Mock-Designer Jeans

I absolutely adore dark-denim jeans, so when I saw my friend's pair of True Religion jeans I was smitten. I was not, however, smitten with the price-tag. So I decided to make my own!

I borrowed Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe from my local library and used the pants pattern to construct my own slim-fitting bootcut jeans. Unlike many sewing patterns these days, I found the sizing to be fairly accurate. My measurements said I would be a size 6 and the fit was perfect. Often when using commercial sewing patterns, I make the size I'm meant to be, only to find out that the garment is way too big and then I need to do a whole bunch of extra work to take it in - arg!!!!

The real secret behind these jeans was my careful use of white top-stitching as a contrast with the dark denim. I stitched the entire garment together using regular navy coloured thread, but finished all the top-stitching using a heavy white embroidery thread. This was my first attempt at making a pair of pants with a waistband - and it's also only the fourth time I've successfully put in a zipper. Needless to say there are a few weird things going on around the fly area, but my stepmom suggested that using a bar-and-hook closure would probably be better than a traditional button, so that helped things to be a bit smoother.

I absolutely love these jeans. I've worn them out and about a couple of times and have gotten several compliments on them. After people say they like them, THEN I tell them that I made them... That seems to impress them more, ha ha ha!

Hubby and I went to Vancouver last weekend and all the cherry blossoms were out - BLISS!