Morgan Jeans
Last year, I started sewing some pants. Pants were something I was afraid to sew before because I thought the fitting was too tricky. So just like outerwear sewing I started in the last couple of years, sewing pants feels like such an accomplishment!
Sewing pants and fitting pants, can be tricky. But there're a lot of resources and references out there and there're even workshops (which I really would love to take but there's none where I live.)
So I decided to dive in. After all, I can't get any better if I don't try.
Last fall, I finally bought two jean patterns by Closet Core Patterns; Morgan Jeans and Ginger Jeans. They're both super popular and I've seen so many beautiful makes on internet.
I also bought "Sewing Your Own Jeans Book" by Closet Core, it's a PDF jean sewing guide book. (*Update: I don’t think they sell this anymore, but they have an online workshop.)
They also have free tutorials and sewalongs on their blog, I'm always so amazed and grateful how indie designers provide us so much learning tools.
First, I decided to give a "Morgan Jeans" try. Morgan Jeans are slim boyfriend jeans for non-strech denim. I've been wanted to find a pair of boyfriend jeans! I bought the fabric from Blackbird Fabrics, my favourite Canadian online fabric store.
If you thought they look oddly short, I did too! I'm 150cm (4'11) tall and I have short legs... and that's exactly why I'm trying to sew my own jeans because it's just too hard to find any RTW jeans that fit.
The Morgan Jeans pattern and the Closet Core tutorials did not disappoint. It's my first time sewing a pair of jeans but I had no trouble putting them together. It's a great pattern!
I love the details like coin pocket. Makes it look really like jeans, don't you think?
I bought hardware (a jean zip, button, and rivets) from Closet Core Patterns. I'm so happy that they carry nice, quality hardware because my local fabric store doesn't really have what I like.
I did ok on installing the button, but it needed a lot more force than I expected. I'm too afraid that I wouldn't succeed on installing rivets and ruin the whole thing, so I left the rivets out for now.
So I looked at a lot of fancy back pocket stitch designs, and while fancy stitches are nice, I felt like there's nothing better than the clean and simple pockets.
I made a muslin before I cut out the real fabric, and I did baste the real thing to check the fit. But they're still not perfectly fitted and that's totally fine, here's why:
Heather (pattern designer of Closet Core Patterns) posted videos on her Instagram stories while ago saying that we don't need to make the fit perfect.
She said something like "trying to make them perfect isn't fun because it'll almost never be perfect. You can always make improvements but they don't need to be perfect. It's more important to finish your project, wear it, and enjoy it."
That is so true! I'm so happy that she encourages us to have fun and enjoy wearing the clothes we make.
So while I'm planning on making more improvements in the future, for now, I'm going to enjoy wearing my first pair of jeans that I made! (But first, I might need a belt, I haven't bought one for a loong time. Anyone knows a good brand for a simple nice belt?)
I'm not a person who is confident with one's figure, I'm the opposite.
So why do I share photos that show my figure? Because I enjoy seeing what other people make and their modelling photos are something I look forward to seeing the most. Because clothes are meant to be worn.
I strongly believe that the clothes we make shine the most on us, not on a clothing hanger, not on the floor, not on a dress form, but on us!
I'd love to communicate with people who enjoy the same hobbies as I do by sharing what I make! I love to share our inspirations.
Taking photos like these also helps finding fitting issues. For example with these jeans, when I looked at the photos, I noticed the legs could have been a little more slim. I think I could shorten the length a bit more too.
But anyways, I am really really happy that I finally made a pair of jeans! Achievement unlocked!
Jan 21, 2018
