Itch to Stitch ~ Liana Stretch Jeans
Tuesday, December 01, 2015
Hey there! Having fully recovered from a turkey comatose I'm finally awake and eager to share with you a new pattern. Kennis from Itch to Stitch released her Liana Stretch Jeans pattern yesterday and I've got my tester version to share with you.
Liana should be made with denim that has at least 20% stretch. There are 3 leg options.. skinny, straight and boot cut. They are the classic 5 pocket design with options to include pocket flaps on the back pockets. The front pockets have a pocket stay which was a new thing to me. Pocket stay helps to keep the pockets in place plus trim the tummy. The jeans are mid-rise with a little more coverage in the back to prevent plumber's crack...Kennis, my husband thanks you for that! ;)
This was my first time testing for Kennis. All of the testers were invited to a Facebook group where we could all keep in contact and compare notes during the testing process. I love this! The jeans I have to share with you today are the test version only. My first test was made up in the skinny leg in a stretch corduroy from my stash. I only have some crappy iphone pics to show you.
You can see that these are tight in the thigh and calf areas. I let out the seams as much as I could and really didn't get any relief. I seemed to be in consensus with much of the rest of the group and Kennis quickly revised the pattern to widen the legs among other things. I didn't bother finishing these because I wasn't really feeling the fabric plus somehow I totally screwed up the fly front. I don't know how I did it but my zipper flap was nonexistent. My zipper would be visible at all times.
The back yoke in the prior versions had been straight. In this version the back yoke piece was curved which really helped with the gaping I was having.
The only adjustments I made to the pattern was in the length. Other than that I think I got a pretty good fit. They feel great!
Somehow I ripped a hole right where my zipper stop is at the crotch end. I have a sneaking suspicion it was when I was ripping out my topstitching because it wasn't perfect enough for me...ugh! So I had to get a tiny piece of denim and secure it to the hole from the inside with a tiny zig zag stitch. That's what all that mess is near the end of the zipper fly. Doesn't look bad from afar. Just looks like a bar tack. You probably wouldn't of even noticed if I hadn't pointed it out. ;)>
I successfully installed rivets purchased from Taylor Tailor. Not so successful on the jean button though. It didn't survive the wash. Haven't decided if I'm going to install another one or just sew a button on.
After finishing up my version 2 test pair I would like to make a pair from the released pattern using a lighter wash denim. Another boot cut style to mimic this pair I have pinned. I think I may shorten the back yoke just a tad.
If you've been considering making your own pair of jeans this is the time to do it. Kennis is having a sewalong over at her blog. There are discounts being offered on the pattern plus different fabric stores are also offering discounts on stretch denim. IMO jeans aren't hard to make and can be made fairly quick if you keep at it. The hardest part can be the fitting and getting the pattern tweaked to accomodate your own body type. Kennis does a great job at laying out the instructions and illustrations in an easy to understand format. Time is also taken to explain how to alter the pattern if you are in between sizes. My favorite part of the pattern, the layers feature. This feature means you only pick and print the size/sizes you want. No more trying to figure out which line your supposed to cut.
Also being released with the Liana jeans are the Irena knit top and the Mila shirt. I'll be sharing my Irena top with you next week. I have a Mila in the makes!
Version 2 started out a lot better. Again with the crappy iphone pics.
These are also the skinny version and are made with a stretch denim from Joann Fabric. You can see the fabric folding around the knee area in the side picture and I also had a lot of gaping in the back. I put these on hold to start on version 3 of the pattern. Kennis revised version 2 to address the twisting or folding effect on the knee. I fully intended to finish this pair and will share with you.
For my final test version I decided to try the boot cut style. My fabric is again from Joann Fabric.
The back yoke in the prior versions had been straight. In this version the back yoke piece was curved which really helped with the gaping I was having.
The only adjustments I made to the pattern was in the length. Other than that I think I got a pretty good fit. They feel great!
Somehow I ripped a hole right where my zipper stop is at the crotch end. I have a sneaking suspicion it was when I was ripping out my topstitching because it wasn't perfect enough for me...ugh! So I had to get a tiny piece of denim and secure it to the hole from the inside with a tiny zig zag stitch. That's what all that mess is near the end of the zipper fly. Doesn't look bad from afar. Just looks like a bar tack. You probably wouldn't of even noticed if I hadn't pointed it out. ;)>
I successfully installed rivets purchased from Taylor Tailor. Not so successful on the jean button though. It didn't survive the wash. Haven't decided if I'm going to install another one or just sew a button on.
After finishing up my version 2 test pair I would like to make a pair from the released pattern using a lighter wash denim. Another boot cut style to mimic this pair I have pinned. I think I may shorten the back yoke just a tad.
If you've been considering making your own pair of jeans this is the time to do it. Kennis is having a sewalong over at her blog. There are discounts being offered on the pattern plus different fabric stores are also offering discounts on stretch denim. IMO jeans aren't hard to make and can be made fairly quick if you keep at it. The hardest part can be the fitting and getting the pattern tweaked to accomodate your own body type. Kennis does a great job at laying out the instructions and illustrations in an easy to understand format. Time is also taken to explain how to alter the pattern if you are in between sizes. My favorite part of the pattern, the layers feature. This feature means you only pick and print the size/sizes you want. No more trying to figure out which line your supposed to cut.
Also being released with the Liana jeans are the Irena knit top and the Mila shirt. I'll be sharing my Irena top with you next week. I have a Mila in the makes!
0 comments