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About 3 months of wear on my pair. Washed and tumble dried them probably 5 or 6 times. I think this fabric really lends itself to the heavily marbled look. The subtle slub is nice too. I really like what's going on with the back left pocket. The fly closeup is the most accurate for the shade of black that they're at.

Today is his birthday so my brother finally got to see and try on the jeans. He said it's the best gift I've given him yet. I learned a couple weeks ago how a yoke is actually supposed to work, so there's a bit of bunching on the yoke that I wish they didn't have, but he doesn't care. I treated it like a single dart on the center back seam and did not put a curve in the pattern where it attached to the back panels. Lesson learned, and it also explains why the yoke on my pair is a little off too. Next pair will be better, and I'm already thinking about what I wanna do. He thinks the flaws are charming though, so he's happy. (Dorky shirt tuck was just to show the fit of the jeans)

Who knows maybe one day when I'm jonesing for a new project I'll take the plunge

@smoothsailor Looks like you brazed it--from what I understand that's at least the most straightforward since you don't need any welding setup, is that accurate or does brazing have its own complications? It's always been something in the back of my head too. Anything I'm passionate about I start to wonder if I could make my own, but the margin for error on a mountain bike frame could be a lot more catastrophic.

Wow that's so sick! How'd you get into frame building?

Those look so good. I love the bleached tab lol, wasn't expecting that.

@LazyS Interesting. It isn't critical that that stitch holds the inner part of the waistband so maybe they never cared about it in the first place. @CSL i agree that that such you've highlighted is the most glaringly obvious one and also agree that I'd be questioning it if i were buying that jacket in the 40s.

One sample is hardly enough to base the whole era on. Regardless, the back pockets and hems are pretty sloppy. Plus baby jeans are probably easier to keep straight on since the seams aren't as long. Here's some war era lees that it looks like they botched the waistband topstitching. The back side of the waistband shows the needle missed the inner edge of the waistband (pic 4). I'd say that isn't on target. Most other seams look pretty okay, but the backstitching in some places looks just as sloppy as the SC levis repros (check the pocket bag picture where the coin pocket stitches are apparent) . https://denimarchieves.com/e/vintage_and_old_denim_bottoms/lee_101b_wwii_en.html Lees of that era would have been union made where I don't think Levis ever was union? I wonder if that had an effect too? If you're union you wouldn't feel the same pressure to churn out pairs of jeans no matter the quality that non-union workers would, so quality may have improved from that? Purely speculation here.

I just saw these wwii era Lee infant sized pants on instagram this morning and they also have sloppy stitching https://www.instagram.com/p/C7P6YH1vlce/?igsh=MWFodGNpMnZpaGh3Nw==

I like the SC stuff better than that Full Count pair posted yesterday because at least they trimmed loose threads (aside from chainstitch runoff). Personally wouldn't wear either because they look more like homemade clothes than repros to the untrained eye. Appreciate the attention to detail though.

Good color on those chucks

Now this is getting out of hand

Last two days. Today: vintage Crested Butte merchandise, diy jeans, etnies. Additional closeup of the diy jeans, I like how they're coming along. Yesterday: straight edge tee, Eddie Bauer (started off as pants but never liked the way they fit so I turned them into shorts), etnies.

Yeah I still frequent the sub and try to help out as much as I can in the daily questions threads. I see @beautiful_FrEaK and @julian-wolf in the dq thread all the time too. I like that the wash/don't wash divide leans towards wash these days though. People post their jeans that haven't touched water in over a year and there's always (deserved) comments about stench. But you'll still have people show up accusing you of not showering enough if you suggest that washing monthly or so is the best way to prevent stinky jeans.

Just want to say that since joining this forum I've had a lot more enjoyable discussions about denim than I've ever had over on reddit. Those weirdos get so sensitive lol.

Thank you @chicote! I'm really proud of how they came out.

Aaaaannnndddd they're done. Still gotta wash them to get rid of anything from the mill, but they're done. The waistband went much easier this time around. Decided to baste it in place and that made a world of difference (last two pics). I had far less problems getting the needle to grab the inside edge. Went with tucked loops again. Also pleased with how easily my zig zag machine did bartacks on the loops. I think this Janome might run smoother than my 201. He also wanted 7 loops instead of the standard 5 because he likes how it keeps his belt in place better. I'll update with fit pics in a couple weeks after his birthday. Things went really well on this pair though. I wasn't able to use my compensating foot because I realized the needle bar nicks it slightly and I don't want to mess anything up on my Singer. So I had to do most of the topstitching by lining the edge up with the presser foot toe. It was a good lesson in sewing straight and patience, but I think it made me a better sewist because of it.

Been a couple days since I've had a busy week. Last night I serged and topstitched the inseam and sewed the outseams as well. My brother wanted purple topstitching down the inseam, but I got in a groove last night and used yellow. Didn't catch my mistake till after I got the outseams and the topstitching on the hips, so I had a lot of backtracking to do. I was afraid things would end up sloppy but everything stitched up nicely imo.

Another update, sorry for double posting today. Got the fly pieces attached, did the crotch seam, and did the first pass on the inseam. I have to wait to serge and topstitch the inseam because I want to baste the outseam and have him try them on first. That way I can let out some seam allowance if I need to before actually finishing the inseam. This denim is really trying the limits of my 201-2. I had some troublesome spots on the last pair but nothing as difficult as some of these seams have been. Maybe this is a sign to start shopping for an industrial machine lol. I'm happy with how quick these have come along. It's cool to know that barring fit checks I can definitely knock a pair out in a weekend. If it weren't for other plans and wanting to triple check the fit of these thighs then I'd be wrapping up tonight instead of leaving it where its at right now.

Progress from the last couple days. Yokes are attached, backs are sewn, and rear pockets are attached. Front pockets are done too. I've had this gingham canvas for ages and I'm glad it's getting put to use now. My brother's name is Evan, so he wanted a lowercase e on the back pockets. He also wanted a purple tab (and purple serging and inseam topstitching to match later). Added a closeup of the bartacks which came out better than I expected.

I got so much satisfaction out of making that last pair of jeans that I told my brother I wanted to make a pair for him for his birthday. Been drafting the pattern the last couple weeks and finally got it where he wanted it. He's got a little bit more weight in his gut and thighs than I do so it was a good exercise in modifying patterns. Also bought this 1960s New Home (Janome) 532 zig zag machine off Marketplace for $50. It could hardly turn when I got it, so over a few days I doused it in kerosene a few times a day to de-gunk it. That did the trick so I oiled it up, put belt on it, and now I can do bartacks. It doesn't love going through belt loops but if you floor it it will get enough momentum to power through. Also some (admittedly poor) pictures of the denim my brother selected. He wanted a crosshatch slub so I found this stuff on Big Z. More updates to follow!

I really like that they stayed true to the reference material and sewed these on a single needle machine.

Some pizza shop hat Some vintage vest Electric Wizard tee again Some thermal DIY Good Guys boots And a couple action shots from our record release show last night

Went to a vintage fest and antique store with my girlfriend today. Got his n hers garfield keychains, a cool puffer vest, a flick tricks for my friend who grew up on a bmx bike, and also found my favorite hot wheel from my childhood still boxed up with the hauler I never knew it came with. Also saw a few cool ratty lookin vans. Good day.

Levis Electric Wizard shirt DIY Blundstones