Finishing: my first jeans

I haven’t sewn in months, since we came to New Zealand, except for a bit of mending, bathroom curtains and such. I have been working on my thesis, but yesterday I sent the last chapter to my supervisor, and now I am waiting for his feedback on what I still have to change so we can send it to the reading committee. First day of guilt-free sewing in ages! I am obviously in a kind of “finishing” mode, as I pulled out some UFOs and suddenly felt the urge to finish these jeans. I started them more than two years ago, with my old sewing machine, which I could not get to sew this thin stretch denim. The inside is a mess, and when it came to making a buttonhole and sewing on belt loops, I gave up.

My new machine can handle the denim. The pattern is from schnittvision, you print it out according to your personal measurements. I bought the CD because I hoped for a good fit in pants. But now I remember why I was not so keen on finishing them. I had sewn on the back pockets following the pattern placement, but they are very far apart, and a bit too small, very unflattering. Unfortunately, I had been overenthusiastic and had already hammered on rivets to reinforce the top of the pockets, so I can not fix this. I will call these my laundry-day-jeans.

I also finished these shorts, I had started them at the end of the summer last year, but got interrupted and then there was no need for them any more. It was supposed to have ties in the front but I could not find the pieces any more, so just used elastic. They are from a burda pattern, the fabric is a nice poplin with a floral print.

Next in line is a light layer for summer, which had not made it past the cutting stage. It is actually nice to have some UFOs prepared for the day that you need some feeling of accomplishment quickly.

Carry-on bag

Next item sewn for the flight to NZ:
A bag for the Carry-on luggage.



I made the pattern after the maximum allowed measurements at Singapore airlines:
50 cm x 40 cm x 25 cm. That is 50 liter! I think it is huge. See the Knipmode magazine for reference. Of course in the picture it is filled and not quite that exact shape any more. And it may only be 7 kg (in the picture ist is filled with sweaters and weighs 6 kg).
The straps are long enough that I can carry it over the shoulder, but short enough that I can carry it in the hand without it reaching the floor.
It has one zippered and one 'open' pocket on the outside, and one zippered and one open pocket on the inside (for example for quick location of the zip-lock bag with the liquids).
The fabric is EtaProof, waterproof cotton.