Happy fall, y’all!! It’s a beautiful day here in Charlotte! The sun is shining, the trees are changing, and I have new jeans (Ginger Skinny Jeans) to dance around in!

I started these Gingers back in April (!!!) and finally finished them about a month ago. My sewing space is in my garage, so summertime is a hot time of year to be down there sewing. The bright side of this, however, is that I got to finish them on my new hand-me-down Bernina that my grandma gave me in June! I visited her in Arizona, and she sent me home with her sewing machine!!!

While I’ve made three pairs of Ginger Jeans before, this is the first time I’ve made this view. I have some Cone Mills Denim for another pair of Ginger Skinnies but I wanted to muslin it out first. It seems I only make muslins of jeans when I have nice fabric. Otherwise, I just cut my fashion fabric first…

Since I’ve made other pairs of jeans, I decided to have a little fun with these ones. I changed up the top stitching around the fly. It’s something most people won’t notice, but I enjoyed deviating from the script a bit, if you will. I thought about doing a matching X on the back pockets but got caught up worrying about logistics so didn’t follow through.

The Pattern

The directions are mostly the same for both views of this pattern. Aside from the skinniness, the main difference between views (out of the envelope) is that these have the “tummy-slimming pocket stay”. I have to admit – I was skeptical of the rumored magical powers of the pocket stay, but I have come to see the light! I’ve never really worn high-waisted jeans before so I was worried they would dig in or feel constricting, but they’re so comfy. The pocket stays really do make me feel a little more “sucked in”, which makes me feel a little better about eating 4 slices of pizza (I actually did that just before taking these pictures)…

For the last few pairs of jeans I’ve made, I suppose I’ve been experimenting with the waistband lining. I’ve done denim, interfaced fabric, and more denim. My machine isn’t super thrilled about buttonholes on double layer denim (I haven’t tried on my new machine). I didn’t really want interfacing on these ones, since I didn’t want any uncomfortable tummy digging. So for these ones, I didn’t interface the lining fabric, and used that to line/face the waistband. I’m pretty happy with that decision. As I mentioned, they don’t really dig in, and the flexibility of the non-interfaced waistband is really nice on days I do eat 4 slices of pizza…

As far as fit goes, these are pretty spot on. I could maybe take the waistband in a tiny bit more, but it’s fine as is. The calves are a tiny bit tight, so I might do some adjustments there on the next pair.

Sizing & Pattern Info

Pattern: Ginger Jeans (Skinny hi-rise/view B) from Closet Case Patterns

Fabric: Stretch Denim from Denver Fabrics; lining: cotton print from Joann Fabrics

My measurements & Sizing: 37″/29″/42″; cut size 10/12 (graded out for hips)

Next Up

Aside from various projects that pop into my head as I go, my next plans are to batch sew three pairs of jeans. I still need to find fabric for two of them, but I figure it will be faster this way than to sew them one at a time. I will do a pair of the straight-leg Gingers, another pair of Ginger Skinny Jeans, and a pair of Morgan Boyfriend Jeans. I’m asking for a hand press for jeans rivets for Christmas, so that should help things along 🙂

Stay tuned for my post on my new Kelly Anorak Raincoat too!! Happy sewing 🙂