Saturday, January 5, 2013

I'm no longer a little bit country

The time has finally come! My Brother XL-2600i sewing machine finally came! I bailed on my friday night plans so that I could wait for the UPS guy to deliver my machine (He didn't come until 7pm!). I knew I wouldn't enjoy the night knowing that my machine was sitting outside of my door where anybody could take it. But here it is, and boy am I glad that decided to upgrade.

Note: Amazon didn't send it inside another box. They shipped it using the retail box  : /  Talk about lack of privacy


It only took me one try to wind a bobbin, thread the machine and try sewing. Since I was testing quilting thread, I had to experiment with the tension but that was so much easier than on my previous machine. Note to self, when using thick/courser thread, use higher tension!

Now to my project: Converting bootcut jeans to skinny jeans. I know the skinny jean fad has been around for more than 4 years, and I'm extremely behind the curve with this. Two months ago, most of the jeans in my closet were bootcut jeans until I started looking into straight jeans. For those who don't know, I have enormous calves and they don't go well with skinnies. One time I even ripped a pair of skinnies trying to fit my calves into them :( With that said, I knew that I had plenty of jeans that are waiting for conversion.

I think I'll try to summarize existing tutorials out there before I start my project. That way everyone knows why I did it. 

 Ok, on jeans, there are 2 different stitches on the side of the jeans. On the outside, there's a basic stitch that looks like 2 materials joining when looking on the outside. The on the inside, along the thigh, I'll call it a double stitch, where they did a basic stitch and reinforced it by ironing (or pressing) the seam and stitching it again. 

For starters, taking in the material. I saw one video only taking in material on the outside of the jeans. That seems reasonable because of the stitching (I'll get into that later). However, I saw in another tutorial that if you only take in the outer, that shifts the grain of the jean and you'll actually see the twisting of the material along the front of your calves. 

One of the blogs that I follow also say to start taking in material starting at the crotch. You can see her video here. That is difficult for me since my jeans are snug from the crotch to the thigh. I decided to take in the material starting at, or a little below the knee. I laid a pair of straights that I liked on top of the bootlegs and started pinning.


I'm using a quilting thread, so that it's a bit stronger. Start sewing down towards the bottom of the pants, and make sure you keep the pins in place. You probably want to use a basting stitch (a wide length stitch that isn't reinforced by reverse stitches) in case you think you might make a mistake. I didn't do that....but I don't mind how it turned out.


Looks pretty good eh? Well, take a closer look
The inside double stitch disappears.  I've thought of this multiple times and I can't think of an easy way to keep the double stitching along the side 
The outside of the jeans looks great though! 
 I hope you guys enjoyed this post! I've started working on another project, so stay tuned!

4 comments:

  1. I love that you cancelled your plans to wait for the package! I would do the same thing! I really need to learn how to sew and get a machine. It's so useful to be able to alter clothes. I do the same thing with my jeans.
    ~Jessica
    Jeans and a Teacup

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    1. hi jessica,
      thank you so much for your comment! i know most people are apprehensive to buy a sewing machine but i just tell them that it makes the sewing experience so much better.

      ive been following your blog for a while and i admire your style. i wish i could make my outfits look just as effortless. im pretty new to blogging and im hoping to make mine look as professional as yours.

      thanks for checking me out!
      -Jacki

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  2. Congrats on your new machine! My brother machine (slightly different model) also came from amazon in the retail box, so my UPS delivery guy (who is super friendly) said "Glad to see you're taking up sewing!" hahaha. And then yesterday he delivered a package that was a bridesmaids dress and the box was from a bridal store and the UPS guy says "I thought you were already married!!" - which i am, so i had to explain that it's just a bridesmaids dress. the delivery guy knows alot =)

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    1. Haha, that's funny! Yes, I agree, UPS guys seem to know a lot. Several years ago, one UPS guy told me that he used to live in my apartment when he went to college.

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