Sewing jeans - WBM men and women jeans

I pattern tested for my first pair of Men's Jeans and my third pair of women's jeans! These are jeans from Wardrobe by Me. This pattern company has many lovely Men and Women sewing patterns that are both stylish and very classic. They also recently ventured into pattern making for children! 

I've made many sewing patterns from them with very very good outcomes so I was really excited about these jeans.

Let's talk about the patterns itself and the fabric first. 

These are non-stretch jeans. That means you need to find denim that is not stretchy or at most only slightly stretchy. Because of the nature of non stretch jeans, the overall fit isn't skinny - it cannot be!

The Men's version is a pair of classic, five-pocket jeans with a relaxed fit and boot-cut legs. The Women's version is a pair of classic, five-pocket slim jeans with straight legs. They are not the usual jeans you get in shops that are stretchy and therefore tight, these are very comfortable jeans that you can wear all day. In fact, my husband finds them even more comfortable than his Levis. 

The non-stretch denim that is required should have a weight of about 10-13 oz and other similar weight wovens can also be used e.g. corduroy/ canvas. I live in Singapore, my first pair of jeans were made with 10 oz denim I bought from taobao (online) and the second pair was from Teoh Huat Textiles in Chinatown. If I were to compare the two fabric, I will definitely recommend Singaporeans to just buy from Chinatown because you can feel the fabric and it really makes a difference - also, it is not that much cheaper buying from taobao! 

My husband is modelling the first tester version I made below. 

You can see that the fit is not tight but it isn't too loose either. It's really a very comfortable fit all the way down - and I think that's part of the reason why this pair of jeans is much loved! 

I took my time with the topstitching. I didn't actually use twin needles, instead, I simply used a topstitching needle and topstitched twice. For the thread, I used Rinata jeans thread (cos that is what I could buy from my neighborhood sewing shop) It's also the same shop I bought the rivets! If you live in or near Ang Mo Kio, the shop to look for is Elsie Departmental Store. To help the stitching look nicer, I also increased the stitch length and tension and went really slow. 

Lemme show you all some in progress photos!! 

That design has a special geeky meaning actually! It's a nod to our background in Physics - this is a Feymann diagram! hehe. Both me and my husband are physics majors and when making your own jeans, the best part might just be personalizing the back pockets! hehe. 

I followed the instructions on how to topstitch the coin pocket and I really liked the look! The topstitching this way also meant that the coin pocket is kept firmly on the front pocket bag. And it is, in itself, another lovely detail that sets this jeans apart.

And for those interested to see how the zipper fly looks like, here it is!

It looks really really nice doesn't it! The construction wasn't difficult and it was really easy to follow the instructions to do this. In fact, there is even a video to help you with the entire construction including the fly construction for the visual learners. 

Here's the pair I made for me:

 

As you can tell, the legs fit slightly slimmer than my husband's version but it isn't tight. It's a straight leg and also just as comfortable to wear. 

The waistband of the women's jeans actually differ from the men's jeans. The men's one is a straight waistband while the women's one is contoured. I'm not a pattern drafter so I don't know why. But I do know both patterns fit beautifully on our different bodies. 

I didn't want any designs on my pockets cos I kinda like it simple and clean instead so here's how the jeans would look like with no pocket designs. The thread I used here is a grey thread too. I like how it looks a little different from the usual gold/yellow thread of retail wear jeans. 

I'll end the post with some flat lays of some of the jeans I made and also photos of the other pairs but before that, some final words...

During testing, I made a total of 4 pairs of jeans. 2 for me and 2 for my husband. The first pair took me about 2 full days of sewing but as I got better and more experienced, each pair takes about a full day to complete. I would say, if you are a beginner trying to sew jeans, GO FOR IT! But do go slow, take ur time, read the instructions carefully and give yourself a few days to sew (sewing a few hours each day). 

Sewing jeans is well worth the effort, especially when at the end of the sewing, you have a pair of really good looking jeans that are fitted just for you. 

These set of patterns are well drafted and definitely well worth buying! 

So here's my (aff) links again:

https://bit.ly/WBMmenjeans

https://bit.ly/WBMwomenjeans

Release sale: with the code "Jeans ninja" u can get 25% off till 21/22 jan 2022

Looking to sew Kids jeans? Here's my review on 2 great kids jeans pattern

Wanting a more tapered leg? Or need a bigger size than what's offered for WBM? Here's my review on another great adult jeans pattern from Rad Patterns.