So I made jeans. I surprise myself sometimes. It took me about a week or two to complete these once I cut out the denim. But the Saga of the Jeans is a much longer story.

About 15 years ago, I wanted to recreate pair of Gap jeans I loved. I drafted a pattern and then I proceeded to mock it up repeatedly over the years. I've made at least 3 pairs, two in muslin and one in a hideous red and white denim I got from a Mood sale. I got so close with the hideous red pair; they fit nicely, but before I could make the final tweaks and make them in a nice fabric, I gained weight, lost weight, gained weight, lost weight, and ultimately lost track of what I was doing (where were the most recent pattern pieces?) and generally got stuck. ​

A month or so ago I thought screw it: Morgan jeans is the closest pattern I know to what I want (mid-rise, nonstretch, relaxed leg), so I will just get it and make it. I made a muslin (size 10) in a week, and it fit really well. It was difficult to figure out the zipper, but it seemed to be okay in the muslin once done. Of course, Morgan comes with a button fly, and you have to look elsewhere for the zipper fly instructions. 

So I went ahead with the denim. And I had trouble with the damned zipper. Even though I had already done the muslin, I still needed to watch tutorials over and over, and still I screwed it up three times. The zipper was never in the right place once it was sewn in on both sides (and topstitched, mind you). 

I watched 3 main sewalongs: one for Ginger jeans, which shows a zipper fly construction that can be essentially "copy pasted" into the Morgan construction in place of the button fly. But it was not super clear, and it didn't work for me. There's another really nicely explained tutorial for a cut-on fly, and that should have worked, but it didn't. The third tutorial was a sewalong for the Morgans, which covers only the button fly but it was extremely well done and helpful on everything but the fly; I wish she would add an addendum with zipper fly instructions!

Finally, I just eyeballed where it should be once sewn in and winged it from there. A royal PIA. Why is it so fucking hard to explain?

Aside from wonky topstitching, especially along the fly, these turned out pretty well, and I'm pleased. They are very comfortable though a smidge tight in the knees of all places.  

Topstitching is okay in most places. Really a pain to have just one sewing machine. So midproject I went and got a used Pfaff. But it didn't end up helping on this project. It either doesn't handle topstitching thread or I haven't found the magic combination of tension settings.

Oh, and I handstitched that button hole. My machine wasn't having it. At all.

Anywho, I never wear belts ever, so why add belt loops? Of course, I don't carry coins around in my pockets either, so. Hypocrisy!

I am making progress on my mission to use up my fabric stash and use patterns from the multitude of unopened, untested patterns already in my possession! (Although I am not sure how to honestly assess my progress if I am still buying more fabric...which I am.)

I have had Eleonore ever since it first came out. Only yesterday did I cut open the package and extract the pattern. I had some stretch cotton fabric I had bought a few years ago because it was advertised for shirt making, but I would never wear it as a shirt because it's too heavy and contains lycra. In fact, I would not wear it anywhere on my upper body because the feel is just too irritating—as I discovered when I made a dress from McCall's 6346 out of another fabric I bought of the same type. 

However, the fabric seemed like it might work for pants. At any rate, I am working on staying focused on the mantra "progress, not perfection." So I just dove in, traced out the pattern, and cut it out.

At first, I thought they were too tight, but when I put them on again for pictures, they were pretty comfortable.  

The top stitching does not show up at all--maybe because of the busy pattern, maybe because this is just regular thread, not topstitching thread.

I have finally completed a pair of Thurlow pants. Whew. It took long enough. I made a muslin at least a year ago. It fit pretty nicely and I decided I didn't need any tweaks, other than taking in the weird back seam extension (which, I would have liked to remove that from the pattern piece, but I didn't feel confident and I ended up just trimming the fabric down once I was happy with the seam on the actual pants). After making the muslin, I gained weight and put off making the real deal. I lost the weight, put it back on, and finally lost it again at a time I had some sewing time and voila the pants are finally done.

I took two weeks off of work at the end of 2016 and I was hoping to spend a lot of time in my sewing room. I did pretty well, finishing this Thurlow (which I lined), a Jalie top to go with it, a lined knit dress (McCall's 6355), and 2 wallets from a Craftsy course with Deby Coles (with my daughter, who made another 2 for herself).

The fabric for the Thurlow was a gray and darker gray checked flannel wool. The lining was some black Bemberg that I had in the stash. I had hoped I still had some gray China silk, but I didn't have enough. I had used it for a vest and OMG that stuff feels like heaven when you wear it.

At any rate, the pants came together smoothly. I still had to consult Lladybird's famous and super helpful tutorial. I would have been stuck with just Sewaholic's instructions, my goodness.

For the lining, I consulted a book I have, Easy Guide to Sewing Linings, by Connie Long. It is excellent; I just wish when I read it that the information would actually permeate my brain membranes. There is a bit about an adjustment you have to make on the lining pattern you create "on pants with slanted pockets," which I was pretty sure describes the Thurlow situation (the adjustment being you have to place the pocket piece in place with the pant leg pattern so you have the full front leg across the hips). I saw it, didn't think it through, ignored it, and realized my mistake when I started to sew the lining together. I patched up the lining fabric, I did not cut new pieces. All's well that ends well.

When I basted up the back seam of the pants, the fit felt pretty good. The view from the mirror was (and still is) strange. Is my ass that flat? I let out the seam as much as I could at the bottom of the back crotch, and I spent a lot of time trying to get a natural curve over the butt. Finally, I pulled out a pants sloper I had drafted and used that line.

I wore the pants to work and they were super comfy and warm.

Likes: the waistband and hips fit nicely. The fly and pockets are easy to sew (thanks Lladybird) and look great. In the end, the pants are very comfy. Also, I love the wool flannel and the lining.

Dislikes: I don't like the crotch curve and will have to fiddle when I feel confident about taking that on. The bell in the pants is too large for my taste. I don't want to go back to the 70s. I don't like that extension thing. I lose and gain weight as much as anyone but hell's bells I am not going to readjust my clothes every time it happens.