rbeck

Realized that there's water soluble double sided tape that would have helped me out big time last night with lining up the waistband. But it's good enough for a personal pair, and I'm still proud of my work this far.

Thanks! The etsy seller I bought the rivets and buttons from had a guide that showed how to use some stuff you can get at any hardware store, but I don't love the results on the practice pair so I may break down and look for a press or even just the right hand tools for the job.

Hope you all aren't sick of me yet lol. Stayed up past my bedtime last night finishing up all the sewing (other than the patch, waiting on that material to ship from an etsy seller). Tried doing rivets and buttons on the practice pair but was having trouble with those. Not gonna put any of those parts on this pair till I know I can do it cleanly. The waistband was the trickiest part. Was advised not to put interfacing inside so that it can stay pliable, but that made it harder to keep everything straight. After a couple unsuccessful attempts where the needle failed to catch the inside seam I ended up sewing down the inside seam allowance to the inside of the jeans and then pinned along the length of the waistband down the middle to keep the needle from missing the inside seam. Worked alright once I decided to just use the handwheel all the way around. Not ideal but it looks way cleaner than any attempt I made with the foot pedal. This was the only time I really got frustrated during the process, so not so bad in the grand scheme. Decided to do tucked belt loops because I love that detail on my Left Field pairs. Gives me something to put my keys on that won't pull the top of the waistband down. Next time I make a pair I will get a zigzag machine so I can do bartacks. Thought about hacking em with the buttonholer, but decided not to since the buttonholer foot wouldn't hold much fabric on the belt loops, so slippage might have occurred.

Yesterday I: - assembled fly pieces - attached crotch seam (much more cleanly than the last time I might add) - attached front and back together Test fit is perfect too. Added some ease for my thighs and it was a good choice. Also really like how the green serged edges look.

That hoodie is so sick

Shameless self-promotion. My band put out an LP today. Straightforward hardcore FFO Lockin Out Records type shit.

Cut my denim up the other day. Spent last night sewing front pockets, yoke seams, back rise seam, and back pockets. Had a lot of fun on the back pockets. My first name is Ryan, so I did a lowercase R for the arcs. Also made a tab outta the same fabric I used for the pocket bags which I think looks sharp. Compensating feet are a game changer. They make it so even a novice garment maker like myself can get professional looking seams. Only wish I could find low shank ones that are wider than 6mm. I used a 3mm one for several seams last night though and it was a dream. Thanks for looking! Oh also, the test pair has belt loops and a hem now too, just needs buttons and rivets and they'll be wearable.

Couple more pics

Looks like a pair of jeans now. Waiting on buttons and rivets, but finally able to try them on for real. Little tight in the thighs so I need to add some room there but otherwise pleased. Had a hell of a time on the crotch seam. It kept confusing me and I ended up having to redo it a few times which is why it looks like shit.

Spent a few hours behind the machine yesterday on the practice pants. Learned a couple things from the first time I did some felled seams, so this time went smoother, though I had to fiddle with the tension a bit. Yoke seams came out kinda wonky, but not too bad. Front pockets were a lot of fun to do because of all the steps, and after the first one I breezed right through the second one. Ignore the fact that I forgot to stitch the top seam of the coin pocket. Got too excited and didn't care enough to redo it since these are for practice. Planning on using the same pocket bag fabric on the real pair too.

@julian-wolf Florence is wonderful, took a day trip there when work sent me to Milan a year and a half ago. My favorite spot was Piazzale Michelangelo, truly breathtaking view of the city that has stuck with me ever since. On your way up and back down you gotta check out the gardens that border the piazzale on the east and west ends (Giardino delle Rose and Giardino dell'Iris). Also check out as many cathedrals as you can. Those catholics knew how to build a church lol. Venice is a day trip by train as well. I spent a day there on my trip too, and it was great just wandering around aimlessly. The ocean views are wonderful. You said you want to see local crafts, so you could check out the glassblowing on the island of Murano too. I didn't check it out, but our CTO recommended it to me when I told him I was gonna go check out Venice, so I imagine it's worth checking out if native Italians recommend it.

@tg76 my machine doe not have the seam allowance guide lines, but I know I can get one if I want. Ended up getting a magnetic edge guide, but for the felled seams I am probably gonna mark them with chalk.

My nana gave me this serger a few years ago when she had to downsize her sewing setup. Finally trying it out for the first time, turns out they're less daunting than they seem. Feel like I'm in a good spot now to knock out this prototype pair. Cut the pieces last night, hopefully next week I can start whipping things together.

@julian-wolf looks like some really cool instrumentation, and you're right that the teal color looks real nice. What's the usefulness/end goal of studying this stuff?

I am a 34" waist and am very happy I went with 36 50s. Out of the wash they fit spot spot on and then stretch out a little bit. Tons of give in that fabric. If you go with your TTS waist then they will be tight post wash but then stretch to your actual waist, which may not be desirable if you'd like the space. There's a reason everyone says to size up in 50s. You'll lose a bit of inseam over time, but since they're one wash the shrinkage in the inseam wasn't too bad. I went off Redcast's measurement chart and it was accurate enough for me.

Took @reallypeacedoff's advice and got some canvas instead of muslin. Was only a couple bucks more per yard than muslin at Joann's so it was a no brainer, and I have enough canvas left to make a real pair of jeans before I use my fancy denim. Modified the pattern I copied off a pair of levis. Gave them about 10" in the hem vs the levis' 8.5" or whatever it was. Really enjoyed patterning though, and it was a lot simpler than I had anticipated to make the changes. Stitched up a muslin (feels silly calling it that since I didn't use muslin) and used it as a chance to practice felled seams too. Made a few mistakes with orientation for the felled seams, but I think that's in part due to this canvas not having a clear right or wrong side lol. Real happy with the fit though. It's pretty much precisely what I want, so I don't have to go and modify the patterns. I realized that I need to get an edge guide though. Since this was a muslin I just marked the seam allowance with sharpie, but that's not gonna fly on the real thing. Till next time!

@reallypeacedoff good advice! Was kinda wondering if I should consider an alternative fabric and to hear that pros suggest the same thing makes me think I oughta.

Old thread but wanted to document my process somewhere. I've got a habit of convincing myself I can make my own version of just about everything I'm into, so my project this year is to learn how to make jeans. It's been a while since I've rocked some black raws, so I decided to opt for some black denim. Found this Nihon Menpu black denim with a charcoal weft that spoke to me, so I ordered some. Need to get some muslin still to practice on for obvious reasons. Disassembled some Levis that fit me well in the top block, so that's gonna be my starting point. Going to add extra knee and hem width, thinking ~10" in the hem width for some real wide legs. Excited to get going on this and share my progress with you all!

Washing machine did a number on the neck seam and collar of my jacket. Not gonna worry about the collar since that's not structural, but the tear at the seam had to be fixed. Had some bobbin tension issues so I'm not crazy proud of this repair, but it'll hold.

Wow thanks! Looks like it was probably from the 1999 collection based on this post I found just now. https://www.denimbro.com/vintage-lvc-catalogs_topic4297.html Based on the fact Levis was charging $400 for the newest version I'd say I got a hell of a deal on it.

Really interested in the new baker pants LF just dropped. The fabric looks really nice, and I've been wanting a pair of baker pants for a while now. Much to consider.... https://leftfieldnyc.com/collections/gi-pants/products/military-pant-bakers-satin-olive

Please no I've seen enough pictures like that for a lifetime lol

From a few days ago. Sweating my ass off in the Canadian tux.

New evil pissed off hardcore from my friends in Columbus, OH. Best track is Menace imo.

Little shy of 6 months in these crosshatch slub Smokestacks. Really enjoying the texture that's been starting to come alive.