Sunday, November 18, 2012

On step 6/7 in the 12th hour?

J. Stern Designs jeans in progress day 2
Here are my back pockets sewn on!!  yay!  I used a twin jeans needle to stitch that curve...the design is copied from a pair of Eddie Bauer jeans I own.

Thanks again for your cheerleading support, I really appreciate it!

Here are some scenes from day 2 of the jeans:

I got stuck thinking about pocket ideas!  Designers put their name all over their clothes, right?  So why shouldn't I?   One idea I had was to have my first name on one pocket, my middle name on the other. But Dana has too many curvy letters for me to do free form on my sewing machine (I don't have an embroidery machine) and I was also thinking it might make me look a bit childish... however the idea is still in my brain so I think my next pair *will* have my name on the pockets!  I might even embroider it by hand....
J. Stern Designs jeans in progress day 2
 It really reminds me of a childhood memory--going to Disney World and getting the white sailor hat embroidered with my name on it--in thick jean topstitching thread like this!

I was a little worried when I saw how much larger the back of the jeans are compared to the front!
J. Stern Designs jeans in progress day 2
but they seem to be fitting well so far.
I used a lot of new-to-me (and not so new) tools.
J. Stern Designs jeans in progress day 2
from top-ish to bottom:
  • Angela Wolf clapper.  Bonnie bought it at the ASE but got home and realized she already had a clapper.  She sold it to me, yay!  Not that I really know what I'm doing with it.  From what I've read, you hit a seam with steam and then press the clapper on top to get a really nice finish? Yes?  No?
  • Wonder Tape:  this holds a lot of stuff in place while sewing--like the back pockets!  I'd never heard of it til Jennifer Stern's class at the ASE.  It is pretty wonderful.
  • Jeans topstitching thread:  I'm in love.
  • tailor's chalk in several colors:  bought these at the ASE.  SO much better than the chalk at Joann's b/c it's larger, you can hold it easily, it has a sharper edge and more colors!
  • Edgestitching foot:  In Jennifer's videos she shows how to use an edgestitching foot.  I had never used one til the ASE but it is very useful for getting those 1/8 inch perfect topstitching seams (well  as close to perfect as I can get for now!).  I bought an assortment of feet this past summer off ebay and the topstitching foot happened to be one of those feet!
  • Tracing wheel:  honestly have not used one of these for a while but used it for tracing the pattern onto the pockets
  • Jeans twin needle:  To make that curve on the back pocket
  • Hammer: to hammer thick seams so they go through the sewing machine easier.  Truly works and is fun to hammer too!
So I'm up to steps 6 and 7...of 10 in Jennifer's pattern.  I'm hoping to finish these tomorrow so I can wear them to lunch with my great aunt on Tuesday!  Yay for having the week off--this is a great start to my vacay!

p.s. to answer questions:
velosewer--Jennifer mentioned that having two machines makes the jeans construction faster, but I don't have a second machine, yet.  (Those italics are foreshadowing...)

L--Yes!  I want to sew a bunch of velveteen jeans and corduroy jeans.  

LinB: You've got me thinking about that black/green/white floral and some cigarette pants!

Be well!!

6 comments:

  1. These are looking very impressive Kyle.

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  2. These are a real time investment but will be so worthwhile.

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  3. Your jeans are looking amazing. I love the "Kyle" pocket... it's a great freehand job.. I'm impressed.

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  4. Kyle, I've been watching you create some wonderful things over these last few months. But these jeans may top them all. I wish I had the patience. Can't wait to see the final product.

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  5. I am just now catching up on all your jeans posts, and things are looking good!!!

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