Smarty pants

Having not yet suceeded at meeting the Monthly Stitch's January challenge of a new skill, I figured I needed to get these jeans finished before the end of February, as the challenge was a pair of pants.

I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that I pre-washed a pile of fabrics that I’d bought cheaply off Trade-me.  One of them was this rather uninspiring sort of yellowy oatmeal colour with a checked texture and really stiff feel.

 

Before

Before I wrote it off for muslins I cut off a couple of metres and tried dying it black.  I used the washing machine ‘cos that seems to agitate it better than I can, and it ended up rather large to fit in a pan on the stove top.  My burn test had suggested it was a natural fibre, and it certainly took the colour.  

The final result wasn’t black, more a sort of dark greyish blue colour, and while the colour covered all the fabric, there were definite blotchy bits.

After

Since my plan was a pair of jeans, neither of these problems deterred me; it was a very acceptable jeans colour, and I figured a few blotchy bits would be OK on jeans.

I did hit a small road block when it came to choosing an embroidery design for the rear pockets, so thanks to everyone who helped me out of that one; the gecko was a clear favourite, so geckos it was.

Since I spent about 37½ cents on this fabric (plus $4 for the zip) I didn’t need to have great expectations for this garment.  Despite that, I actually like these jeans.  They are snug, but feel surprisingly comfortable and the blotchy dye job actually works.  I’ve been working on jeans for a while, so I didn’t have to do any fitting and I’ve already made all the required adjustments to McCalls 5892; my basic jeans pattern.

In this photo I’m also wearing a Colette Sorbetto made from another trade-me purchase and left over from a black blouse that I made for a recent funeral – a double take already!  The Sorbetto is a great pattern for small amounts of fabric and an easy top for the warmer weather, and it’s FREE.  Other than my usual FBA and adding a little length I didn’t have to make any alterations to this pattern and the result is really easy to wear – more indie love!