I LOVE LOVE LOVE my original pair of philippas. Out of the many pairs of pants/jeans I’ve made I’ve worn these the most. In fact they were my first make of 2020 (the only good thing to come out of 2020 let’s be real) and my first make of 2021.
I swear the crotch isn’t actually like this?! As you can see my buttons are on the far side of the underlap but I wish I’d put them actually next to it to prevent the fly gaping slightly
I decided to go for non contrasting topstitching thread as I’m not always keen on visible top stitching (plus then it doesn’t bother me if it’s not perfect). The hardware from Citron jeans and the labels from KATM. The denim is from Mind the Maker shade “light blue”. It hasn’t bagged out a lot although in the first photo you can see my knees have bagged out a little after wearing them all day but I’m happy with the quality. I’ve got my eye on some more as I just love making jeans. I’ve also got some black denim in my stash which will probably become another pair.
As I finished off my 2nd pair of Dawn jeans this morning it dawned on me I’ve made a lot of pairs; 3 gingers, 2 dawns, 2 Persephones, 1 pair of morgans and 2 pairs of philippa pants. So I thought I’d share with you what I’ve learned.
My second pair of gingers
For me, the hardest part of jeans making is getting the fit right and by that I mean not making them too tight. Every denim is different and weirdly I find non stretch denim stretches more than stretch but getting that balance of tight and they loosen up to be perfect is really tough. Think tight to your waist but not so much that you can’t fit a finger into the waistband.
Philippa pants
Cone mills denim is NOT the magical unicorn the sewing community makes out. It bags out. A lot. I made a pair of gingers and Philippa pants (above) out of cone mills, out of considerable expense (think the cost of a pair of Levi’s) and they both bagged out and I had to take them back in. For the Philippa pants it worked out well as they were far too tight and now they fit perfectly. Consequently I wear them a lot more than any of my other pairs. They’re also the only ones that I don’t get weird crotch issues with.
My latest pair of dawns
Research is everything; where do you like your jeans to sit? Rib cage – go for Anna Allen, belly button – dawn is ya gal and builders bum? You want ginger for that.
Persephone pants
Watch out for that Robert Kaufman twill it gives like crazy!
Dawn pt 1
Always, always baste them and try them on before adding the waistband and if you’re doing a button fly then make sure the buttons are right up on the far side of the underlap otherwise they’ll gape.
Second pair of philippas
For sizing go with the finished garment measurements BUT remember you need ease, if you overfit them then you won’t wear them (ask me how I know). Try taking your measurements whilst sitting down.
My first pair of gingers were a hot mess, the denim was cheap and bagged out and they were miles too big
My last tip is to enjoy! I love sewing jeans, they get so much wear they feel very satisfying to make but don’t be disheartened if your first pair aren’t perfect. Like bra sewing it’s a lot of trial and error.
After 10 years of being together, a house, 2 children and umpteen adventures we finally booked the wedding. We got engaged in 2016 but I didn’t get a ring until 2019 when we got engaged “properly”. Not that you need a ring to do it properly but the original proposal was with a haribo ring…..
We’re getting married at East Riddlesden Hall and it’s just perfect, it’s a national trust place and is exactly what I always pictured.
For as long as we’ve been planning on getting married I’ve planned on making my dress. I started pulling pictures from my Pinterest board and Instagram to explain that I don’t know what I want but then laughed and realised they’re all of a very similar dress.
This Teuta Matoshi dress is particularly 😍😍😍😍 and at the moment my favourite
I’m really drawn to the romantic tulle, the theme of the wedding is celestial/midsummer nights dream/magical. Don’t worry we’re not getting married until 2022 so hopefully COVID won’t be an issue. So I’m thinking tulle skirt (possibly blush), off the shoulder sleeves, maybe some kind of lace or embroidered bodice and an A line skirt. A friend very kindly sent me a pattern to use so it’s just a case of trying some on and decided exactly what I want. She posted this on her stories and I was immediately 😍😍😍. I’m going to go try some dresses on around April time which will give me over a year to start making and gathering materials.
What Amy Made 