Papercut Patterns - Otsu Jeans

I decided the other day that I was up for a challenge and needed more jeans. I was torn between the Papercut Patterns, Otsu jeans and the Named Patterns, Jamie Jeans. In the end, after looking at reviews and other people's jeans, I went with the Jamie Jeans. I love the style lines and thought the seam in the back was going to be flattering.

I made a knee-length muslin just because I'm wary of all crotch curves that aren't Jalie or Burda. The front rise was a little long, so I pinched out about 1/2" across the front and then took about 1/2" from the same area on the back going to nothing at center back. Other than that small adjustment, they actually fit pretty well which shocked me. Overall, I think the front looks pretty good and I'm happy with them. 

The back needs work. I've always had an issue with pants bunching up under my butt between my butt and knees. I think it has to do with my thighs that are pretty muscular in the front and it pulls the fabric forward. I think these pants, in particular, have two issues for me. First, they are tight in the calves (and I have tiny calves so that's a first for me) and that's keeping them from sliding down my leg like they should. Second, there is too much fabric under the butt. Since these pants are split down the back, that problem should be easy to adjust. I plan to cut from the center to the side seam and overlap by about an inch. I think I'll make two different slashes and overlap them each 1/2". I think putting more width in the calves and removing that inch in the glutes should fix most of this. I lightened a few of the pictures so you can see the wrinkles better. 

Here you can see that the calves are tight and the wrinkles under the butt. I think (I'm hoping!!!) that my adjustments will work out. 

Overall, though, I think they are really not bad. I really like the design lines and the fit isn't half bad. I plan to make another pair with these changes. What do you guys think??  

And remember, there is a lot more content on IG. I've started using that for little things and only posting here for long explanations (like these jeans!). Here's an example. :) 

New Jalie Julia. This is a floral DBP and black FOE. I used clear elastic in the straps for a little more oomph. So comfy. . #jalielife #jaliejulia #jalie3886 @jalie_patterns #isewmyownclothes

A post shared by Dawn (@two_on_two_off) on Jun 20, 2018 at 4:59pm PDT

Jalie 3461–Another Pair of Eleonore Jeans!

People, it is feeling decidedly springy around here. I found this stretchy denim at Girl Charlle (Boo! It looks like there is only one yard left!) and knew it was destined to be these Eleonore pants. It has about 30% stretch in a beefy denim so they are super comfortable.

 

I went simple on the topstitching and pockets because I didn’t want them to be too much with this crazy fabric.

 

I did narrow the legs like all my other pairs and made them into skinny jeans.

 

I took extra time and serged the seams on the lower half of the legs so when I roll them up, they look decorative. I should have taken a picture, but I used bright orange serger thread to finish everything.

 

I used the same elastic treatment as this pair when I made the back elastic about an inch smaller than the back panel. This stops any swayback-ed-ness.

 

Hahahahaha, can you see any details?

 

I’m not sure if floral pants are in right now, but I love these!

 

I went simple with the back pocket and just used my coverstitch machine.

I have another two Jalie tops to show you and maybe an Ottobre dress (that one is in progress).

Another Pair of Eleonore Pants!

See? Look how excited I am!! This is my fourth (??) pair of these and I love them, love them, love them. I think I truly could live in the Jalie Eleonore Jean, the Jalie Dolman Top, and one of their cardigans (either this one, this one, or this one). I could make a whole mix and match wardrobe from just those patterns. That purple top is a Jalie Dolman top; I blogged about it here.

 

What can I tell you about these? Let’s see, the denim baaaaarely has enough stretch for this pattern. Getting them on makes me shimmy, but once they are on, they are comfortable. I did have to let the knees out on these pants after I made them because this denim is stiff. Like coated, stiff. This is denim I bought to make jeans with, forever ago. Like really, YEARS. AGO. It literally does seem coated with something that makes it slick and stiff. They are a chocolate brown and I think they will go with everything.

 

You can see there are lots of leg wrinkles near my knees. I think it’s mostly because it is so stiff. I’m hoping they soften up with repeated washings.

 

I did my double topstitching (front fly, inner legs, pockets, etc.) with my coverstitch machine. It’s just regular serger thread. The pockets, bar tacks, and hem are using white Gutterman upholstery thread and a topstitching needle.

Another versatile pair of jeans. I love this pattern!!!! I love them in this color too!!

Jalie 3461–The Éléonore Pull-On Jeans (<3!!!!!!!!!!)

Well, people, Jalie has done it again. Another OUTSTANDING pair of pants. Just like Jalie 2908, I predict this to be a winner for them and us. Jalie asked if I would do some pattern testing for them and I excitedly said yes (YES! YES! YES!!). I’ve had this pattern for a few months and have made several pairs (I did get it free). It’s been hard keeping a secret from you people for so long, so here goes. And yes, there are a billion pictures. I know when I’m looking at jeans on someone’s blog, I want to see all angles and look at all the parts reallllll good (the South has not worn off yet – imagine that with southern twang).

 

This was my first pair. They were originally more straight leg and I pegged them a bit to make skinny jeans. If you look here, it shows you exactly what I did. For reference, I took 3/4” from the side seam at the hem, tapering to 1/2” at the knee, and then taping to nothing. Jalie had a great graphic on this page. Mind that I have the world’s smallest calves. This is a stretch denim that I picked up long ago to make Jalie 2908. It’s too stretchy for “real” jeans, but perfect for these. I love them, I love them, I love them, I love them.

 

Figuring out the “right” length on skinny jeans is a big challenge I think. I like them this cuffed length and just above the ankles (I show that below).

 

See the slight back gap, I’ll show you how I fixed that below. Remember this was my “test” jean and I sewed it “straight outta the envelope” (or, off the computer printer). I was really pleased with the results. 

 

What are you doing, chickie, chick-chickens? They are peering up at me, hoping I’ll drop something down. They love me.

 

This fabric is from Joann’s. They have it now, I saw it just a couple of days ago. It’s a stretchy denim.

 

See? No butt gap and I’ve got a booty on me.

 

This is the other length I like; juuuust brushing my ankles. Another inch up might be cute too. These are tucked up under the pants to make them this length. The original pants are a little longer than this so you can scrunch them a little.

 

I should have done all the detail pictures on the blue pair. Squint and you’ll be able to see everything. Maybe.

 

On this pair, I knew I’d be cuffing them so I made sure to serge the seams to make them “right puuuuurty” when you look at them.

 

I used my coverstitcher for doing all the topstitching. It makes it go really fast.

 

I attach the waistband to the pants with two zig zags. That way, there is no chance that the waistband will pop when you pull on these to yank them up. You need a stretchy seam because this bad boy goes over your hips and then snaps back to your waist.

 

To solve the gaping issue in the blue pair above, I gathered, every so slightly the back waistband. So to make these unaltered, yoo have a front and back waistband and add elastic that is the SAME width to them, no stretching when you sew. For mine, since I knew about the butt gape issue (I have this issue with all things butt related), I marked the actual width (the white chalk line), and then pulled the elastic 1/4” further on each side, effectively gathering the waistband in by 1/2” It seems to work great and I can still get them on easily.

 

When you attach your elastic to the waistbands, make sure to use a stretch stitch like a zig-zag or coverstitch. It has to stretch to get over that booty and hips. You only see this stitching on the inside of your waistband.

 

This is the cropped length. I can’t figure out if another inch or two would be better. Like I said, length of cropped pants is sooooooo annoying. Then there’s heel height to take into consideration too.

 

OR maybe better this way? This fabric is also at Joann’s.

 

Smug bitch.

Okay, what else can I say about these pants?? They are AMAZING. They are comfortable, they are flattering, they fit with zero alterations (well, you can peg them like I did, or not), they come in all sizes from 2T to larger women’s. I think I can even get a little girl pair out of the remaining purple/black and red/black fabric.

 

DO YOU LOVE THEM??? I love them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jalie 2908 - Version RED

First off, sorry for the picture-heavy post. I just love my RED PANTS and I hope you do too!!!!!!!!! Oh, and happy Easter for those who celebrate. We had zero kids for this holiday so we took it easy and I may, ahem, have gotten some quality time with my girls (AKA the sewing machines).

 

Okay, though, back to the important stuff. RED JEANS. I love them!!I’ll talk more about the tank in the next post tomorrow because I have some fun, fun news that goes along with the tank. These are the Jalie 2908 jeans which I’ve made many times before. I did, obviously, turn them into skinny jeans. Well, skinny-ish. They aren’t tight, tight, like real skinny jeans.

 

I did a simple pattern on the back pocket. I just love that I have RED JEANS!! This fabric is from Fabric.com. I bought it several years ago. It’s a beefy denim with 2% lycra.

 

Since I have figured out most of the fit issues years ago, there wasn’t much to modify except for the leg width. On my old Jalie jeans, I used the regular ol’ straight waistband and, instead of attaching the two waistbands together at the back, I added a dart so the waistbands formed a V at the back. You can see it on my older versions down below. On this RED version, I changed it up and created a shaped waistband that fits me with no V in the CB. 

 

See? No gap at the CB!

 

The last thing for me to figure out fit-wise is I always get these loose wrinkles between my butt and knee. It’s like the back of leg is shorter (and needs less fabric) than the front of my leg. Of course, that makes no sense. But, how would I take length out of that part of my pants without affecting the front fit? Seems weird to me. Either way though, I’m really happy with my jeans. I love the contrast of the white thread.

 

I used white Gutterman upholstery thread for the topstitching and I used my Necchi for all the topstitching.

 

For the pockets, I just did two rows of straight stitches with a zigzag in the middle. Thinking back, I should have done some non-horizontal line. Duh, let’s point out the fact that skinny jeans make me look like a badminton racket!

 

I used a fun Hawaiian cotton print for the pockets, fly extension, and inner waistband.

 

Here’s the modified waistband. To make the waistband, I sewed on a straight waistband with a basting stitch, then pinned out the darts, and changed them on my paper pattern. Then I cut the real waistband. When I cut the waistband, I smoothed out the curve a bit.

 

I used my Greist buttonholer to make the buttonhole. Works like a charm every time!!

 

My very first pair of Jalie jeans! (From 2009!! EEK!)

 

See? Same gathering issue under the butt. See the V at CB?

 

 

My most favorite pockets.

 

I liked these pockets a lot too.