Darnit!

I finally got around to darning my jeans yesterday, after four months of putting down on each daily 'to-do list' I wrote. Procrastination, anyone?

I shouldn't have dawdled, considering how easy it is to do. Before yesterday, I'd only darned by hand (a pain). With my machine, this quick denim rejuvenation was painless and satisfying! I feel like I have three new pairs to wear!

Here's how to do it:

Before you start, round up your hole-y jeans, your sewing machine, some matching thread (or go nuts with some funky colors! Your choice!), some pins, and a thin, somewhat stretchy, soft material for reinforcing. I used some scraps from a pair of my sister's jeans which we'd just turned to shorts. I would also recommend shirting, thin corduroy, or even polar fleece–which I hear works very well. On to the process.

First, locate your holes and worn areas. (Mine always seem to fall apart at the inner leg on the left side. Consistent problem...odd.)



Second, turn your jeans inside out and cut a patch of your reinforcement material to fit the worn area. Make sure you encompass the area right around any holes you have–the area is likely very weak. (Look for buckling, fraying and super-softness.) Pin on your patch.



Third, put a denim needle in your machine and set it for a darning stitch, inserting the proper foot. (In case you don't have a computer of a machine like I do, a darning stitch should look something like 21 or 32, shown below. Darning is basically weaving–your stitch should feature many small stitches running into each other, close together. I used 21, figuring the 'zig zag' would favor my slightly-spandex jeans a bit better.)



Fourth, darn that business! Run the stitch over the fabric to cover the weakened area. When you're done, tie your knots, cut off any lagging patch corners, and turn your jeans right side out! VOILA!


Alright... your turn! Go make new clothes out of the old! A recession-era pastime...and a lot of fun.

-Papermoon

some summer dresses in mind...

... from another time!

i was at vogue fabrics the other day, just taking a gander and picking up a pattern i've been wanting.



i couldn't help but get distracted at look at basically EVERYTHING in the store, as usual. i had a painstaking battle with my willpower over a bunch of vintage menswear buttons (my willpower, thankfully, won). i must have touched and admired every piece of venetian lace and let's not even talk about the remnants i managed not to buy.

in any case, the best part, as usual, was looking through all the patterns and catalogs at the fancy things i would never make and don't need. i became extremely fixated on the summer offerings in the butterick's catalog from their 'retro' section. i think i might order some of these!



my new life plan, in which i toss all trends to the wind and embrace my love of high waists and secretary blouses, is really making me feel pretty. not that it's so important to enjoy one's reflection at all times...but it is nice! :)

-papermoon

my dream skinny cords realized.

hurrah!
i keep getting better and better at skinnifying my pants. it's pretty easy, anyway, but for a while i was getting tripped up in the crotch area. but not this time! i did a great job, if i do say so myself. i think it's because i changed my method. the last few times, I had put on the pair of pants inside out and pinned in the inside leg for the right shape. it worked, but it was a bit tricky, and it didn't make the legs as 100% even as i'd hoped.

this time, i took a pair of similarly styled jeans and basically pin-traced them. it worked great!
i took a picture after i'd finished one leg, so you could get a sense of the before and after. these used to be my favorite pants in high school: american eagle bell bottomed cords in cocoa.



in order to do the modifications, i started out by cutting the leg along the inside seam. i hadn't done this in other projects, but i had noticed that it was hard to pin the leg flat with the 'bubble' effect the seam produced. this solved the problem.


next i laid a pair of jeans down on top of the pants (turned inside out) and drew a chalk line to get the outline of the leg.

i also pinned the line. i guess i wanted to be extra careful. you could probably skip the chalk line. or maybe the pins. but i like covering my bases.

and then i just sewed along the line, cut off the leftovers, did a little modifying at the crotch after trying them on... and voila! now i have some nice fallish cords that will fit right in my boots or look cute in flats. (or bare feet, here).

yay!

*photo credit to Lora! :)