Vogue 8330 - I know...

No, your eyes are not deceiving you. I, of all people, made these jeans. See, it's a long story, but I'll keep it brief. Let's go back to last summer when I preached on the evils of skinny jeans, declared that they were sent from Satan himself and screamed from the rafters that you'd never, EVER catch me in a pair! Well... these aren't exactly "skinny jeans", they're "straight-leg jeans"! LOL I know, I know -- semantics! I had been seeing a lot of "not-so-skinny" women that looked pretty good in this style.

Alicia Keys

Beyonce

Tyra Banks

Then I saw Chanel with a pair on and she looked fabulous, and I knew right then, I had to atleast go and try on some. So, I decided to bite the bullet, hit the store and try them on. Okay... if I were going to struggle into a pair of these jeans, they had to be top-of-the-line, premium denium. I tried the William Rast Straight Leg Jeans, size 32 that retail for $224, and the fit was not terrible. The only thing I didn't like about them was the very low rise... no way in the world would I be able to bend over and pick anything up without showing all of the goodies.

Since I had made a pair of jeans before, I decided to take the plunge again.

Project Details

Pattern: Vogue 8330, View C
Fabric: Stretch Denim (97% cotton, 3% spandex)
Lining: Lightweight cotton twill - for the pockets (100% cotton)
Notions: Jean button; 7" brass zipper

Description: Close-fitting, low-rise pants have front fly, front zipper, front buttonhole and button closure, back yoke, carriers, front and back pockets, edge-stitch and topstitch detail throughout, with plain back pockets.

These jeans were very easy to make, just a basic pants construction with the exception of the yoke in back and all of the tedious topstitching. There were several modifications I made to get my desired look and fit.

• Added a couple of inches to the rise both front and back. My rise is 10" in the front and 15" in the back.
• Added 1.5" to the inseam. My inseam is 33".
• Added 1" to the leg opening by adding ¼" to each side on the bottom of the front and back pieces. My leg opening is 15" wide.
• Added darts to the yoke. When I tried them on before I added the waistband, I could tell that I would have some gaping. To solve this problem, I added darts.
• Drafted new back pockets. It baffles me that the pattern designer didn't think to keep the back pockets proportionate in size as she took the jean size from 6 - 20. I like a larger pocket so I used the dimensions from a favorite pair I own.
• Topstitching Detail - Front
• Topstitching Detail - Back
  

Overall, I'm suprisingly pleased with the results. Michael likes them, gave them the "thumbs up" and the kids like them... said they were "school-visit" approved! LOL

Now... what I'm wearing with them...