Daffodil yellow jeans

For April's MAGAM challenge, Sarah Liz suggested  "maybe this month you can learn a new technique, expand your sewing knowledge, or just make something you like for the new season"
I love wearing jeans, but buying them RTW is a bit of a hit and miss affair. If they fit in the waist they are too big in the hips and if they fit my hips I can't get them buttoned up. Making my own pair would also expand my sewing knowledge.

I bought this Jalie 2908 jeans pattern in 2009 when everyone else was making "jeans that fit". I always intended to try it for myself and five years on I have. At the time I read almost every review on PatternReview.com and made copious notes, which is a good thing as I had forgotten most of them.

I used some daffodil yellow stretch drill purchased a couple of years ago to make a muslin first. The stretch factor was much the same as the stretch gauge on the pattern so I traced off  the size that matches my hips and increased the waist two sizes. 

Because these were a trial pair for fitting mainly,  I omitted a lot of the traditional jeans features. I only did minimal topstitching and skipped the rivets and belt loops. My pocket design leaves a lot to be desired - there isn't one - and the pattern gives no clues as to what would be suitable. I also feel the pocket is a bit too long for me. I have made a note to shorten it by 2cm. The bias waistband fits me well but it twisted somewhat as I was stitching it on.

 This is a very good pattern, the instructions are easy to follow and the diagrams very clear. I printed the separate pattern instructions from the Jalie website for easy reference and all the pieces went together smoothly. I did add a pocket stay and this may be why they didn't stretch quite so well around my middle, but I got the button done up and after wearing them on Sunday they loosened up and needed hitching occasionally.

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 Not too sure how often I will wear these in public as they are a bit colourful, but I will tackle another pair in more traditional denim soon. Meanwhile, I have conquered another "never thought I could do it" demon

Vogue 1250 and the fabric from hell.

I started off in March with a simple dress that I had made before, as I knew the month would be busy. I had a trip to Melbourne planned for the end of the month but the dress wasn't finished so it went with me. I'm sure it enjoyed the plane trip but somehow, in between catching up with my sister, seeing her new grandson and celebrating her birthday, the dress languished in my case and came back home in the same unfinished state.

When I finally settled down to sew it I found I had the fabric from hell. Every time I stitched it, it slipped and stretched and skewed all over the place. This required a lot of work with my favourite tool the seam ripper. Not that any ripping was being done. Tiny zigzag in fabric that snagged and tried to run with each unpicked stitch needed very careful handling. Added to that black thread on the black roses made it almost impossible to see the stitches in places.

Eventually the thing was done and I'm very happy with the finished result.

I really like this pattern. I made it two years or so ago and I don't recall any problems with the pattern or the fabric at the time. It goes together easily and although I did find it was a bit too long in the bodice then, this time I took a tuck front and back which solved the problem.

The previous dress, above, enjoyed several dinners aboard ship on our last cruise so I'm expecting both of them to accompany me in July when we go cruising again.

Now to tackle my April challenge which is a pair of jeans. I'm using the Jalie 2908 which has been made by just about every sewer in the blogosphere and I'm hoping it will be kind to me. To be on the safe side I'm using some yellow stretch drill which I purchased from Spotlight a couple of years ago for the grand sum of $3 per metre.

I might be a year behind the trend for coloured jeans but they are not going to be expensive.

Cheers everyone.