Waistband: I decided to use interfacing for the waistband lining fabric. For the lining fabric, I used a light weight cotton lawn fabric (by Carolyn Friedlander). I had heard a tip from someone to save lightweight cotton scraps to use for lining fabrics with jeans. The pattern mentions interfacing the lining fabric of the waistband as a decision you can make to impact the fit (interfacing a cotton lining fabric for a firm fit or not interfacing the waistband lining that will relax with wear). You could also use denim for the waistband lining but I was concerned about the thickness of this area, to sew.

I modified the waistband topstitch direction, as recommended in the pattern. I started the waistband topstitching along the inside waistband seam (instead of starting along the outside waistband seam) to hide the forward/backstitch at the start of the seam.

Final thoughts:

I find it funny how long it took me to jump into making jeans (but I’m so glad I did). Custom fitted jeans are so special (customizing size, fabric color, fabric thickness, hardware color, and back pocket stitching...). I’m someone that LOVES jeans (and I wear them a lot). I selected a dark indigo denim for this project that will soften and lighten over time with wash and wear.

Admittedly, sewing jeans is a commitment with the time (but so worth it). One tip I’ll give to speed up the process is to work on them in little bits of time, as your schedule allows. Those little chunks of time add up (especially if you don’t have large blocks of time in your schedule that you can dedicate to sewing). As I was working on these jeans, I learned a new tip. Before you stop sewing, look at what the next step is and see if you can do the next step before you stop, to save time. If you just sewed a seam and the next step is to iron that seam, you could iron before you stop working. When you come back to working on them, the ironing is done and you can skip ahead to the next step.

I did want to note that the material that I used for the first muslin was a stiff polyester fabric. It didn’t have the same give and movement that a traditional cotton denim does. I technically could make another pair of Morgan jeans but at the smaller, muslin 1 size with a 100% cotton denim (that would relax with wear). That said, the final jeans that I made are VERY comfortable. Maybe it’s nice to have handmade jeans in different fits to offer different amounts of ease and styles for your wardrobe.

After I finished sewing my final pair of jeans, I found myself studying my favorite pairs of commercial jeans. I enjoyed looking at the tack stitch locations, rivet locations, and the weights of the denim. One of my favorite pairs is a capri length in a lightweight chambray (that I would love to recreate in the future with this pattern).

If you haven’t made jeans yet, jump in!! They were much more fun then I realized they would be and I’m quite excited to make more. I learned a lot through the process and feel I have so much more to learn. I let go of the jeans being “perfect” and love that they’re wearable, comfortable and were so fun to make.

Let me know if you’ve made this pattern yet and which fabric you used!

Rachel (@oakbluedesigns)

www.oakbluedesigns.com

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