New PODCAST EPISODE Jeans Style Sewing – Skirting the Issue (#13)

Hey wait! Those aren't jeans!
Is this sewist skirting the issue? **

I was intimidated by sewing well fitting jeans, in addition to learning how to achieve an authentic jeans-styling look when it comes to fabric, hardware, and embellishment.
So, I put aside fit issues, 
for the time being, 
and created a jeans-style skirt.

Hey! The latest Enchanted by Sewing Podcast has been published!

Two Ways to Listen

i)You can listen to the show right on the web by clicking on the this link

 http://traffic.libsyn.com/enchantedbysewing/EnchantedBySewingJeansStyleSkirtingIssueFinalCastOct2013Podcast.mp3

** * * 

~ OR ~

ii)  Click on this link to iTunes  to download this and other Enchanted by Sewing shows to your mobile device (iPhone, Android, etc.) free from iTunes 

Did I miss any links mentioned in the show? If so, please post here and let me know, or else email me ,  EnchantedBySewing AT gmail

~~~

This month show is Jeans Style Sewing – Skirting the Issue**

The Enchanted by Sewing Podcast is an  extension of my regular sewing blog Me Encanta Coser, which, roughly translated, means Enchanted By Sewing. My blog is written in English. The name celebrates the historical and modern use of the beautiful Spanish Language in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, where I live.

Podcast Show Notes http://EnchantedBySewing.blogspot.com

* Post your suggestions, thoughts or questions about episodes below this post

* Laurel on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/laurel.shimer

* Laurel's Pinterest Boards http://www.pinterest.com/lrshimer/boards/
* Personal email – Enchanted by Sewing AT gmail.com

This month

1) First/El Primero - Inspiration: Why I wanted to sew my own jeans?

     * Lori talked several times about jeans she'd sewn in various Sew Forth Now podcasts. She continues to write about her projects in her long-time wonderful blog, Girls in the Garden.

* Several Threads Magazine Articles gave me the idea that jeans were a do'able sewing project. If you don't have the issues you need, check your public library. Mine keeps issues for four years. You can also buy the complete Threads archive. 

Search for Jeans articles in their online index. http://www.threadsmagazine.com/magazine-index

2) Then/Entonces - My Prototype Jeans-Style Sewing Project: What is this skirting the issue business? And what do I mean jeans style?

     Full-On Jeans Sewing was intimidating for me. So, I started with a prototype project. http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/08/jeans-sewing-skirting-issue.html

3)  After That - Breaking  jeans-style sewing down into manageable chunks

    1) Fit and Pattern Selection

        Links to Palmer and Pletsch M6361 pattern here http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/08/jeans-sewing-skirting-issue.html

        BTW...Trudy of Hot Patterns has more than one jeans pattern available, including one for men! Trudy provides a wonderful service to the sewing community when it comes to YouTube videos too.

    2) Focus on Sewing Skills and Machine Skills

    3) Special Jeans Stuff - Materials, Jeans-Style Notions, hardware, and thread - http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/08/jeans-sewing-skirting-issue-resources.html

    4) Embellishment

    5) Resources

Links to several tutorials here, including a favorite fly-front zipper you tube tutorial http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/08/jeans-sewing-skirting-issue-resources.html

4) The Prototype Project

a. In this meaty section of the show (and the most fun for me!) I talk about how I implemented my manageable chunk learning style in the prototype sewing project,  my jeans-style denim skirt

http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/08/jeans-sewing-skirting-issue.html

5) Project Wrap Up 

  My Terminado/Done posting recaps the project and has links to all postings I wrote about the prototype http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/09/jeans-sewing-skirting-issue.html

a. Why this was a successful first step project for me

    A Summary of my jeans-style skirt prototype project, with links to each posting I wrote about the project http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com/2013/09/jeans-sewing-skirting-issue.html

b. Jeans – Style Learning Continues What’s next ? Where I am now when it comes to my learning to sew jeans?

    I've continue to write about my follow-on jean projects http://meencantacoser.blogspot.com. Titles of all such postings start out with the phrase "Jeans Sewing".

~ ~ ~

Sew Easy to Sponsor this Podcast!

Looking for Job Fulfillment? *

Help give job satisfaction to a friend and be a sponsor of the 
Enchanted by Sewing Podcast at the same time!

I dreamed that when Ms. Maria, the Sometimes Sewist,  bought me and brought me home, she’d bring just a little romance to my hum drum digital life.  I’m proud to be an up to date, technically competent, ebook reading device, But with Ms Maria, it’s nothing but work, work, work and never any fun for me!  I provide her with view after view of important information, so vital to her life. But all she ever downloads are self-help books and those tedious Legal Beagle Journals....

Hey podcast listeners are you acquainted with a sad and lonely iPad, kindle, nook or other ebook reading device that’s just aching for some romance ?

Why not give her the romantic time-travel e-book, My Heart Beats Faster in Past Times? And treat your forlorn buddy to a lively spin into the glittering world of Imperial Russia! This novella is available exclusively at amazon.com. You can download it to your iPad, Kindle or Nook e-book reading device for only 99 cents! 

99 cents? That’s a lot less than a cup of coffee!

You can read a free excerpt from this romantic spin into past times by clicking here (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005HPPB34).

~ ~ ~

Foot Notes

* Thanks to Pamela for sharing this free, downloadable ephemera http://freevintagedigistamps.blogspot.com/2013/04/vintage-printable-victorian-lady-photo.html

** If English isn't your first language, you may not be familiar with the idiomatic phrase Skirting the issue - It means to avoid a subject, often by talking quickly about something else.

Jeans Sewing: Skirting the Issue - Absolutely Riveting

I started off by poking a hole through the
many layers of denim, and drill with my seam
ripper. I didn't rip with it, but I used it's
sharp little point just to get to the other side.

Once I had a tiny hole, I worked through with
the pointy end of a bamboo skewer. I had to
do that on either side, and really work it back and
forth, in order to get a big enough hole for the rivet
to feed through.

After I fed the rivet through, and capped
it off, I taped it down with several layers of
masking tape on either side, just to keep it in place and
then moved on to the next rivet.  I have 4 of them
ready to go - two on each end of the pocket opening.

I'm going to get a little help
with the hammer to make the two ends come firmly together.
I did some test work on multiple layers of denim scrap,
 and found that smashing those two ends together
straight on,  isn't the easiest thing in the world.
I believe there is a tool for it, but I don't think it's cheap.

Since I wrote this post, I've realized that probably the correct tool for creating the rivet hole is an awl. The nice lady at the fabric store said she wouldn't bother to spend the $7 on one herself, if the technique I came up with here is working. I'm still considering whether or not to plunk down the money for what appears to be the right tool.

 I don't  know the official reason for rivets, but I would guess they help stabalize certain features of the garment. I'm putting them at either end of my front hip pockets, which have a tendency to gape open, no matter how much trying on and basting I did to get that opening to lay flat. Perhaps they help with that too?

 I do know that the kind of jeans I like, have rivets at the corners of the pockets, so I want to know how to add them.

I'm going to admit right off that I don't know the right way to add rivets. I could keep looking through all the resources I've collected, or buy more (I was told the Palmer and Pletsch have a good video on everything from fitting to sewing jeans), or I could simply forge ahead, get some experience with this fabric, sewing skill set, and thought process. That is the way I learn best - a little reading, a little trying it out, and then go back and read and listen some more. That's why I'm working on this jeans-style denim skirt I've been blogging about.

Trying out new-to-me techniques, like the ones I'm feeling my way through on this jeans-style denim skirt are the kinds of experiences that keep me 

Enchanted by Sewing

Jeans Sewing: Skirting the Issue , Resources

 M6361 is a good basic pattern for
many styles of skirt- No back yoke,
but I have enough sewing challenges working
with the heavy weight denim without a back yoke!

~ ~ ~

Below are a few resources I've been using while working on my denim jeans-style skirt, using the Palmer and Pletsch pattern, M6361

These will continue to be Useful Resources for me as I move into traditional jeans sewing as well

How to Sew Denim

http://www.kollabora.com/q-a/sewing-denim-and-thick-fabric

Thread Type

http://www.burdastyle.com/discussions/someone-help-me/topics/denim-and-machine-tension-help-for-a-newbie--2 ... use a size 90 JEANS needle. And only use the topstitching thread in the needle: use standard polyester or cotton thread in the bobbin.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070129120900AAv78qj

Depends on the weight of the denim, but if you're using jeans weight denim, a cotton thread in a heavier weight like size 40 is good. Or a topstitching thread for finishing the seams - the gold coloured thread that is stitched on the top of the seam.

I generally use a polyester core thread with a cotton wrapping. Coats and Clarkmakes one brand, check out a sewing store. A denim needle is about size 16 - 18, specially for sewing with heavy thread.

Coats Denim Thread is great to have on hand for all your denim sewing needs. Its great color will blend right into the project's fabric.125 yards on spool. Denim Blue

Fly Front Zippers
I always need to review how to sew fly-front zippers, and I found a marvelous fly-front zipper tutorial on Youtube. The hostess is Colleen, of Fashion Sewing TV.

Here's the link ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91gO3iE7YOU )

I used to use Trudy's Hot Patterns fly front zipper tutorial, but for some reason I can't get that to run now.

Attaching Rivets to Jeans

Brian Remlinger - Two Part tutorial
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSaycOEOuyw

Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qAHmyluVTo

Jeans Sewing: Skirting the Issue, When Zippers Fly (Progress)

Working with a mock-up of the waistband,
I found that I need to re-baste the side seams
It fit fine before I added that new dimension,
but now it's a whole new ballgame
The basting stitch has been my friend in
this project

I blogged recently about the denim jeans-style skirt ( using the Palmer and Pletsch pattern, M6361)  that I'm making in preparation for learning to sew jeans, but without the fit challenges I'll be working through when it comes to making those jeans. There's so much   for me to learn about working with 11 oz weight (heavy) denim, sewing techniques and jeans-style hardware that this project is plenty challenging. But it is, as I hoped, achievable.


Fly Front Zippers
I always need to review how to sew fly-front zippers, and I found a marvelous fly-front zipper tutorial on Youtube. The hostess is Colleen, of Fashion Sewing TV.

Here's the link ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91gO3iE7YOU )

I used to use Trudy's Hot Patterns fly front zipper tutorial, but for some reason I can't get that to run now.

 I used masking tape to get my topstitching lines in place for the topstitching around my fly-front, and a little chalk for the rounded part. I ended up doing a few tiny hand stitches as well. Would I do a few things differently next time? You betcha! But I'm relatively happy with it. I may still add another line of topstitching coming up from the center seam below. What do you think?

Absolutely Riveting


I've kinda, sorta arrived at the point where I'm ready to put the rivets on my denim skirt. And I've already found the samples I've tried, with three layers of scrap denim, to be plenty challenging! I'll let you know more when I get them figured out.

I've spent a lot of time dealing with fitting, to get this skirt to hang just right. The basting stitch is definitely my friend when it comes to fitting. Today, I basted  a mock-up waistband  (cut out of the teal blue fitting/muslin/poplin fabric you can see in the illustration here) and found that having a waistband greatly altered the fit and hang of the skirt. So, I was quite glad that I gave that a baste on sample fabric before committing. Also I was glad I had only basted the side seams and not yet done the (faux/mock) flat-felling on their seams.

I've decided to do a mock flat-felled seam for this project. I'm doing the traditional topstitching in golden orange thread typical of classic jeans, and it holds things tightly in place.  For my mock flat-fells, I'm just sewing right sides together with an interior seam, not the wrong-sides together then wrap one raw edge over another, that makes a true flat-fell. Somewhere I saw that right sides together is also a legitimate way to flat-fell, though I think whoever said that, did the regular wrap-around with the raw edges.  I'm just faux-serging the raw edges (I don't have a serger, but I use a decorative stitch intended to look and behave somewhat like serging) and topstitching right through the seam allowance. Frankly, it seems like it would be an awfully hard little roll otherwise, but clearly it's done that way on a lot of jeans. Once I get this done and wear it to a sewing class, I'm going to ask around about true flat-felling on this heavy-weight denim. Also I can ask in a sewing forum for jeans, but I'm glad I'm just going ahead and doing my best with this first project before I fuss around with anymore with flat-felling on this heavy, heavy fabric. When I work with a mid-weight denim, like some of the 7 oz I saw, I'll probably try out some more sample flat-felling.

I keep a postIt on top of my machine reminding me to check that I have 'heavy' stitch selected as well as the 'seam' setting and a special tension setting of  7. On the three layers points, I set my tension to 8. I spent quite a bit of time figuring out that these were, apparently the best settings for this particular project. I just had to do a lot of sample stitching through various numbers of layers of the 11 oz denim scrap to get my tension settings. Also I had to fool around for awhile with the heavy weight thread. At first I was running it in both the top and the bobbin, but that gave me a lot of back side of the project problems. I'm now using the heavy weight in the top and regular type indigo blue thread in the bobbin. Of course I have a jeans needle in my machine. Does that go without saying? I use a stitch length of 3 for the seams and 3.5 for the topstitching. Also backstitching to lock seams often jams up the lower thread. I've been hand tying threads to knot.

The side seams where the top-stitched front hip pockets meet, is turning out to be a very challenging area, with the three thick layers. Again, I'm just doing my best to get things to lay flat and hang right. It doesn't have to be perfection, it just needs to get done and be something I enjoy wearing. I will certainly be learning things to try for next time with this skirt.

I like the way it's turning out out, no matter what challenges I'm having, and  I'm looking forward to wearing it a lot. Sewing classes start next week and that is a real motivation to finish it. Also I'm really tired of the pants and shorts I've been wearing this summer. It's good to have pants I've made myself that make my happy, but a little variety is good too. I'm even getting tired of my No. 1 Lady's Detective Agency and Mille Fleur shirts, as I've been wearing them so much. It's good to have garments to turn to that fit well and look nice, but I'm looking forward to getting some more pretty shirts done. That lilac gingham with the Liberty accents (I blogged about that project in Kit1: Progress Shirt Sewing)  is another thing I hope to get done in time for sewing class startup, and if not I hope to finish it in the near future.

Being able to pep up my wardrobe using my own skills,  is something that keeps me enchanted by sewing!

I dream of JeanSies (made of light blue denim)

I'm thinking of changing the refrain from that classic old song...

I dream of Jeannie with the light brown hair 

                                               Floating like a vapor on the soft, summer air. 

to

I'm dreaming of JEANSIES sewn from light blue denim

that float 'round my nether regions, like the light from heaven

This semester, and next, I'm focusing on sharpening my basic sewing skills. Those skills include the basics of pant construction. Sure, I've sewn many a pair of pants since my first bell-bottoms project back in high school, but being self-taught there are a lot of techniques I've glossed over. So in addition to basic Fashion 110 (*), the introductory sewing class where I'm learning things I never knew I didn't know about needles, thread, hems, stitch length, directional sewing, and.... (the list goes on and on), I also took the 4-session Pants Construction class. There I sewed sample fly front zippers, a variety of pockets and learned some new and improved waistband techniques. In addition to two pair of elastic waist pants for the introductory class, I've got a pair of light-weight denim pants in the works, that will incorporate my new and improved fly front zipper skills, front-hip pockets and a couture waistband in the style taught by our teacher Lynda Maynard (the directions are in her Couture Sewing book). I'm using the same McCalls pattern that I used for the 3 pairs of shorts I made this summer and fall. You can check out one pair (and their matching cap) in this posting, The Lady Wears Shorts.

Producing all these pants will add to my wardrobe, as well as improve my basic sewing skill set. But there's another sneaky reason for gaining confidence when it comes to sewing trousers. I really want to be able to sew my own jeans. 

Are you with me there? I've got a couple of different RTW jeans that kind of work for me, but not totally. I'm looking forward to the day when I can quit perusing the catalog pages trying to find jeans that sorta kinda work, and can just design and sew my own. Right off the bat I know I want one pair of the typical tough-denim, work horse old-school style (without this low-rise modern beeswax!) and a second more fitted, lighter weight denim. I also have some dreams that flit past different colored jeans (Can I find turquoise denim?) and back pockets with lace appliqués.

Clearly there are two important aspects to this long-term learning project. 

a) Fit

b) Technique

OK learning more about jean fabric weights and sources for various denims, and specialized notions like rivets, topstitching thread, needles, etc. might be a third aspect.

I'm not desperate to start in on this learning project, because I'm headed in the right direction. 

1) I'm honing my basic and intermediate sewing skills, so that I won't be caught up being challenged by something that has nothing to do with specialized jeans fitting and construction.

2)I'm starting to collect articles from the web relating to techniques needed for making jeans. I've just started a Pinterest board specifically related to sewing jeans, that I can come back to when I'm ready. (I've got a couple of other sewing boards in Pinterest as well, here's a link to all my boards there.)

Inspired by my school work, I'm planing to start a jeans notebook with technique samples once this semester is over in December. Aren't sewing program classes an excellent way to learn how to approach new-to-me kinds of garments? :-)

3) I bought the Sandra Betzina Vogue1034  jeans pattern ( Here's a pattern review for it, which doesn't seem to want to pin to my Pinterest boards). It has lots of tips about fitting jeans. I'm sure I'll ask for fitting help in the Sewing Lab at school as well. And down the road, there's a pants drafting class taught at Cañada each fall. I expect to already have some experience working on jeans by the time I take that class next year.

* I take sewing classes in the Cañada College Fashion Department, Redwood City, California