Early Spring (Ginger Jeans)

Last fall I did something super scary to me: I made jeans! Indiesew was stocking some amazing denim, and the Birkin Flares were already in my cart, and then they also had a jeans hardware kit, and … it just happened. Overall, it really wasn\’t as scary as I thought it would be (besides the part–luckily fixable–where I made them a size too small and couldn\’t get them over my hips let alone zipped). So when Indiesew brought in a new collection of denim this spring, I knew I\’d have to make another pair of jeans! 

These are the high waisted Closet Case Gingers in Indiesew\’s 10 oz Stretch Denim Dark Indigo (now sold out but they do have a lovely 9 oz slub denim with similar stretch). I love the high waist on my Birkin Flares and my Gertie stretch pants; there\’s no fear of your pants creeping down when you bend over. I actually wish they were about 1\” taller–they don\’t quite cover my navel, which is where they are supposed to hit, according to Heather Lou. Next pair I\’ll lengthen the rise so that I can wear them with my little crop tops. I might also hack together the high rise with the slim, not skinny, legs–I actually didn\’t even realize there were two leg options! 

Even though I love them the same, I predict these skinny gingers are going to get a lot more wear than my Birkins–firstly because they are much stretchier, and secondly because they don\’t need heels. We\’ve had a series of gorgeous days here in Durham and I\’ve been making the most of it by spending time in the lovely outdoors soaking up the warmth of the sun, visiting the dog park, and opening up all our windows. I\’ve been living in these come the weekend, paired either with this mariniere or layered up a bit more with a collared shirt and cotton sweater when it gets cooler in the evenings (it is February, after all!). Little boat shoes, an L. L. Bean tote, and a scarf from my small collection of vintage Vera complete the (rather summery) look! 

A few more sewing/fitting notes for y\’all:

• This is the pocket placement suggested by the pattern, I like it. The subtle curve on the pocket pattern is really flattering–Heather Lou knows what she\’s doing.
• I love the pocket stay! I now want to add a front stay into all my pants sewing projects.
• Next time I\’ll make a swayback adjustment or grade to a six in the waist, I haven\’t decided. As I said, I am a 4/6 in Closet Case with a 26/27 waist but I think based on previous sewing that I am thinner in the back waist than in the front(? ugh, sewing problems) so an 8 plus a swayback adjustment might be best. What would you do?
• These jeans are drafted for someone 5\’5\”. I\’m 5\’7\” and took about an inch off the bottom for this slightly-cropped length. Something to keep in mind. 
• I made a 8 waist graded to a ten in the hips, and then I took in the waist about an additional inch just by easing the back into the waistband (although I\’m not sure if my fabric stretched out, or…). A note for my fellow pear shaped ladies: I don\’t feel like I am as aggressive a pear as the Closet Case measurement chart seems to believe: measuring about 33.5/26.5/38 I\’m a 4/6 in the bust and waist and a 10 in the hips, and for my Sophie Bikini I actually made a 0 top. Sewaholic this is not; you are forewarned! 
• Although I had a leftover button from my Indiesew jeans kit, I went ahead and purchased the hardware kit from Closet Case Patterns since they had this pretty gold I couldn\’t resist! They also have a copper kit that was out of stock when I purchased my kit but is so so pretty. Overall, though, I do think that I prefer bar tacks to rivets.

xoxo,