin'.

I highly suggest taking the time to cut your leg pieces on a single layer of denim. It's less critical for the smaller pieces, but it really helps avoid leg twist. If you've never bought a pair of jeans that twist around your calve, consider yourself lucky. It's a pretty common issue with twill, since the fabric wants to pull in the direction of the weave (unless you are sewing with broken twill, as we discussed). To help prevent leg twist, the best way to layout your pieces is front leg, back leg, front leg turned 180 degrees, back leg turned 180 degrees (make sure these last two are also flipped wrong side up so you're not cutting the same leg twice!) There is a complicated technical reason for this you can read about here, but suffice to say, I have not had a single issue with leg twisting since implementing this style of cutting.

It is really hard to visually spot the grainline on denim since the weave is diagonal. I've found the simplest way to find the grainline is to use a quilting ruler and line up my selvedge and the grainline on the pattern piece.

Hold your pattern down with some weights or soup cans or whatever you have, and trace around the front and back leg pieces with some tailors chalk or a Clover Chaco Pen (I will never stop raving about how amazing this tool is, especially for pattern tracing!) I extend the notches onto the outside denim so I know where to cut later. Make sure you note any other construction markings like so:

Once you have your first front and back leg traced, start on the other side of the denim and line up your pieces again, this time turned 180 degrees and flipped upside down. Depending on your size and the width of the denim you may be able to squeeze these all in next to each other. I use a yardstick and a pen to trace the grainline on a hard surface. When you turn it wrong side up you should be able to see the grainline depression on your paper.

Once all four pieces are traced, you can cut out your legs with rotary cutters or scissors - make sure you clip 1/4" into each notch.

With your legs cut out, use the leftover denim to cut your remaining pieces. Facings and pockets can be cut on doubled fabric if you'd prefer to just weigh them down and zip around with a rotary cutter. The waistband should be cut on the fold - ignore what it looks like below because I updated the pattern piece after shooting this. Remember you only have to cut one each of the fly shield and coin pocket.

WAISTBAND OPTIONS

Traditional wisdom says that the lengthwise grain is the most stable and thus the best option for waistbands. I've come to disagree after reading this excellent post on Fashion Incubator. Basically, denim shrinks more on the lengthwise grain, so it is better to cut it on the crosswise. If you're stabilizing it with fusible, it doesn't make that much difference in the end. Cutting it on the fold ensures your waistband will shrink at the same rate as your legs (which shouldn't really shrink at all if you're washing them in cold water and avoiding the dryer, ahem).

I've always been finicky about how waistbands feel in jeans, so I've experimented with a few options. If you want something soft and non binding, use two layers of denim and don't stabilize. If you want something that will hold it's shape and stay put over the course of the day, stabilize with a medium weight fusible and use lining or denim for your facing. If you want something in between, don't stabilize at all and use a non-stretch cotton lining. This is my preferred choice for the high-waisted version where I want a little stability but don't want anything really digging into my tummy when I sit down.

LINING

You can use any non-stretch, lightweight fabric you want for your pocket lining (and waistband facing if you are going that route). This is the perfect time to pull out your scrap bag and have fun with colour and texture.

FUSIBLE INTERFACING

For your fusible interfacing, use something medium weight. I always just use whatever I have in my stash; as long as it's not too lightweight it will do the trick. Since the point of the interfacing here is to prevent stretching, you don't need a knit fusible interfacing.

Once you've cut your interfacing, let's take a little time and apply it to your pieces now. Apply the long strips of interfacing to the top edges of your coin and back pockets, and your waistband if you are interfacing it.

We will also press our pocket edges so we are ready to go when it's time to sew them. Using a seam gauge or ruler. press the top edges of your pocket down 3/4". Press the raw edge under about 1/4".

Attach the crotch extension interfacing to each front leg. Ensure your mark for the crotch pivot point is visible on each side.

And that's it for today! All your pieces are now cut and ready to be assembled.

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Personalizing Your Jeans | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

10 November 2014 by Heather Lou 21 Comments

One of the best things about making your own jeans is the endless ways you can make them uniquely you. Having fun with the details of your Ginger Jeans makes them even more personal and exciting to wear. Here are a few suggestions.

WAX ON, WAX OFF

Image source: Get Plenty

Waxed jeans were all the rage last year, and since you are making your own, you don't need to pay $200 to get your hands on a pair (lucky you). It's a very simple process that creates a waterproof, leather-like finish to denim. You'll need a large bar of Otter Wax (also available at Thread Theory) and a hair dryer. Once your jeans have been sewn, use light to medium pressure while rubbing the wax on the entire surface of the front of your jeans. They'll feel pretty sticky until you use a hair dryer to melt the wax and let it soak into the denim. Repeat for the back side. Once your jeans have gotten the full Brazilian, hang them to cure for 24 hours; you can also rapid-cure them in the freezer. One thing to note is that regular laundry soap will strip the wax right off. You'll want to minimize washing (throw 'em in the freezer to kill the stink) or turn them inside out and wash on the gentle cycle in cold water with Dr. Bronner's or another gentle castile soap to protect teh finish. If you have any wax left, hang on to it if you need to do touch-ups down the road.

ADD A FLY FRONT

NF-buttons-770x515 — Image source: Rawr Denim

The zipper hadn't been invented when Levi Strauss invented jeans, and for denim purists, a button fly is the only way to go. If you want to add a classic vintage touch to your Gingers (or if you can't find a metal zipper), check out Peter's button fly post on Male Pattern Boldness for a great DIY tutorial.

PLAY WITH BACK POCKET EMBROIDERY

I like my back pockets like I like my make-up routine: uncomplicated. That said, there is a whole wide world of options out there if you want to embroider something fun on your bum. A google or Pinterest search will give you a million ideas, but I also love the Jean Pocket Project. They have photos of pocket designs for dozens of cult denim brands. A great place to find inspiration! Just make sure you interface the pocket where your design will go - otherwise your stitching will stretch out and not look very pretty.

ADD AN ANKLE ZIP

Add ankle zip to Ginger Jeans — Source: Barefoot Blonde

For my next pair of jeans, I want to do a waxed, cropped, super skinny mid-rise using black denim with ankle zippers, for all the obvious reasons. Adding zips at the ankle is actually quite easy. Before you sew your side seams, figure out where your zipper will start at the ankle and, if you're serging your seams, stop a few inches above the start of the zipper. You'll still need to finish the raw edges, but you want to be able to fold your side seams flat to properly install the zip. There is a good DIY tutorial here if you need a little more help.

FUN WITH THE GUTS

One super easy way to make your jeans a true extension of yourself is to have fun with the insides. You'll need a little bit of cotton lining for your pockets (and possibly your waistband) so why not choose something pretty? This is a great way to use up scraps, and they'll make you smile every time you put them on (Suzy used donut print quilting cotton and I just about died). I'm also partial to contrasting serger thread. Since you're sewing a straight seam on your sewing machine first, the thread won't peak through. You can also choose to use some contrast bias tape around the fly shield and pockets, like Reana did on her pair of Maritime shorts.

DISTRESS YOUR DENIM

DIY distressed denim for Ginger Jeans sewalong — Source

Full disclosure: I am way too emotionally attached to my me-made jeans to take a razor or cheesegrater to them, and I like the way jeans age organically. But, if you want to take some shortcuts and like your jeans to look a little more weathered, you can totally DIY it. There are zillions of online tutorials: see here, here, here and here.

Some basic rules:

Test before you distress! Each denim will respond differently to being manipulated, so sew a sample seam and experiment before you go at your Gingers.
Distress before you topstitch. You will destroy your topstitching if you sand them after the seam has been finished.
For a faded, worn in look, use medium grit sandpaper (150-220) on a block and gently rub it on the locations where you want to create a little dimension (center of thighs, calves, bum). Use the edge of the block to sand your seams and pocket edges before you've topstitched them.
For a "whiskering" effect, crumple the fabric and sand it. This is kind of risky so I would definitely test the effect first!
If you want to create a really distressed, ripped up look, you'll be working with sandpaper, an exacto knife and a cheesegrater. See any of the tutorials I linked to above for help getting the torn-up "I AM rock n' roll" look.

Finally, why not embroider a kind message to yourself in your jeans? If your sewing machine can stitch letters, it would be pretty rad to write something only you can see on the waistband facing - like a positive affirmation but not lame. For my next pair, I'm sewing "BABY GOT BACK" on the insides.

There we have it - a lot of interesting ways you can play and have fun with this pattern. I'm super excited to see what you guys come up with. Any other possible denim modifications I left out? Let me know in the comments!

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Sourcing Jean-Making Hardware and Supplies | Ginger Jeans Sewalong

4 November 2014 by Heather Lou 21 Comments

Hola amigas! Today we are talking denim supplies. You could probably make a basic pair of jeans with what you currently have in your sewing arsenal, but there are a few tools and additional pieces of hardware that makes the process a little easier, and your jeans a little more professional looking.

THE BASICS

Rotary Cutter - you can totally use a pair of shears for this pattern (especially if you're tracing your pieces before cutting) but when I'm feeling lazy I use my beloved Olfa Cutter.
Glass Head Pins - you will do a lot of pinning with Ginger and it helps to have pins you can iron over without fear.
Marking tool - my preferred method for cutting this pattern is tracing around the pieces with this amazing Clover chaco pen. It has a little serrated wheel inside it and it's the easiest way I've found to make pronounced (but washable) markings.
Denim needles - having a few of these is a lifesaver in case you break some. You can use heavier weight universal needles, but denim needles are specifically designed to sew through heavy twill. I use size 16, but if you're sewing a super heavy duty denim you're better off with size 18. You can also buy denim double needles, but they are pretty pricey and you'll cry if they break. I prefer just taking the time to sew two rows of topstitching.
Shears - nice and sharp to prevent fraying!

THE EXTRAS

Tailor's Clapper- this is a tiny, unassuming miracle. I wish I'd bought mine years ago - it really makes the most beautiful, flat seams. After you're done pressing a seam, you hold the clapper on it - it locks all the moisture and heat into the fabric. It's especially helpful sewing jeans since your seams can get quite bulky, but I also use my clapper in my daily sewing practice. You can also DIY your own with a scrap of hardwood.
Hump jumper- this little piece of plastic looks weird and has a silly name, but I use it all the time when I am sewing over thick bumpy areas like belt hooks or side seams. As you are approaching a "level change", you put the hump jumper under the back of your presser foot to lift the foot to the same height as whatever you are sewing over. After you sew past the high point, you slide the hump jumper out. You can also use a folded piece of cardboard in a pinch.
Presser feet - Full disclosure, I use my regular foot for all topstitching, so there is no need to buy additional ones. However, if you have an edgestitch foot, you can use the central guide to help keep your lines straight. You'll also need a zipper and buttonhole foot.
Awl - another indispensable general purpose tool I wish I had much earlier. This is a sharp, pointed tool that makes perfect holes for your denim buttons and rivets. You can also use a hammer and nail, but I think this is a more elegant solution.
Point turner- really helpful when you are trying to make even corners on your waistband.

ZIPPER

You definitely want to source an all metal denim zipper for your Gingers. Regular zippers are just not strong enough and will inevitably break under their denim burden.

Denim zippers generally come in two gauges - #4.5 and #5. The #4.5 is slightly lighter weight and may also be called a metal pants zipper. I used YKK zippers exclusively so I can't say if it's the same with other companies, but the #4.5 may also have a narrower zipper tape. Unless you are sewing with denim over 12oz, you are fine to use the #4.5. I prefer it because the zipper pull is less bulky and the narrower tape makes it easier to line up with your enter front seam when you install the fly front.

THREAD

I prefer Guterman topstitching thread since they have so many colour options, but any good quality topstitching thread will do. I would get at least 200 yards just to be safe. I've seen some great jeans that use two alternating colours for the topstitching, so buy a few hues if you want to personalize your jeans a little more.

You'll also need a spool of regular thread to match your denim for sewing all the seams. If you are serging your seams, I recommend using a fun colour in your serger. It's a nice detail that only you can see.

JEANS BUTTONS

Jeans buttons are a very durable pants closure. You create a hole in your waistband to put the metal post into. You then hammer the button into place. You should be able to find these at your local chain fabric store, but they generally only carry the plastic ones, which are cheap and not meant to last. I highly suggest you get some all metal buttons - I will provide sources further down in the post. Finishes are generally nickel, brass or copper.

RIVETS

Rivets are awesome. They help strengthen seams at points of stress, and make your handmade jeans look really professional. They are also really fun to install. There are generally two kinds: ring and nipple. Unless you have a rivet press, I would not suggest using nipple rivets. They are hard to install without special equipment. Ring rivets, however, can be installed using nothing but a hammer and cast iron frying pan (as we will see later).

Depending on where you buy your rivets, the backs will be either a hollow or solid metal post. I prefer the solid posts since they are easier to cut down to match the thickness of your denim. If you are planning on installing rivets you'll also have to pick up a wire cutter to trim them down.

Most of the sources below are for commercial quality hardware. You can also buy the kits at your local fabric store but I've never used them so I don't how the quality compares.

RIVET AND DENIM BUTTON SOURCES

- Tailor Taylor - this is a great source for all of your denim making needs; Tailor also carries zippers and topstitching thread. I've ordered rivets and buttons here and can vouch for the excellent quality.
- Cast Bullet - I haven't personally ordered from this company but I've heard great things about the quality. Lots of finish options.
- Grommet Mart - only for bulk orders but they also carry machines to install rivets and buttons.
- Thread Theory - They stock two different hardware and zipper kits - I love the colours!
- M. Recht (AUS) - This company has a great selection of rivets and buttons.
- Jaycotts (UK) - Kits only.
- Minerva Crafts (UK) - Kits only.

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What is Topstitching?

Marking Your Topstitching and Using Guides

Topstitching Thread Tips

Needles for Topstitching

Machine Feet for Topstitching

Stitch Length and Tension Tips

Perfect Topstitching Tips

Tips for Topstitching Heavy-Duty Fabrics

What is a Flat Fell Seam

Where to Use Flat Fell Seams

Flat Fell Seams vs. Faux Flat Fell Seams

Topstitching Tips for Flat Fell Seams

How to Sew a Traditional Flat Fell Seam

How to Sew a Faux Flat Fell Seam

Flat Fell Seams Video Tutorial

Practice Your Flat Fell Seams with These Patterns!

How to Draft a Pocket Stay

Supplies You'll Need to Sew a Stretchy Pocket

What is Power Mesh?

Cutting

Assembly

GRADING & PREPPING SEAMS

MARKING THE BUTTONHOLE SIZE AND LENGTH

BUTTONHOLE TIPS & TROUBLESHOOTING

SEWING A CORDED MACHINE BUTTONHOLE

SEWING A MANUAL BUTTONHOLE WITH A ZIG ZAG STITCH

SEWING A JEANS BUTTONHOLE BY HAND

You will need:

SUPPLIES NEEDED

UNDERSTANDING DENIM

APPLYING INTERFACING

RESTITCH THE WARP THREADS

RESTITCH THE WEFT THREADS

PARTY JEANS

BACK POCKET MAGIC

GREAT FIT

PERSONALIZATION

PATTERN HACKING

GINGER FLARES

How to Access Files

How to Access Files

GENERAL ADVICE FOR JEANS FITTING

WHAT IS GOOD FIT?

JEANS FITTING ADJUSTMENTS

SHORTEN CROTCH ADJUSTMENT

LENGTHEN CROTCH ADJUSTMENT

ROUND PUBIS ADJUSTMENT (AKA CAMEL TOE)

FLAT PUBIS ADJUSTMENT

FULL TUMMY ADJUSTMENT

FULL SEAT ADJUSTMENT

FLAT SEAT ADJUSTMENT

LOW BUTT ADJUSTMENT

SWAY BACK ADJUSTMENT

FULL THIGH JEAN FITTING ADJUSTMENT

THIN THIGH ADJUSTMENT

FULL CALF ADJUSTMENT

KNOCK KNEED ADJUSTMENT

BOW LEGGED ADJUSTMENT

ADDING REVERSE BACK POCKETS

HOW TO SEW FLY FRONT ZIPPER

PREPPING FABRIC

WAISTBAND OPTIONS

LINING

FUSIBLE INTERFACING

WAX ON, WAX OFF

ADD A FLY FRONT

PLAY WITH BACK POCKET EMBROIDERY

ADD AN ANKLE ZIP

FUN WITH THE GUTS

DISTRESS YOUR DENIM

THE BASICS

THE EXTRAS

ZIPPER

THREAD

JEANS BUTTONS

RIVETS

RIVET AND DENIM BUTTON SOURCES

Elevated sewing patterns to create the wardrobe of your dreams.

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