Mirroring Suzy Bee Sews - Life So Strange It Should Be Fiction

Another pair of jeans, I've been wearing my first pair heaps lately. Same as last time; Added 1" to the inner leg seam on the front pattern piece. Adjusted the side seams - I have hyperextended calves and they were dragging the side seam backwards so I added to the back and took from the front to straighten it up. Changed the front pockets to a pocket stay. Shaped the side seams I did a couple of construction changes - I followed my fav zipper tutorial and serged the waistband facing instead of turning under (just helps to reduce bulk with a heavier weight denim). Shaped the waistband to be more curved to stop the gape at the back. Also I added elastic to the waistband to help stabilise/stop stretching out. Took in the side seams as my purple denim was very stretchy Plus I took length out of the legs at the knees from where I had originally added it and I also took some height out of the back rise, again from where I had added it. I used a pu...

I was lucky enough to pattern test these, I know there was a bit of controversy over pattern testing and bloggers always saying nice things about the new pattern but I can honestly say I love these jeans! I've always stuck to wide leg jeans, they were the only type that would ever fit over my thighs and I had a couple of horrible change room experiences that cemented the no-skinny jean rule firmly in my mind! This is why I love to pattern test though - it pushes me way out of my comfort zone and into clothes I might not normally sew or wear. This is my first ever pair of stovepipe/skinny leg jeans and I am a convert! So the pattern: These are View A with the stovepipe leg. I made a size 18 (the test pattern was pretty generous - by my measurements I should be a sz20. This has been corrected on the finished pattern though). I muslined them up in cheap denim first and made a few adjustments; Added 1" to the inner leg seam on the front pattern piece. Ad...

I've been loving all the ginger jean variations and really liked Gillian's article about turning them into pull on jeans with an elastic waistband. Same adjustments as last time. I used bengaline from Spotlight and sewed them up the same as normal, the bengaline doesn't actually have as much stretch as my last denim pair so I let the side seams out through the thighs and hips. I'd taken out a side seam wedge last time too and it was a bit much so the pants feel a little twisted, I'm halving it for next time. In Gillians tutorial she says to add extra length so the waistband hits at the natural waist. Really take notice of this because I didn't originally and they looked like wrinkle city. Once I unpicked it and added a new waistband with an extra 2" in height they are not trying to creep upwards anymore and are sitting a lot better! I added rivets in an attempt to look more jeany (is that even a word?) I really like them with my ...

I got the email through about Papercut's new patterns the other day and I loved the new pair of jeans they have released. I was thinking all day about downloading them and how I could adjust them using my Ginger jeans pattern so they would fit and end up being a pair of Ginger jeans with front zippers.......then I mentally slapped myself and hacked up my Ginger pattern instead! I think of these as a homage to that Papercut pattern and also a pair of Just Jeans that I saw in the shops recently. According to the daughter, jeans with zipper pockets are 'in' right now (oh god I feel old!) Adjustments; Sz 18 Added 1" to inner leg seam on front pattern Added a pocket stay Hyperextended calf adjustment Changed the shape of the front and back pockets Slimmed the calf from the knee down. My zippers work, but they don't actually go to a pocket, I did think about making them fully functional but realised I wouldn't use them so didn't bother. ...

I love sewing my own jeans and I love how much better they fit than rtw, but geez I wish there were more denim options than plain dark denim. So what do you do when you want a pair of light denim or distressed jeans? You play with bleach/sandpaper/scissors! I made a couple of samples; Bleach; Sandblasting (which made no real difference, I used my husbands sandblaster but he has a very fine sand in it so I imagine a coarser sand would work better?); Sandpaper and bleach; The pattern is my TNT Ginger Jeans, shortened into above knee shorts. Same adjustments as usual (sz 18, added to inner leg 1", wedge taken from outer leg and extended calf adjustment plus I added a pull on waistband like my last pair) To get the distressing I did some sandpapering before topstitching, then put the shorts on and marked with chalk the common wear areas. I made a half and half solution of bleach and water in a spray bottle, which I sprayed onto a rag and scrubbed into the fabric (gives a lot more cont...

  Ginger shorts (jorts?). My daughter has a pair of piping hot shorts that has some design features that I wanted to copy, they have bright pink serging that's exposed with the cuff turned up plus a bright pink topstitched back pockets. I tried to get the same feel with these shorts but I don't think I went quite far enough and the single topstitched back pocket just looks odd to me now.   Nothing new fit wise (same as the last pair of jeans , I did notice excess on the side of my leg that didn't show up in my jeans so I've adjusted the pattern for next time.   The fabric was a remnant scrap from a garage sale, just managed to squeeze the shorts out of it and the pocket bags are a quilting cotton from my stash.