Once my pattern was complete, I wanted to make another pair of test “jeans” out of muslin before diving into actual denim. Since this was my first attempt at drafting a custom pattern, I was a little nervous that maybe the pattern wouldn’t come together properly. I needed to make sure that the fit was right, and well…that it could actually be sewn.

Prior to this, I always had a set of instructions and the various markings on the commercial patterns I had sewn to guide me. This time around I was completely on my own, which actually made the sewing process more enjoyable. It was quite freeing to not worry about following a set of instructions, and to just assemble these practice jeans in the way that made the most sense.

To my surprise, everything went together flawlessly. They fit well through the leg, crotch, and butt area. I had a little extra room in the waste band, which could easily be fixed in the pattern. The only detail I left off this pair that I would put on a denim pair is rivets. I went ahead and put on the fly buttons for practice. As I mentioned in the pattern making post, I wanted to learn how to make a button fly. I used David Page Coffin’s book Making Trousers for Men and Women to figure out how a button fly is constructed. The book has a section on button flies that was very helpful with step by step instructions.

My top stitching through the fly area could still use some work, but this was a practice pair, and I wasn’t too concerned with making them look perfect. Here is the back side.

I want to make these back pockets a bit bigger on a denim pair, but the overall shape is fine. The top stitching across the back pockets is supposed to make a somewhat abstract pair of “T’s.”

Other than taking a little extra room out of the waste area, my pattern doesn’t need to be modified in any way. I have spent sooooo much time designing the pattern and test fitting that I am really looking forward to cutting into some real denim.

Time to roll out the good stuff!