Lander Jeans

Hello Friends! It has been some time since I’ve posted anything on here. So I thought I’d do a quick catch-up before I launch into today’s make (here’s a sneak preview of my Lander jeans – scroll down to see more!).

2018 in review

Despite the fact that I haven’t shared much in the past few months, I’ve been sewing a lot. I counted 34 projects sewn in 2018 (that I could remember at least!). Here’s how it breaks down:

• 13 knit tops (including four Union St Tees)
• 7 woven tops (many shown in this post)
• 6 pants and shorts (includes knits – like these, and wovens – like these Landers)
• 4 things for kids
• 2 “special” items: a Lonetree jacket and a silk noil Gypsum skirt, both unblogged
• 2 others (a Delia beanie and loads of undies)

This list feels like a nice balance of tops and bottoms, wovens and knits, and is generally reflective of what I wear. I did pretty well on my #2018MakeNine goals – I made five of my specific projects, and for two more I subbed in “alternates” – the Lander pants instead of Chi-Town Chinos and knit PJs for the Carolyn pajamas. I failed miserably at making a shirt for my husband (maybe in 2019??).

I have some goals for 2019, but I will save that for another time. Let’s get on to the main event!

Lander Jeans

Last year I made my very first pair of “real” pants using the Lander Pants pattern from True Bias. As my sewing skills progressed, I was ready to take on the challenge of sewing a pair of trousers to fill a serious gap in my me-made wardrobe. This year I am dedicated to taking that one step further by making jeans. And what better place to start than with a pattern that I’ve already sewn and tweaked? So here they are – my very first pair of jeans!

I knew that I wanted these to be a bit more snug than my last pair of Landers (and I took those ones in considerably), so I traced out a size smaller than my measurements and did the same crotch adjustment that I did before. Then I threw caution to the wind and cut out my denim without making a muslin. Luckily they fit just fine, and I even slimmed them down a bit more around the hips. On the inside I used a strip of red ribbon as a waist stay to keep them from stretching out too much.

As you can see I used the zip fly expansion instead of the button fly.

The fabric is a non-stretch denim that I picked up from a remnant stack at Fabric Outlet. It’s a nice weight and color, heavy without being too stiff, and seems to be pretty high quality. And it was really hard to find. They had an entire shelf of stretch denim, but zero non-stretch, so I had to go hunting through the stacks and stacks of remnants to find what I needed for this project. I used a nice jeans button from Stonemountain (they sell matching rivets too!) and some gold topstitching to top it off.

The result is a nice solid pair of wide-legged, high-rise jeans, that give off a bit of a 70’s vibe. Especially when paired with this tie-dye looking top.

and a Dublin Dolman too

This top is the Dublin Dolman from New Horizons and it’s one of my new favorite tee patterns. It’s a super easy sew, and I like the shape, especially in a fabric with a lot of drape like this one (bamboo stretch jersey). I picked up this tie-dye style bamboo jersey from Stonemountain along with another gem (which I hope to share soon!). It’s super soft, with nice earthy tones.

This is my fourth Dublin Dolman, but I’ve yet to try the gathered v-neck option, which also looks really cute (check out this version). I stumbled upon this pattern when I decided to ditch my plans to make some super cute Carolyn pajamas and just make some comfy knit PJ pants instead (pure necessity sewing!). The Portlander pants seemed like just the right pattern (and, oh, it was! I wear them almost every night), and the Dublin Dolman caught my eye when I was perusing the New Horizons store.

Styling my Wide-Legged Pants

I have a confession to make. I’ve had these jeans made for a month now, and I’ve only worn them once. Every night I think to myself, tomorrow I’m going to wear those amazing jeans I made! But come morning, all I want to do is to pull on my old favorite RTW jeans because this wide-legged pant thing is just a bit out of my fashion comfort zone. I know they are what all the cool kids are wearing, and I love how they look on other people, but when I put them on I just feel a bit awkward. And rectangular.

After playing dress up with these jeans in my closet, I’ve discovered a few things about styling them:

• A slight heel makes all the difference. Really. Booties or wedges take my Landers up a notch.
• Half-tuck that shirt! This shows off the high-waist without feeling too fussy.
• Tops with lots of drape work best. This works with both a flowy woven blouse or a drapey knit tee.
• When in doubt, chop that hem. As with my first pair of Landers, there’s just something about that cropped length.

I really want to wear these jeans more, but to be honest, the jury’s still out. I hope that I can warm up to them with time. I can be a bit slow to embrace trends – it took me years to finally accept skinny jeans into my normal wardrobe rotation. So I will keep on testing the waters with this whole wide leg pant thing!

What are your favorite ways to wear wide leg pants? Do you embrace fashion trends willingly or begrudgingly?

Details

Pattern: Lander Pants by True Bias and Dublin Dolman by New Horizons
Fabric: non-stretch denim from Fabric Outlet (SF) and bamboo jersey from Stonemountain (Berkeley)
Size: 14 (Landers) and 16 (Dolman tee)