I was sewing away last night, working on two pairs of jeans at the same time. When I make pants I finish all of the details like the fly and the pockets before the major seams, like those that run down the leg. I had just put in these seams on one pair of the jeans, in my final moments of productivity before I caved in to exhaustion and the final episode of Deadwood. I held up the pants but did not try them on because I’ve used this pattern four times and I knew they would fit. They looked surprisingly small. I happily thought, wow, I’m thin! It would not be embarrassing at all to have these little jeans hanging out to dry if I had a yard and a clothes line.
This morning I spent another hour attaching the waistband and finally tried on the jeans. They’re obscenely tight. I then remembered that my jeans pattern has a ½” seam allowance instead of the typical 5/8” that every other pattern in the world uses. (Thanks again Wendy Mullin. Why did you do this!) You might not think that 1/8” would matter that much, but that adds up to ½” per leg circumference. I guess no woman’s wardrobe is complete without a too-small pair of jeans serving as diet motivation.
8 comments:
those jeans are not too tight. they look hot!
Per our conversation about sizes and their associated weights, there is this great chart on the Wikipedia "Standard American Sizes"site. Scroll down to the chart labeled "Conversion from catalog sizes." Though the addition of a new set of sizes is even more confusing - which one am I wearing catalog or standard? What are Target sizes? Patterns come in standard sizes, right? And I am happy to say that I was more right than you were about how much weight equals one size change. (Though honestly, that chart is correct on my height for my size but is either 40 or 55lbs off!) Or else I'm wearing my jeans WAY too tight.
I'm really enjoying your project - it certainly inspires me to whip out my sewing machine after a few months of 'can't be bothered-ness"! I must say that those jeans look great, I didn't realise there was a problem with them until I read your post.
This is the url that the previous comment references:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US_standard_clothing_size
Do I have to address you as Funkospectrometer, or can I reveal your real name?
I can't compare my weight to that chart because I'm not the standard height, but I can tell it's way off. It has a 145 lb woman wearing a size 34, and that's supposedly after "vanity sizing". I bet you're editing Wikipedia as I write this.
I think jeans fit if they feel tight but I can sit without tearing them. I cannot sit or walk naturally in my motivational jeans, but I have lost a pound since I made them, which puts me below my official "simple wardrobe" two-pound fluctuation window. I know I should do the right thing and find someone who would fit into the jeans and hem them at the perfect length for that person, but who would that person be? and would she even want hand-made jeans?
Woah - the craziest thing just happened. It took me about 45 minutes to write a comment in respose to funkospectrometer and in that time Fox Drink Water made a comment. Someone is actually reading as I write.
Fox Drink Water - I like your blogger name.
Oh no! - I just spelled response wrong and I can't edit comments! I have maintained a strict don't-drink-and-blog rule, but I've broken it tonight. The result is that I can't stop making comments on my own blog.
Oh, Keiler, this is why I've always shied away from blogging - the fear of typoes and becoming obsessed with it.
It feels weird for you to call me the f-word.
-Katrina
Ha! I love a bit of a co-inky-dink when it comes to comment making. How odd that we should be on at the same time when I live on the other side of the world! Thanks for the nice words about my name, it's a combo of family last names that just seems to work.
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