Pattern Review: Dawn Curve Jeans

Hello! Today we have a pattern review from CSC Contributor Hope Murray.

Pattern name: Megan Nielsen Dawn Curve Jeans

Size range: 14 – 30 (42” – 58” hip/32”-48” waist) [note that there is also a 0-20 size range in the non-curve pattern]; the inseam comes in two measurements, “regular”, cut for someone 5’5”, and tall, for someone 5’9”. There are regular and cropped lengths, as well as a tapered leg, a straight leg, a wide leg, and a short. There are options for a zipper fly, a button fly, and an exposed button fly.

A note on non-stretch denim: This pattern calls for fabric with little to no stretch, ideally for non-stretch denim. This means it will take a week or two for the denim to relax. The fit should be close and, though there is positive ease, it is minimum positive ease. The first day I made my final pair, I could sit down, but just barely. The second day, I could sit down, but needed to change before dinner, by day four I was eating comfortably in them, and by day six, I was wearing them all day sitting in front of a computer. You might never do yoga in these jeans, but they should outlast any stretch denim and they will conform to your body. Just keep wearing them.

What size did you make? I made a straight size 26 (44” waist/54” hip) in View A (tapered leg) in the regular (not cropped) length.

What are your measurements, height, and body type? My waist size varies between 40-45”; my hip measurement is 54 – 56”; I am 5’7”.

What adjustments did you make and how long did they take? I made two toiles in black bull denim (see photo) before making my “final” version. I cut the long inseam (measured for someone 5’9”), so I knew I would need to take off some length; initially I took off ¾” at the ankle and ¾” at the knee, but I took a further ¾” off above the knee for this version and will probably take out a further ¼” above the knee in future. I also did a 3/8” flat pubis adjustment, a 1 ½” flat bum adjustment and, based on various blog posts on this pattern, I made some adjustments on the waistband. Firstly, the waistband is already curved, but I usually struggle with gaping at the back of waistbands, and I found after toile 1 that this one needed further curving, so I cut a wedge out of the center back of the waistband, leaving the bottom of the waistband (touching the yoke) the same length, but taking out ½” at the top of the waistband. It makes my waistband look like a “V” shape, but I don’t have any gaping!  I also had to take a significant amount out of the calves. View A is supposed to be a tapered leg and most of the Dawn Jean posts I’ve seen (not Curve reviews) do indeed show a nice, almost skinny, leg. On me, however, I looked like I had elephant legs! After my first toile, I took out an inch of calf width, but I quickly realized that wasn’t enough, and for this version I took out a further two inches;  I had to take out almost three inches in the calves, but now I have a truly tapered leg in which I can still sit down!  When I make this pattern again, I plan on taking a ½” wedge out of the back yoke; you should have to ease in the waistband, but it was just too much for me and I got a lot of puckering over the back yoke, even after two toiles. After my first toile (in which I made the regular button fly), I added a fourth button to the fly, for a total of five buttons – I would strongly suggest that anyone with a tummy add that extra button. 

What fabric did you use? I used a 10oz bull denim for my toiles and a 12oz non-stretch 100% cotton denim for this version. I did pre-wash my denim and dry on high heat (I like to really put my denim through the ringer to help soften it up before I sew with it).

What was the construction process like? Did the instructions make sense to you?  I should start by saying that I’ve made jeans before, but this was my first go at making non-stretch jeans. This is also my first pattern purchase from Megan Nielsen. I love working with denim and I always enjoy more involved patterns – this fits that bill. On the whole, the pattern is excellent. There is a small mistake on pattern piece number 8, the fly cover for the button fly; it needs to be cut wrong side of fabric facing up instead of right side up as it says on the pattern. However, the pictures in the instructions do show the piece correctly; it is only the written instructions on the piece that are incorrect. Equally, the waistband pattern piece tells you to cut 2 in main fabric and 2 in interfacing but interfacing for the fly pieces are only indicated in the directions, not in the pattern. Since I had made jeans before, I thought it was odd that the fly wouldn’t be interfaced but I thought that since it was non-stretch denim, it might be unnecessary. Wrong. They definitely need interfacing, especially with the button fly!  The instructions do say to interface them when you get to the fly, but I found it irritating to stop construction to get out my interfacing a second time to cut and put on interfacing. That said, the instructions were excellent. Megan Nielsen does a truly wonderful job with all the different fly options in particular. I’ve always done zipper flies, but the button fly option has always been interesting to me. I never thought I could pull off an exposed button fly due to my tummy – but as long as I put that extra button in the fly, it looks great and it really keeps me secure in the jeans. Equally, these jeans have a sewn-in fly, meaning that all the fly pieces are separate instead of cut out attached to the front pieces of the jeans (if you’ve sewn the Cashmerette Ames Jeans, these are different). I definitely prefer this method as I feel I have more control over my pattern pieces and the final look of the jeans. The pockets are nice and big, big enough to fit my phone and then some.  Just note that there’s no pocket stay on these jeans like you often find on stretch denim jeans. By that I mean that the pocket does not get sew into the fly. Some people love this, some don’t. I don’t mind either way as long as the fit is good and the pockets are big, which these are. The other excellent thing about the instructions are the clear indications (using bold text) for when you should change thread. I have three machines (a serger, a straight stitch I use for topstitching, and a regular machine that makes decent buttonholes) and I use all of them for making jeans. But if I only had the one machine, it would be really clear when I needed to switch my thread for topstitching. 

How do you like the pattern’s fit? Do you think the design works well for your particular body shape? Loads of people in the 0-20 sizes seem to be able to make this straight out of the packet and wear it – not me. The size chart is clearly using a 10” waist to hip difference; I can have up to a 16” difference between my waist and hips just depending on the day, so I was never going to be able to make it straight out of the packet. That being said, I’ve had to make 2+ toiles in every jeans pattern I’ve ever made and often that many for regular fitted pants or jumpsuits (which I love) so, it’s a pain, but not an insurmountable problem. Once I got the fit right, I felt they worked really great for my body shape. 

Will you make the pattern again? If so, what fit or design changes will you make? I think these are the best jeans I’ve ever made (with the exception of that puckered yoke!!); I love the exposed fly, I love the topstitching, I really enjoyed the construction. As I said above, I’m going to take a bit out of the back yoke and take out a final ¼” of length above the knee on my next go, and there will definitely be a next go!  I’ve already got more non-stretch denim!

Do you have any advice on this pattern for other curvy sewers? Are there any resources that helped you sew this piece up? Megan Nielsen has several blog posts about these jeans, including a sew-along on her blog. Note that this is not targeting the “Curve” pattern, but the construction is the same, regardless. I found I didn’t need the sewalong because the instructions are good, but it felt good to know it was there if I had any questions. She also has other excellent resources on her website, including jeans hardware sets which can be really helpful. On the other hand, there is not a lot of information out there on the Curve Jeans pattern, especially compared to the standard pattern. Megan Nielsen released a pattern testers blog post with lots of photos for the standard pattern, but not, as far as I can find, for the Curve pattern. I also couldn’t find any blog posts about the Curve pattern, though there are lots for the standard pattern, usually from makers in the smaller sizes. So I really didn’t know what to expect as the photo options on the website and even on Instagram are pretty scarce. That’s the main reason for wanting to write this post! As far as advice, I’ll just say that this would be a good pattern to start with if you’ve never made jeans before, especially if you love raw denim or colored denim or just plain-old non-stretch denim. The high waist is also brilliant and perfect for those of us who want in on the cropped tops but don’t want to show any skin in the mid-section. It might take a couple of tries to get the fit of this pattern down, but with four different cut options and three different fly options, I doubt I’ll ever buy another non-stretch jeans pattern again.

Pattern Rating 

Size Range (1-5): 5

Instructions (1-5): 4

Construction Process (1-5): 5

Final Fit (1-5): 4.5

Overall Rating (1-5): 4.5 As I’m still having some very minor fit issues after two toiles and there were just a couple of places where I felt the pattern was confusing, I had to take off half a point. But it is such a versatile pattern which does look good on bodies in the higher size ranges.