The zen of DIY jeans - Me-Made-May-'13

I am making progress on the jeans.  I took the pattern from Burda 8085 that I first made and reviewed here way back in May of 2008.  Since then I have made several pairs at once in roughly bi-annual waves.

Last year I made a denim muslin not expecting it to fit at all.  I loved it so much that I wore it out.  I didn't serge the seams much (muslin-like) and I used regular C&C cotton corded poly.  I almost wore them out.  The CB seam came unraveled about 2 1/2" and I didn't notice it until I got to work.
Yep, my crack was showing.
Fortunately I get to work before most people and the only awkward moment was when I had to explain why I was leaving the bathroom carrying a stapler.

Have I ever mentioned that I hate muslins...
They always come around to bite me in the butt.

This years versions are an interesting study in how the weight and fiber content of fabric effects the fit and look of a garment.  I am cutting 2 pairs in traditional dark blue denim, and 2 pairs in colored denim-like substance from Emma One Sock.  The fiber content is 80% cotton approximately  18% NYLON and 2% lycra.  It was described as light weight and its really more like shirt weight than pants weight.  The look is COMPLETELY different.  The lighter jade pair are just really kind of embarrassing.  This pair is going to take a tunic or a longer shirt!
The darker pairs look fine, the cellulite wrinkles really don't show.

I finished the belt loops and hem this morning and wore them to work today.  They paired nicely with a striped tank (RTW) and My coral short-sleeved jacket Marfy 2762.
I decided to join Flicker and the Me-Made-May sew-along that is so popular.  With 4 new pairs of jeans, it should be a cinch.  I will post more later.

"I, Becki Chitwood sign up as a participant to Me-Made-May'13.  I endeavour to wear only me made garments (not including lingerie) for the duration of May 2013."

New toy for blogging, and jeans progress

I got a new toy this weekend!  Its a respectable camera so no more lousy bathroom mirror shots for me.  I am still working out the kinks and the little icons, but it has a good autofocus (usually), a good timer that you can customize to take as many pictures in a row as you want and it fits on my cute little tripod!  Although I really need a better tripod, I was setting up and it occurred to me that I might not want to put my $200 camera on a $20 wobbly piece of plastic.

The first pictures were well focused, bright and pretty true to color.  But, they were aimed too high!  Cutting off the bottom 3" of everything!
It shows the shape of the shoulders and the texture of the quilting.

(Did I mention that I love this jacket!  It wraps around like a soft cocoon.  I am super happy with the lining.  The silk charmeuse underlined with fusible tricot has the perfect amount of body and softness, and the pop of color is perfect!)

Back to the camera:

Then I switched from portrait mode to automatic and it changed the Fstop.  The texture changed and it focused more tightly on my face, but that zipper is too fuzzy.

I used to know my Fstop and shutter speed settings, back when every 6th grader had a great new 35 mm SLR.  I guess its back to photography for dummies.

Did I mention that it is WiFi enabled and can send pictures through my home network?  How cool is that, my neighbors can hack into my camera and track my pants fitting progress!

Lovely!

I am making good progress on the pants as well.

I've got 4 pairs of jeans, 3 of which are shown here:

I have the fly's, and the front pockets done.  I used Stitches and Seams technique by Debbie Cook.
I just like the simple, straight forward way she walks you through it.  However, I didn't topstitch the edge of the left front, it seems a little extraneous to me if it's all one piece.

The blue and jade are from Emma One Sock and they are denim that is mostly cotton, but it also contains nylon and I think a touch of poly as well as lycra.  Its a strange combination and it runs a but thin and it shows in the lighter color, so I'll be hitting the gym before debuting those in public!

The top pair of jade pants are the perfect shade of jade for the pantone contest this month on PR.  If contests were the guaranteed absolute death of a project, I would swear my allegiance right now.  For this contest you need a coordinating garment that also showcases those pantone colors and the silk charmeuse that I lined the leather jacket with is a perfect match!

So, if I were actually entering the contest and wanted to pick a project to condemn a garment, I would pic a relatively new Style Arc pattern like Style Arc Patsy top with that lovely flounce.  I would cut it on the bias since its a woven being forced into a pattern for knits.

That is if I were entering the contest which always jinxes my sewing, but I'm not so I won't!

The discussion is over, until I get the garments finished at least, then I might mention it again.