You Don't Own Me, GAP: Recreating My Favorite Jeans

While I was away, one garment among the few in my carry-on suitcase got perpetual use: My GAP 1969 Real Straight Jeans.

I bought these in the midst of the skinny jean craze, when skinny jeans felt less versatile for my everyday life. Too tight for both my working life and my comfort in high heat. The straight jean was a revelation: I could still have a slim silhouette with comfort (low to mid rise, a bit of stretch) and confidence (the cut flattered my rectangular frame and style).

I love these jeans. I’d own one in every color if I could.

And when I returned, an idea percolated. I was drooling over J.Crew’s fall catalog (full of corduroy!) and I remembered that Steffani Lincecum’s Patternmaking for a Perfect Fit: Using the Rub-Off Technique to Re-Create and Redesign Your Favorite Fashions was lingering on the bookshelf. I also had a bit of purple corduroy in my stash that I had thrifted nearly two years ago.

When I first bought Patternmaking for a Perfect Fit, I was instantly in love with the concept. You begin with a garment and work backwards to the pattern. For those of us who have started with a pattern and fiddled endlessly to achieve the right fit, it makes sense, doesn’t it? If you start with something you know fits, you save yourself a lot of headaches later on in the sewing process.

So with some handy transparent patterning material (like interfacing without the "glue"), I traced my favorite jeans. To be fair, she doesn’t cover tracing trousers in the book (rather, a skirt, blouse and purse and then shows you how to alter the master pattern for different looks), so I adapted the technique with lots and lots of double-checking along the way.

And when it came to figuring out the smaller pieces, like the fly and the pocket yoke, I depended on a trusty pants pattern I had already used, Simplicity 3850, a Built By Wendy Pattern, to guide me.

Once I had all the pattern pieces, I added seam allowances (directly on the fabric) and made a muslin. Despite the 2% spandex in the original, the give of the corduroy with wear made it a fine fit.

So, did it work?


Yes! It fit the way I wanted it to and I am delighted. Sure, there’s things I’ll tweak next time, but I do love these.


Pants can be a conundrum for me. They are the garments that make me feel the most comfortable, but sewing them has been difficult. We’ve so many curves to think about, agility to consider. And what’s baffled me is the difference in leg shape in the front pattern piece and the back. In most contemporary pants, it feels like the rear piece wraps generously around the leg to a slim front piece. That's something that stumped me when trying to draft my own.



But now it’s no longer a secret — I now have a pattern for my favorite GAP jeans that I can use over and over and over, making it better each time. Totally worth it. This is my first garment for the Fall Essentials Sew-Along and the Colette Patterns Fall Palette Challenge.

What about you? Do you have a favorite garment you’d love to recreate?

Fall Sew-Alongs, Challenges and Hello Again!

Hello, lovely ladies! Just a quick post to say hello and drool over some things that have captured my imagination. I'm back from the island and fall's gonna be a busy time for me at both work and home, but know I'm still peeking into the blogosphere and am utterly inspired by what's afoot.

FALL ESSENTIALS SEW-ALONG

With the success of the Summer Essentials Sew-Along and the amazing-ness of my two co-hosts, Queen-of-the-Sorbetto Sarah of Rhinestones and Telephones and Alessa in all her drool-worthy knit dresses, we're doing it again!

A major shout-out is way overdue to these ladies, who have whipped up an incredible plan while I was away. Check out their intro posts for more info (linked above), and enjoy these fun categories. As always, this is just a guide, a way of jogging your brain to think about what you'd rather not live without this fall.

Chic Chemises for Cool Climates
Blouses, tops, vests, cardigans, and sweaters! These wardrobe essentials can carry you from day to night, not to mention provide necessary layering to keep out the chill.

Fabulous Frocks
Dresses of all styles; mini, short, or long! Keep yourself warm in your modish designs, layering with tights and boots!

Underneath It All
When you're spending months covered from the neck down, a glamorous underpinning of your choice adds a secret, luxurious touch that chases the cold away!

Tender Tootsies
Let's not forget your frosty feet! Socks, slippers and the like are the order of the day. Keep those tootsies warm and dry!

Those Cozy Nights
Is there anything better than snuggling up in a cozy pair of pajamas with a hot drink and a book whilst Jack Frost works his magic outside? I think not! Sleepwear of all types are the way to go here!

Baby It's Cold Outside
Coats, hats, and mittens donned to keep the cold at bay, especially when out enjoying the spectacular fall colours!

Sarah is keeping a Member List on her blog. To officially join the sew-along, just join the Flickr group.


COLETTE PATTERNS FALL PALETTE CHALLENGE

I was blown away by this challenge in this spring and to the best of my ability, I'm hopping on board this fall!

Here's a quick description from their site:

"So what is the Fall Palette Challenge? In a nutshell, it’s a 10-week challenge to get you thinking about sewing pieces that work together, coordinate, and work for you. It’s designed to inspire your thinking about color and help you make clothes that fit your style and wardrobe.

Here’s how it works. You choose a color palette for Fall, choose how many pieces you want to make, and try to complete them within our 8 week timeframe. It’s really fun and low pressure. If you don’t finish, who cares?"

Check out the intro post here.


SELF-STITCHED SEPTEMBER

Another me-made month after my own heart.


I'm not officially participating this year because it's such an insane month hereabouts, i.e. big work shin-dig tonight in which I have 1) nothing appropriate and me-made to wear and 2) no time to make it. But I have participated in every me-made month prior to this and the experiences have absolutely changed the way I sew and dress. In fact, I feel most days I dress with me-made wears, me-made month or no!

If you're considering it, hop in! You won't regret it. And I'll be seeing y'all in March.


FALL INSPIRATION

Drooling over J. Crew, Emerson Made and Colette Patterns. Snapped up that Clover cigarette pants pattern like nobody's business. I'm thinking of layering neutrals, pops of color, clean lines, contemporary comfort meets vintage details.


As always, sewing from El Stash. This is what I've got so far. Brown, gray and navy as neutrals. Purple and that lovely green for pops of color.


I'll be plugging away at a few projects these next two months. And unlike the free-for-all creative playing and sewing I did this summer (which was fun, but left me with a number of unwearable garments), I'd like to slow down and focus on quality as cool weather approaches.

What are you cooking up for fall??