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Sewing your own clothing is always amazing, but there are a few garments that many home sewists are afraid of attempting. Like bathing suits (which I hope to do soon with this pattern by Jalie that I bought this past summer). And bras (I’d love to learn with the Sewing Bras: Construction & Fit course* on Craftsy). And jeans.
But now I am thrilled to say that I can cross sewing jeans off my list because I had the pleasure to participate in the testing of the Birkin Flares jeans pattern by Baste + Gather, and have sewn my own gorgeous and comfortable jeans!
I mean, look at those– they’re real jeans! They don’t look homemade because of the attention to all those little details that make jeans… jeans!
I have never worn a more comfortable pair of jeans. For real. I love these.
I’m going to put a little disclaimer in here. I posted some pictures of these on my Facebook page and got a few negative comments about the bunching in the crotch. In some of the pictures of me sans-belt, they had slipped down a little bit. But for the most part, any visible bunching is due to my position (such as walking or standing not perfectly straight up). However, I would like to invite anyone who criticizes any crotch creasing in these jeans to look at how their own fitted jeans fit, or take a look at pictures of other people, like this one, and most likely they’ll see the same effect. That’s just what slim fit jeans do!
Anyway, disclaimer over, these jeans feature a high waist, so no fears of flashing the world when you lean over!
These jeans are made with denim with 2% stretch, which is just enough to hug your bum and thighs while remaining so, SO comfortable. Oh, and you know how some pants will dig into your belly when you sit down? Those days are over with these! (By the way, how do you like my inner tube bracelet? I think it looks good with these black jeans.)
Stretch denim also makes for very comfortable movement. I hate tight jeans that restrict movement, and these are a whole different story!
I love the flared leg and that these jeans can be dressed up or down. Here I’m wearing them with this leggings-to-shirt refashion (as seen on May 30 here), an infinity scarf, and one of my crocheted hats.
I purposely didn’t make my jeans so long as to nearly hit the ground because I want to be able to wear them with sandals, too.
Here’s an in-progress picture that I posted on Instagram. There is such satisfaction in seeing your first pair of jeans come together.
Something that really shocked me about this pattern is just how relatively easy it was to sew. The instructions are so clear and detailed, that I rarely had any doubts as to what to do. And the few times I did, well, Lauren has in the meantime made them easier to understand.
The Birkin Flares pattern includes all the bells and whistles of a bona-fide pair of jeans, including post button, rivets, strategic bar tacks and contrast topstitching. Actually, using topstitching thread was a revelation to me. It’s amazing to sew with!
Conclusion? Awesome pattern. Love it! You can buy it here, or just read more about it here. And if you’re interested to see what sort of options a pattern like this has, take a look at some of the testers’ pictures here. That’s a lot of gorgeous jeans!
Lauren is also working on skinny jeans and bootleg versions of this pattern, and I can’t wait to try those out, too! She’s also planning a Birkin Flares sew along, and also has a group on Facebook to share pictures and ask any questions. Let’s just say the Birkin Flares aren’t just a pattern, but a whole experience!
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The fit of the crotch really is too loose at the front, and kinda tight at the back. Even when walking or leaning forward, it should not look like that. I often have this issue with my RTW jeans, but not to that extent! It’s a shame, because the quality of your sewing is amazing – I can never get my top stitching that even! But the fit is off.
Thanks for your thoughts, Anna. I am actually going to test another version of jeans by the same designer in the next couple of weeks. The top is the same, so I thought that I would lower the waistband by 1″ in the front. I think part of the issue is that I don’t normally wear high-waisted pants, so I tend to let them slip down a little. I was thinking of shortening the crotch length, but then I decided to just lower the whole front waist. But I’m thinking that perhaps I should also make the crotch depth a little less. Good things to consider before I get working on the next pair!
I agree with anna. You did an awesome job sewing and topstitching these jeans but the front crotch fit is not right. I would not buy or make this pattern because of the fit issues (not just on yours)
Thank you for your honest opinion, Joanne! I won’t repeat what I wrote above to Anna, but I’m going to made some adjustments to them for the next pair. They really are super comfortable, and I’m determined to get them to fit me perfectly! 🙂
A lady I met at a sewing shop told me about this pattern & she was wearing her jeans! They looked great. She said that you order the pattern by your size, not the multi-size kind that you have to pick out your size & figure out which lines to follow. I can find nothing on the order form that allows me to choose a specific size.
Hi, Cheri, I think that she must’ve meant another pattern. I’ve heard of that type of pattern, where you put in your measurements and it gives you the size you need, but the Birkin Flares are not like that.