Feb 5, 2015

A Bottom-up(ish) Pair of Gingers

A Bottom-up(ish) Pair of Gingers



        I've made jeans! I've made jeans! I've made jeans!


Ginger Jeans


        Fabric:
        The awful denim I've made these in is one of the fabrics part of my #badfabricspledge. Before washing, was thin and quite stiff, without an apparent texture (looked waxed somehow) and dark grey blue in color. Then I washed it. Terrible. Lost all body, sheen and discoloured in long streaks. I had to dye it twice to get an uniform coloration - environmental impact: 1000!


Ginger Jeans


        Pattern&Fitting:
        The pattern is the Ginger Jeans pattern by Closet Case Files. It includes two versions a low waist stovepipe leg and a high waist skinny leg. I cut this last one in a size 10. It's the size that gives the finished garment measurements around the same size as my actual hips and not knowing how stretch my denim really was I wanted to have enough fabric to be able to fit them without unnecessary headaches. I also added 2 cm to the crotch seam allowance. I basted them, put them on, pinned the excess fabric at crotch, inseam and at the sides, then modified the pattern and trimmed away the excess fabric at the edges. Overall I think I downgraded to about a size 4 but I left the lower leg a size 10.


Ginger Jeans Ginger Jeans


        Mods:
        What's up with the yoke?
        Here comes the bottom-up part.
        Bottom-up is a line developed by Liu Jo. It's a "process" consisting in the use of an inverted yoke and a hip dart and it's supposed to give “better” fit and shaping (especially to those of us not sporting much booty). I do not own a pair of their jeans but the construction scheme is common knowledge so I figured I should try it. My results are not perfect and I need to refine the whole thing - for instance I think I'll have to raise the center back some more; only did it for 1 cm and it’s not enough. I want the yoke line to be more curve. I Intend to publish sooner rather than later more on the yoke whys and hows but the highlights are: invert the yoke piece left to right, create a hip dart to compensate for the extra side length, fix/redraw/true the waistline whatever works for you. In theory the whole thing is a bit more complex but this is the quick and dirty hack version.
        I also lowered the total rise resulting in a mid-rise version.


Ginger Jeans


Ginger Jeans


Ginger Jeans


        Side-by-side comparison with a very popular, average priced RTW brand I will not name pair of jeans. I chose the pair with the most similar fit and feel.


Ginger Jeans


Ginger Jeans


Ginger Jeans Ginger Jeans


        The Good:
        “Me: What do you think?
        Him: I think you should keep it…
        Me: What?!
        Him: The ass… “
        I guess the above dialog sums it all up pretty well.

        The Bad:
        Where do I start?!
        The fabric, besides not being a very nice fabric has no stretch recovery that you can speak of. You get out in the morning wearing a pair of skinny jeans and get back in the evening wearing classic jodhpurs. I think this lack of stretch recovery is also the main reason behind the drag lines around the knee and at the back of the leg - will see with the next pair.
        The stitching quite frankly sucks. I had the bad idea to use a triple stitch to do the topstitching (although my sewing machine works with common jeans thread just fine) and had to use the walking foot to avoid stretching and shifting. BTW the Bernina walking foot is huge. If you think sewing curved lines with this settings might be at least annoying try to imagine sewing parallel curved lines. With all of my 5 minutes long sewing experience. Yep. Tough. Never again….
        The back pockets - waaay too low!
        The front closure needs improving. Looks just like the RTW but I am not making RTW. RTW I can buy!!!

        Useful stuff Ginger/jeans making related:
        The sewalong - an excellent complement to the already excellent instructions; full of tips, tricks and ideas.
        Great Gingers of the blogosphere: Ginger Makes, Sew Stylist, Love Lola, Vivat Veritas, So I sewed this and so many others … ask google!
        A Craftsy Class: Sewing Designer Jeans with Angela Wolf. Took this one a while ago when I made my Turia Dungarees. I like her construction order and other little things like adding the back pockets after having topstitched the back seam to be able to place them at the same distance from the topstitching line.
        A Threads article on basic jeans fitting.


Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans


        Ps. With the help of very sophisticated technology I managed to record Eli(the lab)’s thoughts:
        “… are you 100% sure about this? Not to be rude but …. how many pictures of your butt can people take!!! I’m gonna do you a solid and make a guest appearance! Don’t worry … you loving me it’s all the reward I need …”
        either that or:
        “… YAY! You’re dressed! Let’s go out! I’m ready!!!… hellooooo … I’m heeeeere … I’m doing a darn good heel here… on my own!!! … can you hear me alright?! … are you blind!? … I’m RIGHT here! Let’s go already you self absorbed …”

        UPDATE/DISCALIMER
        The Buttom-up thing (watch the Liu Jo promo here) does not a bigger derrière make. It redistributes volumes: from a pear (flatter) tush towards an apple shaped one. The fact that it seems to appear bigger in some pictures is due mainly to my fiancee (straight male) being forced behind the camera. He kept zooming on the thing - let’s call it a psycho-optical-illusion ;) .



Thank you for visiting. I would love to hear your opinion.

Ginger (quasi) Bottom-up Jeans



        Ho cucito jeans! Ho cucito jeans! Ho cucito jeans!


Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans


        Tessuto:
        Il denim terribile che ho utilizzato faceva parte del mio impegno #badfabricspledge. Perché dico terribile?! Prima di lavarlo era sottile, abbastanza rigido, di un colore blu grigio scuro e senza una texture apparente - sembrava quasi cerato. Dopo il lavaggio ha perso tutto il corpo, la lucentezza ed è stinto a lunghe righe (nervature). Ho dovuto tingerlo due volte per rendere il colore uniforme. La Coloreria:1 - Ambiente:-1000!


Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans


        Cartamodello e Adattamento:
        Il C.M. è il Ginger Jeans di Closet Case Files (in inglese). Include due versioni: una a vita bassa e gamba dritta e una skinny a vita alta. Ho tagliato la taglia 10 di quest’ultima. E’ la taglia che da una circonferenza fianchi del capo finito quasi pari alla misura reale dei miei fianchi. Come sapevo di doverlo adattare e non sapevo quanto elastico fosse il mio denim ho pensato tagliarlo più grande una buona idea. Meglio tenersi larghi! Inoltre ho anche aggiunto 2 cm in più ai margini di cucitura già inclusi nella zona cavallo. Li ho imbastiti, indossati e impuntato l’eccesso di tessuto nella zona cavallo, interno gamba e ai lati. Ho modificato il C.M. e rifilato i bordi dei miei pezzi. In tutto penso di essere scesa fino alla taglia 4 circa ma ho lasciato la gamba (dal ginocchio in giù) misura 10.


Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans


        Modifiche:
        Cosa succede con la baschina dietro?
        Questa è la parte che riguarda il Bottom-up.
        Il Bottom-up e un linea sviluppata dalla Liu Jo. E’ un “processo” che consiste nel impiego di una baschina invertita e di una ripresa sul fianco e vuole dare “migliore” vestibilità e forma. Non possiedo un paio dei loro jeans ma lo schema costruttivo è semplice perciò ho pensato: perché non provare! Il risultato non è perfetto e devo lavorarci ancora - per esempio dovrei penso allungare ancora la linea del centro dietro, l’ho allungata solo di 1cm e non basta. Vorrei dare più curvatura alla linea della baschina. Scriverò più in la un’articolo più dettagliato sul perché e come ma per il momento posso dirvi che in sostanza ho invertito la baschina destra-sinistra, ho formato una ripresa sul fianco per compensare la lunghezza laterale e ho sistemato/ridisegnato la linea vita. In teoria il tutto è più complesso ma questo è un “hack” veloce.
        Ho anche abbassato un po' la vita.


Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans


Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans


Closet Case Files Ginger Jeans


        Comparazione fianco a fianco con un paio di jeans RTW di una nota marca che non nominerò. Ho scelto il paio che meglio si assomigliava dal punto di vista della vestibilità e del aspetto.


Sewing Jeans


Sewing Jeans


Sewing Jeans


        Mi piace:
        “Me: Cosa ne pensi?
        Lui: Penso dovresti tenerlo …
        Me: Cosa?!
        Lui: Il culo…”
        Penso questo piccolo dialogo riassume abbastanza bene la cosa.

        Non mi piace:
        Da dove comincio?!
        Il tessuto, oltre a essere non molto bello, non ha una buona ripresa elastica, anzi. Esci la mattina indossando un paio di jeans skinny e torni la sera in un paio di pantaloni classici da cavallerizza. Credo che questa mancanza di ripresa elastica sia anche il motivo dietro tutte quelle pieghe attorno al ginocchio e dietro gamba - vedremmo il prossimo paio.
        Le cuciture non sono affatto belle. Ho avuto la pessima idea di utilizzare un punto triplo per fare le impunture (anche se la mia macchina non ha nessun problema a cucire con il filo per jeans) e un piedino a doppio trasporto per evitare deformazioni. A proposito: il piedino doppio trasporto della Bernina è enorme. Se pensate che con queste impostazioni cucire linee curve sia fastidioso immaginatevi cucire linee curve parallele! Con i miei 5 minuti di esperienza nel cucito. Dura. Mai più …
        Le tasche dietro sono troooopo in basso!
        La chiusura davanti ha bisogno di essere sistemata meglio. Lo so che sembra uguale a quella del RTW ma io non sto producendo RTW. L’RTW lo posso comprare!

        Altro sull’argomento Ginger/jeans (mi dispiace tutto in inglese - se sapete dove si trova roba in italiano fatemelo sapere per favore :) :
        Il sewalong - una eccellente aggiunta alle già eccellenti istruzioni.
        Esempi di Ginger nella blogosfera: Ginger Makes, Sew Stylist, Love Lola, Vivat Veritas, So I sewed this e tanti altri ancora … chiedete a google!
        Un Corso Craftsy: Cucire Jeans di Designer con Angela Wolf. L’ho guardato un po di tempo fa quando ho cucito la mia Salopette Turia. Mi piace la sua sequenza di costruzione ed altre piccole cose come cucire le tasche dietro dopo aver impuntato la linea centrale dietro, per poterle piazzare a distanza uguale dall’impuntura.
        Un articolo su Threads sull’adattamento di base dei jeans.


Sewing Jeans


        Ps. Attraverso tecniche complesse sono riuscita a registrare i pensieri di Eli (il labrador):
        “… ma sei proprio sicura? Non vorrei sembrare scortese ma… quante foto del tuo didietro può sopportare la gente!!! Ti do una mano io e faccio un cameo nelle foto! Ahhh no … non ti preoccupare… il tuo amore mi basta come compenso…”
        o questo oppure:
        “ OOOO che bello! Ti sei vestita! Andiamo fuori! Sono pronto! …. aloooo … sono qui… sto facendo “piede” alla perfezione qui … da solo!!!! … eeeeiiii mi veeeediiii!? …. sei sorda?!… Sono QUI! Smettila di pensare solo a te stessa e andiamo….”



Grazie della visita. Mi piacerebbe moltissimo sentire la vostra opinione.

81 comments:

  1. These are excellent, especially for a first go! And the bottom up yoke tips are brilliant - I would never have thought of that, but when I get round to making my Gingers I will definitely be trying this!

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    1. Thank you Jo! Many people are not aware but there are actually six types (or more counting variations) of back jeans yokes. They are not very difficult to draft or adapt and every one of them give a different fit and shaping. Why not try. Right now I'm having fun with the inverted yoke. I already have enough jeans with v-shaped or wide yokes. ;)

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    2. Is there a source or book on these different techniques? I'm dying to know!

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    3. Hi Siara, you can find information on yokes design in any good pattern making book I guess ... I am actually compiling info from several drafting and fashion history books - hope I'll be able to publish it soon - these days I,'m so pressed for time unfortunately :(

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  2. I think you are being too harsh. Apart from the pockets which could sit a little higher they look like a great fit to me and I can't wait to see what you make next when you get denim you are happy with !

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    1. .. ah... the pockets are a disaster and are the result of me forgetting tu update the markings after fitting. Stupid right!? I love denim and right now I'm desperately looking for some good quality black stretch denim here in Italy. I would have never thought it to be so difficult to find!

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    2. When I first saw this post I thought the pockets were totally intentional and I loved it FYI ;)

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  3. You are too funny, and you dog has a great vocabulary! I agree with Kirsty, they seem a great fit, just shift those pockets, try some higher quality denim and it'll be all good. :) That bottom up yoke thing is inspired. What a clever fix! I, however have booty, so I'll stick with the usual way.

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    1. I completely agree... your booty needs no fixing ;)

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  4. I agree with the others - from the front the fit looks wonderful. Probably the best I've seen. The pockets do need to come up, and your yoke changes are so interesting! Don't you hate sucky top stitching? I'm hating my current top stitching project..... your girl is very cute - love a black lab!

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    1. sucky topstitching sticks out like a sore thumb especially on some crucial parts; and even if you manage to avoid those crucial parts it is still like that tiny cut on your lip - it wouldn't be much except you keep going there!

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    2. "hey dude! I'm a boy"
      signed Eli the lab

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  5. You're such a perfectionist. These have super great fit. Especially for a first go. Get some better denim and they'll rock even more..

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    1. Thank you Annika! Do you know by any chance of online german shops selling good denim? - if you don't mind me asking...

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  6. Despite your issues with fabric and stitching, these look great! The fit is fantastic. I'm definitely going to refer to your fitting notes when I make a pair. The hip dart is really interesting to read about, I hadn't heard of that before.

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    1. Thank you Bella! The hip dart can be sometimes found in good quality non stretch leather pants.

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  7. These are really great don't worry about pocket placement - it's a design feature right?!! I loved the comment about the jodhpurs - i nearly lost my tea... also I would be very interested in your post about the construction though sounds an interesting way to make up the yoke! x

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    1. ... of course it is!!!! I am still researching the yoke thing - there are six or more yoke designs out there but because they are not so "mainstream" it is not easy to find material on them. xo

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  8. Sasha, i tuoi primi jeans sono bellissimi!! Grandissima, sei incredibile! Sono veramente curiosa di conoscere meglio come funziona la costruzione del bottom-up, anche se l'idea di cucire un jeans al momento mi spaventa abbastanza. Però può tornare utile in futuro ;) Davvero complimenti ancora!

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    1. Grazie Martina! Guarda che non c'è chissà quale grande filosofia cucire i jeans. Per essere sincera inserire correttamente una manica a giro con lentezza è più difficile di qualsiasi passaggio coinvolto nel confezionamento dei jeans. E per quel che riguarda la vestibilità (il fit) il jeans sopratutto se in stretch denim perdona molto!

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  9. These are FABULOUS! I am looking forward to your posts on this yoke, because I would love to have my pear shape converted into an apple!!

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    1. Thank you Gail - i'm glad you like them :))
      (read the following part in a fashionista's affected voice)
      I heard that this year pears are out and apples are in ... like totally dude!

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  10. If I could touch the fabric, I'd probably understand your concern, but from the pictures they look great! Especially in comparison with a RTW pair. Trousers/Jeans require special approach and treatment, and you've clearly succeeded. I am so willing to send you some of my booty :)

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    1. I should start a hashtag #gimmeyourbooty - I heard Curves Are Back ... since 2009!!!! to quote the same LiuJo
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_br1HBvzs
      XO

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  11. altro che RTW: son perfetti!!! e poi comunque le tasche messe così sono forti un sacco!danno una fantasia degna di nota ai tuoi ginger!!!a parte tutto, le pieghe dietro si equivalgono a quelli del RTW e il colore (natura ci dispiace, ma era necessario :D!) è MERAVIGLIOSO! se mai farò un paio di jeans (al momento direi proprio di no!) ti scrivo, o meglio, ti leggo, perchè, come al solito, ci sai a pacchi (come si dice qui da noi!traduzione=di quello che parli, ne hai una grande conoscenza!)!un bacione stella e un bacione anche a Eli da parte mia!!

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    1. Grazie Niko! --- Sono riuscita a mettere le tasche così male che fanno il giro a 360 e diventano cool ;)
      Un bacione enorme (da parte mia -- dopo uno di Eli bisogna fare la doccia!)

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  12. ahaha che simpaticone il tuo cane =) Ma quanto mi piacciono questi jeans, come sempre sai stupirci con la tua bravura! Continua così =)

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    1. Grazie Sara :) - un bacione di cuore stella e fammi sapere come proseguono le tue avventure sartoriali!

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  13. These look fabulous! Yes the pockets are a little low but these still look great. I love the way that back yoke looks, especially as it curves around to the front. Looking forward to your post on that!

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    1. ... omg I totally missed your post on the jeans you've made --- my bad, my bad --- now I've got you on NetNewsWire so I won't ever again miss important info like there is a german etsy shop called Werkundstoff that sells organic stretch denim!!!!
      p.s. how awesome is that embroidery you made on the pockets!

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  14. Clearly I'm biased but the Gingers fit much better. LOOK AT THAT CROTCH! And I love that inverted yoke - so clever. I think the pockets could be set higher, but otherwise, these may be some of my favourite I've seen yet. As for the "Drag lines" - they are truly impossible to avoid in tight fitting pants. You actually have more of them in the RTW pair. Nothing to lose sleep over. And you butt looks awesome.

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    1. They do, don't they!!! For the pockets as you can imagine I forgot to update the markings after fitting - how stupid is that :O! I think you designed a very good pattern. Making the kind of mod I made on a poorly designed pattern would be masochistic. And although I am known for self inflicting pain now and then, having to deal with pieces that don't walk properly, randomly placed markings, poor seam-allowances can make the whole thing a mission impossible kind of thing. In the case of these brilliant Gingers the whole process of modifying the yoke construction, basting, fitting, modifying the pattern to reflect corrections and recutting the pieces took me 2-3 hours tops. So I guess I must thank you for avoiding me headache, stress and loss of time, you did a wonderful job!

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  15. Definitely beat ready to wear! And hilarious straight male perspective... Sounds just like something my husband would say.

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    1. ... oh men ... are soooo predictable! Have you made the Gingers yet?

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  16. belli belli belli!

    Vanessa Van
    http://vanessavanhandmade.blogspot.it

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  17. I love reading your posts !

    Your jeans are amazing, this "bottum-up" stuff makes a real optical effect on the booty, the "line" created by the yoke is raising up. What a good idea... Your pair are amazing ! Bravo !
    Congrats for your first pair, now, how many will you sew, mmmhhh ? It's a shame that good jeans fabric is so difficult to find, I look for kaki jeans for months here in France and can't find it :(

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    1. There's no stopping me now!
      Good jeans fabric is difficult to find in Italy to (at least in my corner of Italy) ... you would think, but no. Maybe there is an underground denim mafia. When I asked for black stretch denim, cotton not polyester, raw not washed, the shop keeper told me, and i quote ... "Oh noooo, we don't sell that stuff" - "stuff" !!!

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  18. I think you are too critical of yourself, but I suppose that is necessary for improvement. Although the pockets are too low, your jeans look great on you! By the way, those photos with your dog are absolutely priceless. What a handsome, alert, adoring creature!

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    1. Thank you Ann! The creature is so eager to please his mummy - at least when he is not busy sleeping, eating (or begging for food), and answering to countless pee-mails (he clearly has a better social life than mine) - so yeah he is so eager to please his mummy about 20% of the time ;)

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  19. At least in the pictures, they look great! All my favorite skinny jeans are from a Colombian brand (tns by Tennis) and they have the same "bottom up" yoke, but no hip dart. I will try to replicate it on my pair on Ginger (when I managed to approach the cutting table)!

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    1. There are at least 6 types of yoke designs but they are not very well known! I can't wait to see your take on the Gingers!
      p.s tns looks great - a bit hard to get ones italian hands on it though ;)

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  20. I think the fit looks fantastic. You're giving me hope, in fact, that I'll be able to perfect the fit on my jeans!

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    1. Thank you Morgan! Maybe I'm OCD but jeans are a very big part of my wardrobe as required by my lifestyle and I'm not willing to forget that for the sake of my blog. So I guess if I have to sweat buckets to get them proper I will - strangely, with these I did not!

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  21. You look awesome, dude! These are beautiful! I think your fit is really good. But oh, your pup! What a sweetie!

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  22. Don't worry about the fabric, it is better this way. when you'll make them in a more appropriate fabric all the lessons learned from this one will make the new pair perfect. The fit you achived is fantastic for a first try, apart from moving up the pockets I would sugest to make them in a smaller size.

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    1. Thank you so much Aida! I will definitely move them pockets :D !

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  23. Scream it from the rooftops! They look great - what a huge bummer about the quality of the fabric. Can see how it was a bit of an anticlimax after all of that hard work. I think you should be hugely proud over the fit and the stitching though - it looks really great and very worked through. An the pockets are cook - the fact that they are low makes it look like a design feature :) More gingers for the people!

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    1. More Gingers for the people! aye aye ! ... it's fun making jeans and jeans are at the core of my wardrobe. The pockets are so bad they do a 360 a turn cool ;)

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  24. Ahahah... i due possibili monologhi di Eli mi hanno fatta morire.. ! ma passiamo al jeans. Anche se la stoffa era scadente sei riuscita a fare un ottimo lavoro! Est magnifique! Non mi sono mai cimentata con questo tipo di lavoro ma mi hai fatto venire voglia di provare! ;) un abbraccio

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    1. Devi assolutamente provare! Anzi ... insisto! so che verrebbe fuori un capolavoro! Un bacione!

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  25. Yours look better than the RTW! Just move those pockets up and I think pretty much have a TNT! I'll be waiting to hear about the inverted yoke too. I'm very interested.

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    1. Thanks Tasha! they are less fun than yours though ;) I'm actively researching the yoke thing ...

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  26. Sono molto belli, io non mi cimenterei mai con un paio di jeans! Brava!

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  27. I really like the look of these, so am sorry to read about this issues that you had! Your "conversations" at the end cracked me up!

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    1. Thank you so much Alice! To be honest I sort of like having issues - I consider them challenges ;)

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  28. Hai cucito dei jeans! Brava!!! Il fitting è perfetto, ti stanno benissimo! È vero, le tasche vanno riposizionate, ma nient'altro. Questo pattern è sulla mia wishlist da un po', ma mi sto trattenendo perché ho paura di avere difficoltà a trovare dei tessuti denim adatti e di avere problemi con il fitting. E a proposito, ho letto solo ora la tua risposta al mio commento nel post precedente e sì, dobbiamo assolutamente organizzare un "fabric shopping spree"!!! :D

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    1. Grazie Tiz! Ho appena ordinato del tessuto dal lafabtessuti.com (non li conoscevo!) vedremmo come va ;-) ... ribadisco bisogna --- magari ci sentiamo via FB...

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  29. Your dog is so cute! the fit looks pretty amazing on your jeans. Actually better than the ready-to-wear, especially in the front. And I absolutely agree with you that there's no point in making something you can buy. The inverted yoke thing is really interesting, but I wonder about the lines when viewed from the side. The broken up lines of the RTW (from pocket to yoke) somehow seems more pleasing to the eye, but maybe it's just because that's what I'm used to ;) I love how you keep turning things upside down. You're so fearless!!

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    1. Thank you so much Sara :D !!!
      The way those lines are broken in RTW might not be motivated only by aesthetics but also by the technical construction aspects. Sewing through 6 layers of denim plus 6 layers of lining (double all up for topstitching) must be not so easy even at a production level - in any case would result in a big lump of fabric on your side and I don't think that is comfortable. I took advantage of the lighter denim (that I also hammered) - to see how it looked. In the pair I'm sewing right now I can't do it (the fabric it's too thick) so I just adjusted the cut of the front pockets slightly to break the line :)

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  30. These look amazing! Annoying that the denim is a bit rubbish, but really they look fantastic!

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    1. Thank you Helen! The thing is ... yes the fabric is lousy but they are really comfortable actually! :D

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  31. Incredible fit! The comparison with your RTW was brilliant, you must be very proud. And to get that far, create such a well fitting pair of jeans and be let down by the fabric is such a shame.

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    1. Thank you Winnie! I am not complaining - they are comfortable to wear and it's all experience building I guess ;) ...and having fun doing something that I like! It's not like spending.. I don't know.. 200€ on a pair of jeans and discovering upon first wash that fabric is rubbish - that would be annoying!

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  32. Everyone else said it already, but this is definitely a superb first go, and you know the next pair will rock! You've also got me very interested in alternate yoke shaping now... I just need to find one to suit my big bum/sway back combo. Take a look at myfabrics for denim, they are based in Germany with reasonable shipping - you can order samples too.

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    1. Thanks Katie ... coming from you means a lot - you made so many fabulous pairs of jeans! Myfabrics.com has an italian version called tessuti.com ! - I was in doubt about the high percentage of poly in their denim - but I've seen your polka dots ones and they look great. Can I ask you how did those age?

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    2. They are actually holding up really well, and don't bag out at all when wearing. I'm noticing a little bit of stress around some of the seams, but that could be because they're a bit tight :x overall I am happy with the quality.

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  33. I love your blog as much for the sewing as for your dry humor. And you can always win me over with dog pics ;-) I think the jeans are pretty great for a first try, the only "problem" I see is the pocket placement. As usual I admire your adventurous sewing spirit, I am still in the boring "I better sew this according to the pattern" phase.... Can't wait to see the next pair!

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    1. Thank you Ute... I knew there was a reason for me adopting two dogs ;) i keep hinting for a third but my significant other decided to put his foot down (arghhh) ... the pockets are terrible I know .... "self face slap"
      and ...
      Whaaaaaat ?! Are you kidding meeeeee! Ute and boring just don't go together in the same sentence! I actually printed and included in a mood board (for school!!!) your picture wearing the Anna dress!

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  34. Your jeans look great. I can't see the problems with the fabric, of course, but hopefully thus will help you perfect a pair in a better denim. I'm just about to make a pair of jeans and at this stage honestly don't understand the significance of the different yoke shapes. I'll need to start as is.

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    1. Thanks Anne! I guess I just looove to complicate my life ;) ... good luck with your jeans making :D !!!

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  35. Wow. I've been messing around with a similar yoke build, now I know what to call it. It just makes sense - the yoke would curve over and down to meet the pocket seam, and I would accentuate the 'heart shape' in back. Thanks so very much for the details!

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    1. You're so welcome SJ - I definitely need to lengthen the CB ... I decided to take baby steps ;) Thanks for visiting and of course taking the time to comment :)

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  36. These are awesome! It's too bad about the fabric, but also kind of good that you didn't use up a bunch of pricey yardage when you still want to tweak some things for next time. The fit is really, really great though! Maybe you can continue to play around with distressing and finishing techniques on these to disguise the bad fabric?

    hahaa, love the dog photos and internal dialogue... I'm also a dog mind reader ;)

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    1. Thank you Emily! - I definitely need to find a "creative" solution - chipping the color through sanding proves difficult though ... because I dyed the fabric (twice) the pigment doesn't sit anymore nicely on the fabric but penetrated the fiber ?!- ... the major problem though is the lack of proper recovery -I like wearing them they are very comfortable so maybe with wear the fabric will just loose completely its elasticity and I'll have a nicely fitting pair of boyfriend jeans ;)
      ps. I'm not alone then ... xo

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  37. Ciao Sasha per essere il tuo primo jeans devo dire che sei stata davvero brava!!! Dalle foto non si direbbe che siano così male... Io non sono una grande amante dei jeans, ne ho cuciti alcuni ma la cosa che fa rabbia anche a me è che il jeans che si trova in giro non ha la stessa consistenza dei jeans confezionati, spesso è troppo elasticizzato e cede veramente tanto. Credo che dietro ci sia tutto un sistema di lavaggi e passaggi industriali che noi sarte casalinghe non possiamo realizzare... Comunque davvero brava e ottimo colore che gli hai dato con la coloreria, mi piace molto!!!

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    1. Grazie Francesca! ... quello che fa rabbia a me e che il Candiani Denim e uno tra i migliori del mondo. L'ho fanno a Robecchetto con Induno in provincia di Milano ma se vuoi comprarlo puoi comprarlo online dall'America!!!! In Italia e praticamente introvabile!!!!!

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  38. These jeans are an excellent fit - Will you make them up again in a more well behaving fabric? They really look so much better than your RTW ones :)

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    1. Thank you Melanie! I'm right now preparing to cut my third pair :)

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