Sewing the DIBY Club Dauphine Skinny Jeans

I made my first pair of jeans!!! I can’t believe I waited so long to do it!!

I am at a point in my sewing journey that I make almost everything that I wear. The only exception to this rule has been jeans. I have been so intimidated by them, and honestly, when I go to buy them in the store, I try on a dozen pairs before I find one that is OK. I think it made me dread making them because I thought… “Will I need to make a dozen pairs before I make one that fits just right?” Even so, I don’t find a lot of my jeans very comfortable. I pull them up randomly throughout the day, feel the zipper pushing into my stomach, and can’t wait to just put on a pair of joggers or leggings!

I also know that to keep sewing fun, I need to make stuff that I enjoy. Seems like a no-brainer, right? Well, I still couldn’t shake that I still haven’t even tried to sew an item that is kind of a wardrobe essential! If I failed, I could just throw my hands up and just admit it was too much.

The Pattern + Fabric + Supplies

For my first pair of jeans, I chose the DIBY Dauphine Skinny Jeans*. This is a pattern that requires stretch denim or bottomweight fabrics with at least 30% horizontal stretch. I used a stretchy denim that I found locally at Wherehouse Fabric. It has 45% stretch.

The Dauphine Jeans pattern is a skinny jean and is intended to be very fitted and end at your ankle in the full length. There is also a capri length option. The rise comes in mid or high.

Before I get into the fit of the pant, I want to chat about the actual sewing part. I surprisingly felt that this part was much easier than I imagined. Most of the steps in the pattern had a link to watch a video to show exactly how to do it. I found myself using the videos for most steps just because they were really reassuring and made it seem easy. I made the jeans over a several week period because I found I liked to tackle one part at a time, and it felt good to step back and look at that perfectly installed zipper or at that nice pocket.

When I was completely finished, I was so nervous to install rivets. I bought this kit and these rivets from Wawak and used my hammer. It was pretty quick, and I think they turned out great!

For topstitching, I used this thread in color #444. It goes so well with the brass colors of the rivets and zipper. I also used a stretch stitch on my regular sewing machine for all my seams and topstitching. I used a jeans needle size 16, and it really helped with the bulkier seams.

I made the high rise, which requires a 6 inch zipper. I only had 7 inch zippers at the time, so I used a pair of pliers to remove the teeth and shorten it. This is the type of zipper I used. Make sure to order the right length (4 inch for mid rise and 6 inch for high rise) so that you don’t have to remove teeth like I did!

Whoops

Yes,  of course I messed up at one point. I somehow got it backwards as to which part to put the buttonhole on. Thankfully, this is not obvious when worn, but I will show you so you can laugh with me.

Fit + Sizing + Adjustments

I made a size 0 and graded to a size 8 at my calves. I also removed 3 inches of length. I am 5’2″ with a 27 inch inseam, expect I use a 26 inch inseam if I am measuring to my ankle. Even though I graded out to an 8 on my calves, I had to grade back in to a 0 underneath the bulkier part because I guess my ankles match the size of my hips.

I wasn’t sure on where to start grading  underneath my calves so I made a size 8 from the top of my calf down and then tried them on and made a mark on the pants right where my calf ends, and then, I adjusted the pattern and my pants to grade back to a 0. I did not have to make any other adjustments.

The fit is spectacular and actually comfortable. I absolutely cannot believe I waited so long to make jeans. I have worn these multiple times and I do not have to pull them up AT ALL throughout the day. They stay put. The high rise hits perfectly at my belly button and makes all of my mom-tummy feel secure.

  

Looking Ahead

I think some of this success has to do with the fabric. It is 45% stretch and has wonderful recovery. I hope I can find more stretch denim like this again. The store I bought it at was hit by a tornado many months ago, and now, it has reopened in a new temporary location, but alas, the city is now on lock down due to COVID-19.  Do you know of good online sources for VERY stretchy denim?

I did not distress my denim. I really was torn on this, but I already felt like I had bit off more than I could chew with how big of a project this was for me. I don’t mean that it was difficult. It was just more time intensive. I was so nervous to have this perfect fitting pair of jeans and then to just rip it up. GASP! So, I need to figure this part out because I really do prefer distressed denim.

Thanks for stopping by today!  I would love to stay connected with you. You can find me on Instagram. If you want to take a look into the things that inspire me, you can follow me on Pinterest. You may also follow my blog with Bloglovin.

*Disclosures

This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small compensation when you purchase via my link. This does not cost you anything, and I genuinely appreciate the support. Any and all opinions expressed are still my own.

Random Life

When I initially posted this outfit on the blog a few weeks ago, I told ya’ll that I would blog about the jeans that week. Well, that didn’t quite happen, and it is because I just felt absolutely distracted by the COVID-19 pandemic. No matter what country you live in, I am sure you are in the thick of it. I felt like I spent an entire week just trying to wrap my head around the events happening in the world, how to explain them to my children, and how to live my life. As of yesterday, the governor in our state refuses to do much and is leaving it up to the county to enforce any kind of restriction on daily life. Thankfully, Dallas County, which is the county to the south of us have taken appropriate measures and has ordered people to stay home for non-essential outtings. My county has yet to follow suit, but I really hope they do.

What have I been doing? I am sewing some, reading more, and working out from home. Homeschooling is continuing, but it is honestly not much what a normal day in homeschool is like. We like to get out, go to the park, to the zoo, to the library, and out to see friends. I am stocked up on food for now and thankfully have grocery delivery services still available. I made tee tee towels yesterday to conserve on toilet paper. My kitchen is already reusable/cloth so this will not be much of a difference in routine. Let me know if you would like to see tutorials for my routine, opinion, or how to on cloth products.

What I am reading: Sarah Donati Into the Wilderness Series. I am on book 2. With the kids, I am reading Caddie Woodlawn out loud. They love it! It is a great book to read aloud for boys and girls ages 4 and up.

What I am listening to: Christina Lauren Roomies. I just finished this a few days ago, and it made me laugh and was such a good love story. Google tells me a movie is in the making, and I hope it is so.

What I am watching: Outlander’s 5th season on Starz. I binge watched the first four seasons, and now am having to slowly watch each episode as it comes out late Saturday nights. From what I remember from the books, the next few episodes will be pretty intense. I need a new Netflix series to watch.

What I am sewing: Swimsuits! I will have a blogpost up on the suits I made this Wednesday.

What I am eating and drinking: Lots of hot tea and guacamole. My favorite meal is usually plain kefir with love crunch granola. I am out of Kombucha and either need to start making my own or stock up on the next grocery delivery.