Hi everyone! It’s been a wild two weeks over here… I turned 32, my mom got a hip replacement (she’s doing great!), and then I moved to a new house (which means NEW CRAFT ROOM coming soon!)! Lots of stuff going on, which meant less time for pretty much anything except packing and then unpacking. But I’m finally set up and settled in, and ready to get back to a more normal routine. This project is from last month’s Mood Sewing Network post, and I’m only just now getting around to having time to properly write about it – finally!
The most mind-boggling part about this post, I reckon, is that I MADE SOMETHING FOR SOMEONE ELSE. Clearly, that’s not me in these pictures! Although it’s my baby brother, so it’s bascially me with a beard haha. That being said, I rarely make anything for ANYONEEEE else, so this is a bit of a departure from my usual sewing. It’s been a long time since I’ve made something for a dude! Or anyone else for that matter haha.
My reasoning behind this project is pretty solid. Back around the holidays, I was wearing a reasonably new pair of Ginger jeans that I’d made for myself out of some really fabulous, really really really stretchy olive green twill. I love those pants and I’d still be wearing them right now if it wasn’t so damn hot outside! But I digress. Matt (little brother) noticed them and mentioned that he’s been looking for pants exactly like that for ages and he wished he had a pair, too. Now, Matt actually knows better than to ask me to make anything for him – he’s asked me millions of times and pretty much always gotten shot down – but I know he’s always wanted something handmade by me, his sister. His timing was good this time, though, as I’d just recently had the realization that while I loveeeeee sewing pants, I was kind of reaching a limit with what one person could reasonably wear during a season (I know I counted them, but I’m too scared to remember the exact number in my drawer. I think it was 19 D:). It was a good compromise, and I was in a good mood – so I agreed to make him his own pair.
Based on the style of pants he wanted, we decided on the Jedediah Pants from Thread Theory. I’ve never sewn with a pattern from this company – it’s primarily menswear, and remember, I don’t sew shit for no one else lolz – but I’ve followed them for ages and was excited to give them a spin! Rather than go by the sizing on the envelope, Matt supplied me with a pair of well-loved pants that had his perfect fit, and I used those measurements to choose his size. This ended up being a 32, although I think a 30 would have been better (but he is pleased with the fit, so whatevs! And don’t even get me started on the brain-bending behind making loose-fitting pants out of stretchy fabric. I don’t understand it, either!). I did not make any adjustments to the size or length – this is straight out of the envelope. I know they look short, but they are actually too long – Matt likes to wear weird socks and roll his pants to show them off, and we purposefully kept them long in case he ever wants to wear them to a more normal length. They can easily be re-hemmed!
The fabric is from Mood Fabrics, which I picked up when I was in NYC in March. I found the original olive fabric that I used for my pants there, and I was hoping there would still be some left when I came back. Unfortunately, that was not the case – but this one is fairly similar. It’s the exact same color (I actually wore my pants to the store to try to fabric-match, ha!) with about the same amount of stretch, but the fabric is quite a bit thicker. It’s almost spongey and there’s definitely a good amount of poly in it, as it doesn’t really press too well. Not my favorite fabric to work with, but doable!
As far as sewing the pattern, I only about half followed the instructions. I’ve made so many pairs of pants, I have a preferred order of steps and way of doing things. For example, I sewed the inseam before the side seams – this was for two reasons. One, it allowed me to flat-fell the inseam (Matt skateboards and he wears his clothes HARD, so they need to be as durable as possible), and two, I was able to baste the side seams and have him over for a quick fit before I finished everything and added the waistband. I also went my own way with the waistband insertion; I didn’t do that weird rolled thing that the instructions tell you to do (that shit makes absolutely no sense to me and if you’re confused, I can’t explain it. It’s witchcraft and I hate it haha), but instead just applied the waistband the same way you do for the Ginger jeans. I did opt to finish the facing edge with a length of bias, instead of turning it under, because it looks super cool on the inside now and that makes me happy.
Working with the fabric wasn’t terribly difficult, but like I mentioned, it didn’t really want to respond to pressing. I have found that with poly-rich fabrics – such as this one – it helps to use high heat and lots of steam (I have a shoe on my iron that protects my fabric – but if you don’t have a shoe, you’ll want to use a presscloth, else you gonna melt and/or scorch that shit), and then hold the pressed seam (or seam allowances) in place until they cool completely. One way to do this is with a clapper – or, if you hate waiting, you can do what I do and just pin them down. Easy and fast!
My favorite thing about making pants is all the fun ways you can customize them with topstitching – thread colors, designs, all that! Of course, Matt is a boring piece of shit and wanted NONE of that on his pants (jk ilu Matt)(but still, boring), boo! So we stuck with dark olive green thread – I used a single spool of all-purpose poly, and a triple stitch to get a nice thick topstitching line – and brown thread for the bartacks. The metal zipper and button are from the Garment District, from Sil Thread and Pacific Trimming, respectively.
I *was* able to have some fun with the inside! I used a plaid cotton that was in my stash (I think I got it from my Mamaw’s stash, actually haha) to line the pockets and add that bias trim around the edge of the waistband facing. It’s the same cotton that I used for the pocket bags of my olive pants, actually. Matt was actually pretty excited about how cool the insides look, which pleases me!
Because this is my little brother we are talking about, it was nearly impossible to have a normal photoshoot for these poor pants…
“Matt, smile or something.”
“Matt, turn around so I can get a photo of your butt.”
Anyway, Matt is thrilled with his new pants (in fact, the actual word he used was “stoked) and I’m happy that he’s happy! I hope he wears them until they fall apart – whether or not I make him a replacement pair, that is TBD. I think I’m all selfless-sewing’d out for the time being, ha!
Oh, and ladies, in case you were wondering… Matt is single 😛
**Note: The main fabric used in this project was supplied to me by Mood Fabrics, in exchange for my monthly contribution to the Mood Sewing Network!
LLADYBIRD 