My latest jeans project uses the Pattern Lab system to hopefully get a good fit on these trousers. I’m using PatternLab.Ldn skinny jeans block with some black stretch denim from the stash. Here’s my Affinity Designer sketch for these classic-looking jeans.

The denim is a lovely deep inky black and I decided to use white thread to give a great high-contrast topstitching. I didn’t have any white topstitching thread, so I used two spools threaded into the same needle to create a thicker line. I think it looks great and I hope that the denim won’t fade too much over time. PatternLab adds a little twist with this cutaway pocket detail which is quite nice. I got in on some of the hidden embellishments that I’ve admired on other makers’ jeans so they are #justasniceinside. I had some leftover pink denim from a failed project which I used to line the inside of the waistband. The pocket bags are made with some stretch cotton I found in the stash but can’t recall where it came from. The colours echo the pink of the waistband and although no one will see these details when worn, I’m glad I’ve included them. I finished the jeans with a silver stud button.

Up until now, I’ve been quite successful using the PatternLab system trousers. However, I had to make a few adjustments to reach the final fit on these. The trousers were too big overall I had to reduce the width of the legs and waistband taking a few centimetres out of both the inside leg and the outseam before I got rid of the bagginess.

One thing I really have to get to the bottom of is this extreme twisting on the legs of these jeans. I’m used to suffering from this a bit on most of the trousers that I make and I’m still trying to figure out what causes it. It seems that I could fix it by changing the angle of my pants legs and actually swivelling them outwards at the knee as there seems to be an inward twist at the inseam. Maybe because the legs are so narrow, the twisting seems to be far more pronounced and also appears so much more obvious due to the white topstitching. I’ve decided to pass it off as a style element – I’m sure Levi’s had some twisted jeans back in the day. I actually like the jeans a lot and I’ve managed to whittle them down to a nice comfortable fit as well so these will be wearable toile, I think, but I do need to resolve this twisting effect.

I’ve got to be strong and declare a moratorium on starting any more trousers until I’ve had a look at some fit fixes in detail.

Despite the need for a bit of remedial work, I love my new jeans and have worn them quite a few times already. The white-on-black finish is really striking and I’ve got ideas for a skirt and jumpsuit with the same styling.

Thanks for dropping by,