First, I have to admit that I’m not a jeans or trousers girl. I very rarely wear pants and when I do, it’s basically because I have to, due to the weather or something outdoors related. I am very much a dresses and skirts girl. Making these jeans was an experiment and one I thought I’d share with the CSC as it’s Trousers Month and I never properly shared this on my blog.
[source: Colette Patterns]
These are my Clover jeans. They are my first attempt at pants making (I don’t include pajama pants), but not my last. No, I don’t wear jeans that often, but it’s good to have a few pairs for when one needs them. I prefer a boot cut style, and do wear those with boots around our ranch, but I wanted some stylish jeans with more of a straight leg and decided to sew a pair to see if I could get a better fit than RTW.
Pattern Name: Colette Clover #1019 in dark indigo stretch denim
Size Range: 0-18
What size did you make? Graded up to about 22/24
What are your…
- Measurements: 48-41-52
- Body Shape: Pear-ish/Spoon
- Height: 5’8
What adjustments did you make and how long did they take? In addition to grading this pattern up, I also did a full tummy adjustment. It didn’t take long to make any of these alterations as there are few pattern pieces.
What was the construction process like? Did the instructions make sense to you? The construction process is fairly simple as this pattern does not have a front fly. I also opted not to include the pockets, so it was an easy sew. I basted these together first to check the fit and it seemed alright, although not perfect. As always, Colette’s instructions were easy to follow and comprehend.
How do you like the pattern’s fit? Do you think the design works well for your body shape? I need a higher rise for my shape and a crotch adjustment. These aren’t that comfortable due to those issues. The invisible zip on these jeans is not a feature I’d recommend. I could see it splitting if these were worn often. I don’t think these work well at all for my body shape.
Will you make the pattern again? If so, what fit or design changes will you make? No. This pattern goes in my pile of patterns to give away.
Do you have any advice on this pattern for other curvy sewers? Are there any resources, tutorials that helped you sew this piece up? This pattern was printed before Colette started including plus sizes in their designs. I don’t think it grades up very well and would need a number of adjustments to look better on a curvy figure. I’ve seen several versions on more petite women and they look awesome. However, on me, they don’t. I used this method of grading and followed Barbara Deckert’s advice on tummy adjustments from her plus size Craftsy class.
Pattern rating (1-5)
- Size Range: 2
- Instructions: 5
- Construction Process: 4
- Final Fit: 2
- Overall Rating: 3
As these were a jeans experiment in which I dipped my toe in the water before immersing myself, I think these were a satisfying make. I wanted a pair of jeans with a side zip, but a front fly zip will better suit me, as will a higher rise. In those ways, I know more of what I would prefer in a jean and what design will be more comfortable to wear and fit my frame better.
Since making these jeans a few months ago I have found a RTW pair of jeans that I do like and am happy with. They have a high rise and a straight leg, plus a pocket stay. My only problem with those is the length, but as I wear them with long boots, it doesn’t bother me. I’m looking forward to sewing up a pair of jeans with these features, plus the length I need.
An invisible zip on a close fitting pant? Yeah. That totally sounds like a great idea. NOTHING will ever go wrong there. Nope, no chance.
EXACTLY!
Well done on working through the fit issues on these pants – the pattern is well known for having fit issues, so I’ll bet your grading was absolutely fine! Good luck with your jeans, and I hope you find a pattern that needs a lot less tweaking…
Thanks, Gabrielle! Yes, I’m looking forward to finding a pattern that works better for me! Too many alterations and I may as well have just drafted my own pattern!
Tanya – do you have a pattern in mind for when you want to replicate the pair of RTW jeans which you like please? High rise, pocket stay, straight leg – sound perfect to me.
I have the Closet Case Ginger Jeans, but haven’t tried them yet. We have a tutorial for a pocket stay on the CSC, so I would just use that. I’ve heard that these run big, so perhaps they’d look more like a straight leg than a skinny jean. I’ve also been thinking about Burda 6951 after Michelle suggested their pants patterns.
I remember this pattern getting a lot of hype, but also needing a LOT of fitting! Colette patterns just aren’t a good fit for my body, but I love them when I first started sewing – I thought all patterns needed 20 adjustments! 😉
Colette patterns usually fit me well with the exception of these Clovers and the Dahlia dress pattern. I’m looking forward to seeing if they make some plus size pants in the future!
I tried this pattern once and also didn’t have much success from it. I thought about trying to alter it to work but then realised it would be more use to just work on my pants sloper (which I haven’t touched for a year)!
I think you need to take your old pants sloper out!
I muslined these a while back, had the same fit issues, and then decided not to proceed beyond muslining. The thing that I did take away from my Clover experiment is that I actually really liked the cigarette leg profile on me. Not quite a skinny jean, but a little more in style than a flared pant (although wider legs seem to be on their way back in).
I think you need a pattern with a different crotch curve. I’d muslin/try out the crotch curves on Burda, StyleArc (both are J-shaped curves) and HotPatterns (an L-shaped curve) and see which of those puts you at a closer starting point to the pant fit that you want.
Yes, that’s what I was hoping for was a cigarette type pant. I’ve also thought about Gertie’s pants pattern, but also ready about some fitting issues with those. Thanks for the advice on the crotch curve! I have the Burda plus jean pattern on my list to try!
Take those Emma RTW, turn one leg into the other and trace the crotch curve from them. Don’t waste time reinventing the wheel here; they fit, steal that! I got a lot out of the Kenneth King “Jeanius!” class on Craftsy; part how to clone your jeans, part how to make them, good construction hints. I have noticed that if I put a class in my Craftsy wish list, they offer me a pretty good discount. But use those RTW as your pattern.
It took me 3 muslins to get the fit right. A lot of work but I ended up with a nice pattern I could re-use. I’m hoping the next pant pattern I tackle doesn’t need so many changes.
It’s great that it worked for you, but sucks that you had to work on it so much…. I hate patterns that take a lot of altering. I hope you find your perfect pattern!
I am not a jeans nor a front zipper pants person because of my full tummy, straight hips and high, heart shaped bum. Even drafting software and plus sized patterns didn’t totally address my needs. I created a pants sloper — copied from an old pair of jeggings that fit me like a glove. I use this as a guide with all pants projects.
I hope your pants sloper works for you!! That’s something I should probably do in the future.
I love this review. I am with Colleen in liking when people talk about wadders. It definitely helps people with similar shapes know that something isn’t going to work for them or what they can do to help it work for them. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!!
Yeah, I’m a bit trepidatious about sharing wadders online — but I realize how good it is for others to see some fit problems on patterns that they’ve thought about buying.
Thank you for posting. I personally like when people show there “no goes”, because it allows me to see it on real person and make the decision if it would be my style and fit my shape. Thank you, again. Maybe you can do a “copy your RTW” from those new jeans.
I’ve never done any RTW cloning, but that’s something that would probably be great to do! 🙂
One of my skinny clients bought this pattern and tried it with stretch denim and it looked the same on her. Crotch length too short and wrinkles where she didn’t want them…total waste of time. Until “designers” start measuring real people crotches and adding for wearing ease and sitting down, pants will look like this and feel too tight. Not everyone wants pants to be low-riders and grab our parts…where is the flattering faction?
I’ve read a lot of sewers doing numerous alterations to get this pattern to fit right. It doesn’t seem worth the effort to me. I’d rather just find a jeans pattern that will work well for me with few modifications.