… is what I've been doing in the sewing room for the last day. Look familiar? It's The Ghost Threads of Topstitching Past. I'm guessing you've seen this ghost a time or two.
It visited me while I was working on the purple jeans. I had them complete except for hems last night. I'd been trying them on and adjusting the whole way through. I sewed and topstitched the sideseams. I sewed and topstitched the crotch seam from back to front. I sewed the back pockets on, and topstitched and added a decorative stitch. They were perfect. And finally, I sewed the waistband on and topstitched it. It was perfect too, one of my best.
Then I tried the jeans on again and I could take them off without undoing the zipper. Arghhh. Sometimes, no matter how many times you've done this before, something just doesn't work out. That's my story and I'm stickin' to it, because really, I have no idea why it didn't work out as basted and pretested.
To fix the problem would mean taking in the waistband at the center back and tapering a slight "dart" down the center back seam. To do that meant ripping out part of the waistband and all of its perfect stitching and topstitching, then ripping out all of the topstitching on the crotch seam. Which then meant that the back pockets would end up too close together to look right to my eye.
Fast forward. I've now finished all the ripping out and have resewed/topstitched the crotch seam and waistband. Next up will be re-attaching the pockets and topstitching those. And then I'll be back to where I was 24 hours ago.
The jeans are OK now but they're not going to be a favorite I don't think. Maybe a few days out of sight while in the Magic Wardrobe will fix that. We'll see. Sigh. At least they stay up now when I sit or bend over and I don't have to worry about being mistaken for a plumber. ;-)
Debbie, so sorry you had so much trouble with your pants. Way to stick with it and get a much better fitting garment. Instead of comparing to a plumber my girls say "crack kills" when the see the plumber crack!
ReplyDeleteBTW, your picture is great.
Lori
Sincerest commiserations,Debbie...You must be THE most persistent ripper on the 'net.
ReplyDeleteDebbie, I love the photo but I don't like the reason for it. :-( So are you done? Are you finished? Any more pants on the sewing table? Can I go home now? LOL
ReplyDeleteAww, man. You know sometimes denim just stretches out, it's a bugger to work with. I was going to suggest putting them through a hot wash to see if they would go back to shape. I guess that's a moot point since they would stretch out of shape again with wear and body heat. . .
ReplyDeleteI gave up on jeans 3 years ago, it's not worth it to me.
I agree with Mary B. about sewing jeans - I'd rather buy and save myself the frustration. That said, I applaud your persistance! Sometimes ripping is the only way - I do it regularly ;-)
ReplyDeleteDebbie, I feel your pain ... the only thing that keeps me going on jeans is that I can't find a pair in RTW that fits me in all the right places ... otherwise I would have given up long ago!
ReplyDeleteHa, I've seen those before (there was a small one around here today, in fact)--along with the Rat's Nests of Previous Projects Scraps, which always seem to be under the table. Takes constant vigilance.
ReplyDeleteLMH