Hello Sewists! I’m almost there, I’ve pretty much finished the denim shorts I planned to make for London Pride.
I always work on Saturdays, so I miss out on the best part of the day, the parade. The weather looks set to be amazing this year and I’m sure the march will be a tremendous celebration.
Three years ago, MrA & I got married on London Pride day, it was a scorcher then too. I love the way london feels on this night, everyone seems friendlier, relaxed and having fun. London is a pretty inclusive place anyway, but on this day, somehow it seems more so. I don’t work far from soho so it’s easy enough to join the crowds after work… the evenings are still beautifully light, so it won’t seem like it’s so late.
Anyhow, these shorts didn’t make themselves! I’ve done…
… and now here we are with the main seams and waistband.
The inseam is the traditional one to flat fell. The strongest seam goes on the inside to stand up to the rigours of horse riding… or so I’m told. Personally, I don’t get much horse riding done these days. But if hiring london bikes counts…?
First sew the inside leg seam, from hem to hem passing through the crotch at the middle – with your fabric right sides out.
Press – trim – press – pin – stitch! Just the same as I did for the yokes in This Post. And it should end up looking something like this…
(… not too close now, hey!)
The outside seams are a simple case of sewing them up and overlocking the edges. Double-turn and topstitch the hems, then it’s on to the waistband…
Make the beltloops: I usually ‘fold the long edges to the centre, then fold in half’ to make the beltloops. This time, for a change, I cut and finished one side on the overlocker then folded in three before stitching down.
Pin and baste the loops in position on the waist of the shorts… I put the side ones a couple of centimetres back from the side seam. The back ones either side of the centre back seam and I eyeball the front ones.
I’ve used a contrast cotton for the inside waistband, so I prepare it by sewing the two together on the long edge. I press the seams toward the inside and ‘under-stitch’ them to the inside waistband close to the edge, to help keep it in place. Then I overlock the inside edge, trimming off about 1cm.
I have to apologise here as I didn’t get any photos of the waistband going in… I think I’ve got enough archive shots to cover it though…
Pin the outer waistband to the top of the shorts and sew around. Watch out if you’re going over a zipper… hand crank slowly and mind out for flying needles!
When I come to sewing the short ends of the waistband, I fold the corner of the inside seam allowance up at about 90° – this makes sure that my rainbow overlocking thread doesn’t peek through at the centre front. This is the same thing on my linen shorts…
Turn the waistband the right way round and the finished edge on the inside should just cover the stitching line. Before sewing it in place, I sew the beltloops down onto the front of the jeans, about 1cm from the waistband. This is it on my green jeans…
THEN I topstitch all the way around the waistband.
To secure the tops of the beltloops I first treat them to a lick of fraycheck. Once that’s dried I fold the loops up, turn the end under by about 5mm and stitch them in place, in line with the topstitching. This can be tricky going through so many layers so I use a bit of folded over scrap fabric – positioned right next to the beltloop, keeping the sewing foot level. Here I am doing just that on my black jeans…
Then, so close to the end of the make I decided to try something new. Knowing that my machine doesn’t much like doing waistband buttonholes, I chose to sew my first ever hand sewn buttonhole! There are plenty of amazing tutorials and examples available online – so I urge you to do your own research on that… and probably practice a few times first, too. Mine is like the poor trash relation to the hand sewn buttonhole – born on the bastard side of town! It certainly won’t be winning any beauty contests, but it functions perfectly and seems sturdy enough to hold up (avert your eyes if you’re squeamish!)
Needless to say, a heck of a lot of fraycheck went on it! (And you can see where the topstitching is uneven lengths as together, my machine & I struggled with the thread & all the layers of fabric – I probably should have put the walking foot on…?)
I hammered in a jeans button and they’re done! Well, without rivets, but done!
Here’s a little montage of the rivets going on my blue jeans instead!
So I’ll have to add rivets later. No problem.
Here they are, fresh from the machine; The insides…
And the outsides…
And, of course, my Pride themed photo shoot…!
Happy Pride Everyone!
Notes to self:
- I’m not convinced by my topstitching thread (Gutterman) I’ve been recommended some others which I am looking forward to researching and trying out.
- Try flattening the seams with a hammer (if the neighbours don’t mind too much…)
- Remember to take construction pics of the fiddly bits too – don’t get so stuck in that you forget!
- These shorts are going to be worn to death this summer! (… & the next… & the next…!)
These shorts look amazing! Such neat details and I love the back pocket embroidery.
PS: I nominated you for a fun Mystery Blogger Award. It’s a nice way of celebrating other bloggers. Here is the link to my nomination post : https://www.dreamcutsew.com/blog/2018/07/14/random-fun-facts-for-the-mystery-blogger-award
Don’t worry if you haven’t got time to participate though. No pressure is intended.
Oh wow, thank you! I just read your post, great fun 👍 … you know, line dancing isn’t SO different to tap dancing!! Maybe I’ll see you in class one day! 👍🙏👏😊
The jeans look good and I’m sure you’ll wear them with much pride. Just one note, I would have stitched both ends of the belt loops; your method is a more traditional tailored pant version. I’m sure the inserted end method you used is easier to sew, but maybe not as traditional as top stitching them. Otherwise, great shorts!
Thanks John, I’ve never taken a sewing lesson, so these facts are interesting to me.
I find the method I use to be strong and, yes, easier to be more accurate, which is a major plus for me!
Thanks again for your feedback 👍🙏
Once again you’ve given some really useful tips and tricks which I must remember to use. These shorts are just perfect and I hope you had a wonderful Pride Day!
Thank you so much 👍 we had a great time 👍🙏🌈😊
These are wonderful! I very much enjoyed following the process, and the top stitching is beautiful irregardless of a little longer-shorter length. That green thread! Your wonderful rainbow sewing machine!
Thank you so much! Certainly no one called me out for irregular topstitching! Thank goodness! We had a great time 👍🙏🌈
WOW! These are great! I am seriously using this tutorial to make my son jeans this Fall! Thank You!
You are going to get lots of great comments and questions about your beautiful sewing machine embroidery!
You better have a pocket full of your beautiful sewist pins or etsy business cards to sell them to other sewists you meet!
Thank you! Good luck with your jeans, I hope this helps!
Haha, I didn’t think about taking the pins! We had a great night though 👍🙏
Seriously impressive project and result. Wear them with pride. 😉
Thank you 😊🙏
👍👍👍
Viele Grüße aus Deutschland.
👍 👋🙏
These look good on you so enjoy your pride day and thanks for the detailed sew along, these things do help us a lot when trying to tackle makes. Look forward to your next sew along.
All the best.
Thank you! 👍🙏🌈