A few years ago, frustrated by never having jeans or pants that were (insert adjective here. i.e. long-enough, comfortable enough, fitting in the waist, fitting in the hips, the right shape), I decided enough was enough and it was time to learn how to make my own pants. It was a big part of my decision to enroll at Apparel Arts. (disclaimer: apparently this is a VERY common reason to enroll—so perhaps I’m not as unique in my needs as I thought).

Fast forward to two years later… I have designed, drafted, and sewn my own perfectly-fitting pair of jeans. They are so completely comfortable I don’t ever want to take them off. Thankfully, I have the pattern and can make as many as I want.

For this first pair I used a denim with about 20% stretch, in a dark indigo blue. The stitching is copper, although in hindsight, due to the scrap fabric I chose for the pockets and cuff facings, I wish I had chosen something like a chartreuse for the stitching.

Overall, I am pleased. I’ve got one more pair of pants to design before I am done with this sectionof coursework—then it’s off to collars and sleeves.  I know what I want to do, but need to be sure I can find the right fabric before I begin (if I can’t and have to choose something that has stretch to it, I will have to adjust the ease).

In the meantime, I booked myself a trip to Paris for a week, with the hopes of figuring out/narrowing down the designs for my final line. I’m closing in on finishing the program, with two electives remaining (both of which will be completed by June), and so need to start planning the 8-10 pieces for my final line (4 to 5 looks). I also want to do a kids version of one or two of the looks, so that will require a little extra thought and planning. But, what better place to do it than Paris?