74 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
74 lines
5.9 KiB
Plaintext
<figure>
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<img src="https://f000.backblazeb2.com/file/bsag-blog-imgs/ginger%5Fjeans%5F4%5Ffront.jpeg"/>
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</figure>
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<p>Jeans are among my favourite kinds of garments to make. I’ve had particular
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success with <a href="https://store.closetcorepatterns.com/products/ginger-skinny-jeans-pattern?variant=39419163672710">Closet Core Pattern’s Ginger Jeans pattern</a>, and made a <a href="https://www.rousette.org.uk/archives/latest-sewing-projects/">low rise
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version</a>, a <a href="https://www.rousette.org.uk/archives/ginger-jeans-2/">high rise version</a>, and even a <a href="https://www.rousette.org.uk/archives/gingers-for-cycling/">pair from waterproof softshell</a> for
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walking and cycling. Pair number 2 (the high rise pair) have been worn so much
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that the denim has worn through at the thighs, so it was time to make another
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pair. I’m getting better at keeping sewing notes with each of the patterns so
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that I can document how I’ve adjusted the pattern and what techniques I’ve used
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each time, so that I know what to do again and what to change next time. This
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time, I also had the blog post I wrote for reference, so I was confident
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that things would go fairly smoothly.</p>
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<figure>
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<img src="https://f000.backblazeb2.com/file/bsag-blog-imgs/ginger%5Fjeans%5F4%5Fback.jpeg"/>
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</figure>
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<p>And they did go smoothly for the most part. I bought some good quality
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denim with a bit of stretch from <a href="https://clothspot.co.uk">ClothSpot</a>, and I already had the right length
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zip, denim buttons and rivets and so on. Of course, I also had my wonderful new
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(to me) <a href="https://www.rousette.org.uk/archives/apparently-i-collect-sewing-machines-now/">Pfaff too</a>, and was excited to be sewing my first project on it. I must
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say that having a built in walking foot (IDT system) is brilliant for top
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stitching. It was so much easier to get even, straight top stitches, even over
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lumpy seams. I liked being able to store my stitch modifications in a personal
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menu too, as it meant that I could be much more consistent about it once I had
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tested out the settings that worked best.</p>
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<p>I took my time about the making, enjoying the processes now that I have made the
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pattern several times and know that it fits and what techniques work best. I
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used proper flat-felled seams for the first time on most seams, which conceal the raw edges
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inside the seam. The pattern instructions caution against using them on the
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front crotch seam (so I overlocked the edge on that one), and I also overlocked
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the outside leg seams. It is possible to flat-fell seams where you can’t lay the
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seam flat (sewing ‘in the tunnel’), but it is tricky. I’ve done it before on
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shirt sleeve seams, but even with the shorter length of the sleeve and the
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lighter, less bulky fabric, it was tricky. I thought it would be too
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difficult on a jeans leg with bulky denim. However, I’m pleased with
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the other seams which are neat and strong. The Pfaff IDT enabled me to sew very
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precisely on the edge of the folded over seam and not push up a bubble of fabric
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ahead of the foot, which I’ve had problems with before.</p>
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<p>The only slight issue I had was an entirely avoidable user error to do with zips. In
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fact, it was the same error that I had <a href="https://www.rousette.org.uk/archives/sewing-progress/">made on my first pair of Gingers</a>: I
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trimmed the zip to length before sewing the waistband seam, but for some reason,
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I removed too many teeth <em>below</em> the seam. Once the waistband seam was all sewn
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and top stitched, I gleefully zipped up the fly to see how it all sat together,
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and off came the zip slider. “Oh no, not again”, I thought, only with rather
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more colourful language. At this point, it was getting late, so my zip
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slider-less jeans sat on the sewing naughty step for a night, and I tackled the
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repair the next day.</p>
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<p>If you ever find yourself with a slider that has come off
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(but the teeth of the zip are all intact), here’s what you do to fix it. Once
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the slider is off, the teeth will generally open. You have to physically ‘zip’
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the teeth back together from the bottom of the zip, one by one, by pressing them
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together with your fingers. This is fiddly, and if you disturb the fabric too
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much, they will come apart again and you have to start over. Eventually, when
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you get to the top of the zip, hold the two sides together carefully, and gently
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slide the zip slider on to the top two teeth, with the smaller mouth of the zip
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at the bottom. Once it is on, you have to gently wrestle with it a bit to get
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the teeth to click in place inside the slider, then you can pull it down the zip
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chain and it will open and close the zip properly. So, it is a problem you can
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fix, but if you are smart, you will not end up in that position (again…) and
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save yourself 20 minutes of cursing over a fiddly job. In my case, that wasn’t
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the end of it, as I still had enough of a gap above the last zip teeth and
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before the waistband seam that the zip slider would just come straight off
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again. I ended up sewing strips of the trimmed off zip tape (which is a heavy
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herringbone cotton tape) over the last tooth on each side which would act as a
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block and prevent the slider coming off. Next time, I will do the sensible thing
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and remove the teeth and trip the zip <em>after</em> the waistband seam is sewn.</p>
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<p>After that little mishap, everything was plain sailing. The waistband is one of
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the neatest I’ve sewn (again helped by the IDT system), and I had fun with a top
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stitching design on the back pockets. Even the jeans button and rivets went on more
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easily than usual as I had bought a tiny anvil and proper hammer to facilitate
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the process. They fit really well, particularly around the waist, and I’m happy
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to have a new pair of jeans. The fabric does seem to be a cat hair magnet (as
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you can probably see in the pictures), but I’m hoping that will reduce with
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washing as the denim softens up.</p> |