Birkin Flares

The Birkin Flares, a project I have put off too long.  There are so many great jeans sewn from this pattern and I had a great denim in my stash

I read the instructions thoroughly and took my measurements one more time to double check which size to make.  I went with a 30 in the waist and 28 in the hips and legs.  It is a perfect fit!  The jeans are snug but my denim has great stretch and they feel great.  I have worn them a bit for the hemming and then again for the photos and I feel the denim relaxing and the fit changing a bit.  When the denim has the perfect stretch, you want the jeans snug for the relaxing factor. This has been a hard concept for me to grasp but after too many jeans that are stretched out and baggy, I am learning!

I am 5'8" tall and was a bit worried about the length, so I added an inch to the length but I didn't need to do that.  I took off the inch and another half inch.  

The jeans just skim the ground in the back, perfect for wide leg flares.

I can't remember if I purchased the denim from Mood or Joann's, sorry.

Construction time....

I am going to start with the back pockets.....

It has perfect stretch and quite a bit.  I noticed the top of the pockets stretching out a bit when I did the topstitching.  So I did some unsewing, added some interfacing and stitched it again. 

After the top was stitched, I used my chalk liner and marked the seam allowances.  This extra step helps me to keep the seam allowances I turn under uniform and both my pockets match.

 I wanted to make sure the back pockets didn't stretch out or the denim on the back.  I went to some of my embroidery stabilizers and used a tear away on the wrong side of the jeans.  It helped and I didn't find any fabric stretching out.

Time for just some detail shots of the jeans

Buttonhole twist thread was used for the topstitching and remember to buy at least 2 spools!  It goes quickly.  One thing I did do was to use regular thread in a similar color for all bartacks.  My machine does not like making bartacks with thick thread.

One thing I really like about these jeans, the higher waist.  

Rivets are a struggle for me, I just don't have anything to place them into and then  hammer.  I had an idea and tried it on scrap denim and it worked.  I used my KAM snap press, purchased when the first little guy was born for baby clothes.  I just put them in and held them in place while a pulled the lever down

 More detail shots during construction

Yoke and the topstitching matches!

Happy smile in my new jeans, now to remember to put the camera back more for the 50 mm lens!