I hadn’t realised quite how much I wanted to sew the Jamie jeans pattern from the new Finnish company, Named, until it disappeared off their site for a few days and I kinda freaked out that I might’ve missed the opportunity to make it! Happily, it was only down so they could revamp the pattern and improve the instructions, and I bought it soon after.
Despite my first version/muslin being a total FAIL due to lengthwise-stretch only fabric, I still managed to crack on and sew up a second version without totally losing my nerve, and I now am the proud owner of silvery rockstar jeans. Maybe I need to start a band now, hmmm…
I bought this pattern after Named’s refresh, so I can tell you that the instructions are now illustrated (though with some mistakes – I noticed they forget to say to close the pocket bags!), and you get all the sizes when you buy them, though they’re still split into different pdfs (two sizes per file). There are 1cm seam allowances included, but the stitching lines are also marked, which is helpful.
Thank you to Claire for snapping these photos after our lunch date!
Since all of my trousers are stupidly baggy from my marathon training, I did my best not to go too big and I made these in a size 40, and they’re really close fitting! Don’t get me wrong, I love the fit, but you need some serious stretch in your fabric to make these work.
The only thing I’m not 100% sold on here is that they’re a little bit more low-rise than I’m normally used to, so I might increase the rise when I go to sew more… and I will sew more! I really need some slim jeans, probably more than I need crazy rockstar silver trousers in my life.
The fabric is from Minerva (now sold out) and is a silver-coated stretch “denim”, but which I’m fairly certain is actually a bengaline based on feel and the fact that it only stretches lengthwise. I learned this the hard way after cutting out my first pair according to the fabric layout (for the standard cross-wise stretch) and not being able to get them on past my calves! Luckily, I had a second length of the fabric that I’d not pre-washed (as pre-washing made most of the silver come off, so Minerva sent me more), so I was super careful cutting them out the second time!
I really like that you use the reverse of your fabric at the top of the pockets so you get a great little contrast there!
So yes, I can never wash these, so it’s a good thing I’ve got some Febreeze spray, eh? I’ll just have to call them my Filthy Rockstar jeans!