my gingers

I need to be honest with you, friends, I could probably have filled this post with just pictures of my butt because, seriously, every single photo I took today of my rearview was just killing it!! And while that probably sounds like I have an insanely inflated sense of self when it comes to my booty, I assure you, I don't! IT'S JUST THESE JEANS!! 

So for posterior  I mean, posterity, I've included some front shots too, but I just want you to know it wasn't easy!!! *Sigh* the things I do for you guys...

But anyway, Heeeyyyy! What's new with y'all? Did you have a good Halloween? Is your November getting off to a swinging good start? I got myself into a bit of a blogging rut after posting my last Mood Sewing Network make - I just couldn't muster the mojo to re-write the post over here on my home turf, so if you haven't seen it, let me just direct you on over to the MSN site.  Once I accepted the fact that that post was just not going to get re-posted I felt like I unclogged the drains and could finally move on to sharing some of these other makes that have been sitting around waiting to be blogged about! 

And first on that list are these white Ginger Jeans - the newest pattern from Closet Case Files!

You know, I really love seeing women that I've come to know, and call my friends through the sewing  and blogging community expand, and grow, and take on new ventures, and find success through their passion and hard work.  And no one embodies this more for me than my pal, Heather Lou.  I'm just so proud of her and her burgeoning pattern business! And it's with good reason too - because each new pattern she releases knocks it out of the park.  And I'm not just saying that because I love her (even though I do) but I really believe that each of her patterns possess a little bit of magic that makes me feel like a million bucks every time I put them on.  Case in point: these Ginger Jeans have since been dubbed my 'sexy jeans'.  They may not be perfect, but that rear view is worth the title alone, in my opinion!!

Okay, okay, I know you guys didn't come here to listen to me wax poetic about my tush and my love for Heather, so let me tell you a bit about the actual pants you see before you.  First of all, Heather asked me to test this pattern, and I said 'yes' because I love making jeans, and I love wearing jeans, and I love learning about jeans, and because - duh - she's my girl! (Okay, I'm done, I swear... well maybe not...) So the jeans in this post are my test version.

I used a moderately stretchy, mid-weight denim that I picked up with my Mood allowance.  Funny thing about these jeans - this is actually the wrong side of the denim! The right side of the denim was described on the Mood site as being a 'burnished gold', and of course, me being me, I thought "oooh gold jeans!!!" and clicked 'buy' without a second thought. Then the denim arrived and, much to my dismay, they weren't so much 'gold' in real life as they were a sad, slightly greenish, khaki color. Boo.  (To be fair, had I gotten past the 'gold' descriptor and gone on to read the rest of the color description I might not have been so disappointed) I was all resigned to just make them up as a muslin that never saw the light of day, when I had the sudden brainwave to use the wrong side of the fabric, which is this pretty normal looking white color you see before you. Total save!

I'm no novice to jeans making - in fact these Ginger's will make my sixth pair of handmade jeans.  And I really have to say, it's one of the things I love to make the most.  I just get so much satisfaction out of all the topstitching and details, and I really enjoy knowing that I'm making something that will get a lot of love and wear.  For my test version of the Ginger Jeans pattern I made View B - the high-waisted and skinny leg variation.  I chose this style for two reasons: 1) I love a good high rise for their vintage-y sexy look and 2) My hacked-to-pieces Built By Wendy pattern that I've been using to make my own jeans pretty closely resembles View A and I was looking for something a little different.  I cut a size 6 for these, which is a size smaller than what I've cut in Heather's patterns in the past.  My measurements were a bit all over the place - a 6 in the waist and a 10 in the hips.  I gambled by cutting the 6 and sewing the hips and legs at a 3/8" SA instead of the instructed 5/8".  The resulting fit is very close, but they're still comfy (stretch denim is a beautiful thing)!

I really love the fit of these! I'm sorry, I have to say it again, but I don't know what sort of voodoo magic Heather puts into her patterns because each one makes my bum look ace! I really only ever have this experience with her patterns, so... obviously it's witchcraft.  To be fair, I do have a bit of a camel toe issue with the front rise (I tried to pose in such a way as to minimize it's appearance in these photos - also, isn't 'camel toe' an awful name?) but it's not enough to make me stop wearing them in public. Also, it should be noted that Heather has made a few fit adjustments to the pattern after we testers gave her our feedback. I believe one of the things she changed was to take a little scoop out of the crotch curve on the high-waisted version to solve any potential camel toe issues. Of course, we're all such unique little snowflakes, no one is going to fit any one pattern exactly the same.  I'm sure I'll still have to make little tweaks here and there when I make my next pair of Gingers from the finalized pattern, but... that's sewing!

Some of the little details I added to my jeans were this gold topstitching thread and copper buttons and rivets, all bought from Taylor Tailor.  And maybe my favorite little detail is the hot pink thread I used to sew the buttonhole.  This was something I did on my husband's jeans and I just loved how personalized it made them feel.  See?! There's just so many little ways you can customize your jeans when you make them yourself - it's like a 'Choose Your Own Adventure' sewing experience! 

I also have to say that these are some of the most thorough instructions I've ever come across.  Sewing jeans can be a bit of a process which is probably why so many people are intimidated by them.  Heather really breaks the whole thing down for you with the instructions, I even learned a few new tricks to add to my jeans sewing arsenal! And, of course, she's doing an exhaustive series of posts as part of her sew-along covering just about everything you could ever want to know about making your own jeans. Truly, it's a like a gold mine of jeans sewing information! I've long been an advocate of making your own jeans - it's just so damn empowering - and I love that now there's all the information you could possibly want all in one place.

Let's finish off with one last look at that boot-ay because... I mean... hot damn!

I'm sure I probably sound like a Closet Case Files fan girl in this post, and, well, I am! But I also hope you guys know I wouldn't just rave about something for no good reason - I'm just really pleased with the way my jeans turned out! 

But I guess the real question is whether or not the Ginger Jeans pattern will replace my Tried and True Built By Wendy jeans pattern? You know... they just may! I most definitely need more of these high-waisted beauties in my closet, and if the low rise version gives equally good ass - then who am I to complain! I will say that I was able to get my dirty little mitts on one of the Ginger Jeans denim kits before they sold out, and... yeah. There's gonna be more Gingers in my future.

What about you guys? Anyone else looking to make this handmade jeans thing happen?

xx