Grey Gingers

Pattern: Closet Case File's Ginger Jeans
Fabric: 1 1/2 yd stretch cotton lycra sateen
Cost: $14

Well, I wanted to take better pictures, I really did. It has been fun to try to work on photography more for the past year, and Mr. Made is practicing his skills with a still camera, too. But sometimes you haven't posted the last five things you've made, it's dark every night when you get home, and you're getting your wisdom teeth out on Saturday and may have chipmunk cheeks for the foreseeable future. So I snapped some iPhone pics before happy hour last night and we'll call this one a done deed. Sorry if some of the detail is lost, as it really is helpful when you're trying to fit pants! 

The pants above are my second iteration of the Ginger Jeans, which mark another step forward in my quest for pants fitting. To make these, I curved both the yoke and the waistband by an additional 4 inches total to fit the shape of my bum. It may not look like I have a big booty, but there is a mean curve between the bottom of the yoke up to the top of my waistband. I held my breath as I sewed the back together and tried on the pants. It really did look a bit weird! But when I put them on the fit was much improved! It's a no wonder the original pattern didn't quite fit with my monumental back side. 

There are still some horizontal lines through the back of the pants, but the under-the-butt and behind-the-knee ones actually allow me to sit down, so those are staying. I could probably still do with taking some length out of the back for these though using this technique. I guess it's time to come to terms with the fact that I have swayback...

The fronts are looking great, except for the fact that I sewed the button a little off center. The only additional tweaks I would make would be to take the sides in about 1/2" at each side, and fix the twisting center leg seam, which you can see at my ankle. That part is my fault, as I didn't follow Heather's lines exactly when I made View A a skinny jean.  I also purposely left these pants a bit long as I have noticed my jeans tend to shrink in the wash, but I may shorten them if they don't. For my next pair, I'm also interested in making them about an 1" higher, so I may switch to View B and tinker with that. 

These have already been worn twice (this week) and are super comfortable. I get a ton of wear out of my handmade pants, so continuing to work on fit and technique has really been paying off. Next up, I think I'll try finding the perfect denim!

14 comments:

  1. you are a wizard with jeans! they look great. Good luck with the dental stuff.

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    1. A Beth stamp of approval! Thank you for the encouragement!

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  2. They look good. I'm planning on sewing my first jeans sometime this year so reading inspiring posts like yours makes me want to hurry it up.

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  3. Another great pair! I really have to try to make a pair with a non-denim like you have here.... I think I need a stretch khaki!

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    1. Yes! It's also how I try to get away with not-really-jeans-jeans ;)

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  4. I like the idea of sateen! They looks great. My Gingers look very strange when flat as well due to bum/waist adjustments, they work great on the body though.

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    1. Haha good to hear! I was thinking, there is no way this is going to look good... The more I think about it, the more obvious it is I have a swayback.

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  5. Nice! They look great. So far I've had no desire to attempt to make my own jeans. But seeing a pair of gingers in a sateen like this is changing my mind...

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  6. it looks so good on you!! great job :)

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  7. Wow, these turned out great! I really dislike making pants, so I'm always impressed with people who make them well -- like you. I've seen a lot of sateen stretch jeans in stores lately and I think they are so cool because they are a bit dressier than regular denim. I recently bought a higher-waisted jean and the fit felt much better in the back (I feel like I have a slight swayback too). Hope you've recovered from the dental work!

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    1. Thanks Jean! I'm sometimes bad at finding the perfect fabric, but I tried sateen stretch a year or so ago and it's been great - better recovery than some denims I've tried. I'm still a bit puffy from surgery, but good thing I've got a full internet of sewing to explore from the couch ;)

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  8. I'm making a pair of Ginger jeans myself right now. I love how yours turned out!

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  9. Well done you. I'm a lovin these Ginger jeans y'all are making. I am so adding them to my "to do list". I am sick of buying RTW jeans that don'f fit right!!

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  10. They look great! I've seen quite a few wonderful pairs of Ginger jeans floating around the blogsphere, and it's making me want to try them out :)

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