I have been wearing my jeans for a few weeks now. The denim is softening a little bit, but they are still pretty stiff. Here is a little recap of the process I went through to make the jeans. When I started I didn’t really know much about denim or clothing design for that matter. Over the course of several months though, I learned enough about pattern drafting and construction techniques to make myself a custom pair of jeans.

custom denim

Step 1. I sewed a practice pair in muslin using a commercial pattern. I used Burda 7733 to get a general understanding of the shapes of the different pattern pieces that make up a pair of jeans. When I began this project, I knew I wanted to design my own pattern, but using a  commercial pattern was a good place for me to start.

Step 2. I drafted and test fit a men’s jeans sloper. The sloper is a simple pattern without any style lines or pockets that helps to establish a good fit and basic shape. A sloper can be used to create more “stylized” patterns later.

Step 3. I designed my jeans pattern. Using the sloper from step 2, I modified the shape of this basic pattern to include the pockets, yoke, fly, and waistband. My goal here was to create a straight leg, somewhat slim fitting men’s jeans pattern. After creating the pattern pieces, I added seam allowance to each piece and cut them out in tracing paper.

Step 4. I sewed a second practice pair in muslin. Before cutting into high quality denim, I needed to make sure that the pattern I created in step 3 fit and that the pieces would actually go together properly. Everything went together as planned. Yay for my good work!

Step 5. I sewed the final denim jeans using the same pattern from step 3. Aside from the waist being a little too big and some less than perfect top-stitching, they turned out much better than I expected.

In fact, they have become my “go to” jeans for everyday wear. While I am already contemplating the changes I want to make for my second pair, I may have to learn how to make a women’s jeans sloper and pattern first because my wife secretly wants her own pair of custom selvedge denim jeans. I guess I’ll take that as a complement!