Wide-leg jeans

The jeans fitting/making saga comes to an end! 😅

These are the #mndawn jeans by @megannielsenpatterns, in view C. The pattern comes in two separate size ranges to fit 86-122cm and 107-147cm hips.

My measurements put me across 5 sizes. On my shorts version I had to do all kinds of crotch adjustments to get them to sit properly (and they still wedgie a bit) - by the end of it I still didn’t understand what I really need.

For this version I tried the #topdowncenterout fitting approach by @ithacamaven. I started by fitting a size 4 waistband on its own, and realized I want more ease for sitting. For my one-legged toile I cut a size 12 for my seated hip, and saw I need extra length for the curve of my back, and a lower crotch for my volume at the backside – these changes meant I didn’t have to alter the crotch curve. The inseam wants to pull a bit, that might be because my hips stick out somewhat compared to my knees/feet (next time I may try adjusting the balance like @thecrookedhem explains in their stories). I broke my stabbing-myself-with-pins record, and I wish I didn’t have to do so much just to make things fit my body – but so far the effort is always repaid 💯

I bought some beautiful rigid organic cotton denim especially for this project. I baste fitted to make final adjustments to the paper pattern, then cut out the rest of the pieces. Drama happened when I realized I forgot to add length to the fly pieces for the now-longer crotch… I patched in some extra at the bottom, it’s not visible from the outside and hardly noticeable on the inside - but patching it right there made it really hard to topstitch! I also didn’t sew my buttonholes very straight, so the buttons are sitting on the edge of the fly. And drama happened again when I accidentally punched 3 small holes because of fabric bunching when putting in rivets. I mended them with patches of denim scrap on the inside, and some wonky blue hand stitching on the outside. One day I’ll learn embroidery to make them cool/fun like @erinlewisfitzgerald does.

I’m tired after making/fixing so many mistakes, but so glad to finally have jeans that don’t squish my hips or gape at the waist!