Hemming Jeans

I know that hemming jeans can be a bit tricky...finding the perfect matching thread and stitching over the side and inseam lumps.Trying to maneuver the presser foot over them without either breaking a needle or skipping stitches or bunching up the thread. Some home sewers keep a hammer nearby in their sewing room to pound those lumpy spots into sewing submission. Well, you can put down your hammer and pick yourself up one of these babies... 

My mom gave me this little gadget for Christmas one year. The only part of this little jig that I actually use is the notch you see in the end.(on the right) You see, when you try to sew over a bulky seam, the pressure foot gets tilted and no longer has an even pressure and therefore skips stitches, bunches or breaks the needle.

To use: start stitching your hem until the pressure foot reaches the bulky seam

then stop but leave your needle in the down position

raise the pressure foot and slide the slotted end under the pressure foot from behind
the needle fits into the slot

Now, slowly stitch over the seam, stopping while the pressure foot is still on the seam but the needle is in the down position and just this side of the seam. 

Raising the pressure foot,  remove the jig from the back and slide it under the presser foot in front. Lower presser foot. The notch  will allow you to take about five more stitches by which time the presser foot should be clear of the bulky seam.

And that's it! This is the easiest way I have found to hem jeans at home.

*UPDATE! My mom just read this post and told me to read the words on the gauge that say... BUTTON GAUGE...Oh...I didn't see that. You could use it for sewing on buttons too..I guess. Whatever. So this really is a new use of this little jig. 

Boot Cut Gets The Boot

I have been on the hunt for a pair of black skinny jeans. They have eluded me because I couldn't find the right fit. Being a runner, I have some decent sized thighs and calves..so when I try skinny jeans on they are way too tight in the legs and yet too big in my hips and waist. I have taken jeans in for other people but haven't done it for myself, until now.

 I found these jeans at my favorite thrift store and because they fit so well in the waist and seat, I thought that they just might work for a refashion into skinnies.

 I used another pair of jeans as a template for the new ones. When I am asked to do this alteration for anyone else, I always ask them to bring a pair of jeans that they really like. It makes it so much easier for me. 

I'm sewing a new seam on the outside of these jeans because the existing outside seam is not topstitched, making it a more simple task. First, I carefully line up the two pairs, matching the crotch seam. 

Then, using my chalk, I trace a new seam line and carefully duplicate the same line on the other leg. I sew this new seam, then trim and serge the seam allowance. I also hemmed them to an ankle length.

I realize that my hems don't look the same length but they are,
I just have one foot lifted...trying to be all model like. HA!

  I know that some people hate hemming jeans because sewing over the bulky seams is difficult but I don't. I have a little trick that I will share in another post.

Mom's Always Right

 

I ADORE making and wearing dresses but of course I don't wear them everyday.(at least not when it's cold) I like wearing my jeans and with my pledge for the me-made-may 2013 challenge not too far off, I thought I had better get to sewing a top or two.      

                      

I bravely took off my cardigan for a full view of my top... but it was soo cold!

I made this cute top from Newlook 6186, view D. I didn't make any major changes except that instead of topstitching the binding around the neckline, I handstitched it in place from the inside. Topstitching a binding in place is something I need a LOT more practice at. My mom always taught me that handstitching the finishing touches like hems is always nicer anyway. Mom's always right.

If I were to make it again, I would make a smaller size. The sizing thing with sewing patterns is tricky. Then again, the same is true in ready to wear clothing as well.

Top:self-made Cardigan:JCrew thrifted Jeans: Puzzle thrifted Shoes: Joe Fresh

Canadian Summer

Yesterday's temperature went up to 10 degrees ...and when the weather gets that warm, I'm going for a skirt and bare legs. I will likely get a few "are you crazy?" looks.. but for the majority of us hardy Canadians, it's just time to bring out the summer wardrobes. 

This week, I was impatiently waiting for spring and decided that snow flurries or not, I was digging out my spring and summer clothes. It's always like Christmas for me to open those plastic totes that have been home to shorts, sundresses and all my other summery goodness. I often have forgotten what I have packed away and this skirt was one I hardly remembered having, let alone making. I had to go digging to find the pattern I used for this cute little skirt.

The rounded yoke waistband and pleated front details of this skirt get a little lost in the print but the upside to that is... you can't see the wrinkles either. Score! I used this Simplicity 2451 and don't remember having any problems making it. Then again...I didn't remember having this skirt at all.

Skirt:self-made Shirt:Old Navy Necklace: Lia Sophia Shoes: Payless