The Jeans project Q&A

Thank you for the encouraging comments! Several of you also asked questions about topstitching and the fit of the pattern in the comment section so I’ll try to answer them here.

Tools for topstitching
I use Gütermann’s button thread for the topstitching. The orange/yellow thread is no 310. Gütermann’s thread is pretty expensive for only 30 meters (33 yards) but totally worth it I think. The length of the stitches I used is about 3 mm.

In the bobbin I put regular navy thread. I also used a special topstitch needle (from Schmetz) with a bigger hole for the thick thread. As some have noted topstitching denim is hard and some sewing machines just don’t like doing it. My otherwise trusty Bernina is one of those machines so I had to redo several stitches several times because the machine messed up the thread. My vintage cast iron Husqvarna/Viking did a much better job and I’m sure that some lightweight machines won’t be able to handle this kind of topstiching at all, unfortunately.

The fit of the jeans
When I looked at the member creations over at Burdastyle the jeans look super skinny, so I was surprised that they aren’t tighter on me. I have the exact same hip measurements as a Burda 38 and my thighs are not thin. My guess is that some of people who have made the jeans either used a size smaller than their actual measurements or used fabrics with minimal stretch. When you look how they fit on the model photo I would say that it’s much closer to the fit that I got.

But as Melissa noted, the ease is zero or even negative around the hips, but since the jeans are made in stretch denim it’s not something you need to worry about (assuming that skinny jeans are what you are looking for). I checked my RTW skinny jeans and they are also smaller around the butt than my actual measurements, but they look and feel fine when I wear them.