Beginning The Ames Jeans

A lot has been happening in the world and at The Confident Stitch lately, so my Cashmerette Ames Jeans series has been a little disjointed. I have been making progress, however, and, here is my update!

Lesson #1 was to do the same alteration to each pattern piece. On the front and back leg pieces, I slashed and spread at the “lengthen/shorten” lines in the crotch area to raise the waistband. I was too lazy to slash and spread the front pocket pieces, so I just wrote “Add 1 inch” on the top of the three pocket pieces. BUT, by doing this to the pocket facing piece (#3), I changed the curve at the top of the pocket, so the facing wouldn’t fit on the front leg piece! I was able to remedy my mistake by removing the extra inch at the top of all three pocket pieces and making my pockets as shallow as store-bought women’s jeans, but ugh! 

Lesson #2 was to stop and fix my mistake so I don’t make it again! I used the same pattern pieces to make my first pair of Ames Jeans, but I didn’t make a note or take the time to slash and spread the pocket pieces at the time, which forced me to make the same mistake twice! (Double ugh!)

Lesson #3 – The white denim I’m using for these jeans looks almost exactly the same on the right and the wrong sides. Plus, because I’m using white denim, I am using white pocketing fabric, which does not have a right or a wrong side at all. The jeans themselves, however, have a right leg and a left leg. So keeping track of the right side and the wrong side of the fabrics is vital (if you watched my Facebook Live video a couple of weeks ago, you saw me make two left front pockets!). To avoid making this mistake again, I am now using safety pins to mark the right side of the fabrics so I can sew quickly without having to slow down and figure out which is the right leg and which is the left.

Today, via Facebook Live, I was planning to insert the fly-front zipper for you, but I’ve decided to pin-fit the jeans in fabric instead, becasue Jenny Rushmore, the owner of Cashmerette, has a great free video on how to insert the zipper on the Ames Jeans. She does a much better job than I could ever do on a Facebook Live segment.

What’s more, pin-fitting in fabric is the MOST IMPORTANT PART OF MAKING JEANS! Especially stretch jeans. The best thing about sewing your own jeans (and garment sewing in general) is that you can make them fit the way you want. Therefore, pausing to pin fit before you do all the topstitching helps ensure that you will be happy with the finished product. I didn’t pin fit these jeans before I sewed the front because they are my second pair of Ames Jeans, and I knew they would fit fine in the front.

Next week, I’ll cover sewing the patch pockets on the back!