{Megan Nielsen} Ash Jeans

The name Ash very nearly foreshadowed the ultimate fate of these jeans, I must admit. 😂 I made these with Mel over one weekend, as another of our buddy sewing sessions. I will say that day 1 did not go well for me. The first of half of day 1 anyway. I am overall pleased with them though so let's dive in and I'll share my thoughts.

First things first, sizing. I went with a size 29. My waist fluctuates between 28.5 and 29.5 so I knew it'd be snug on my waist but it would be fine on my hips, according to the measurements. The waistband isn't interfaced though, so that gives you extra wiggle room and I decided to chance it. The gamble paid off: the fit is really good on my waist and hips and it's comfortable.

The pattern offers 4 different leg choices which is incredible value for money. I was between the slim and the skinny leg but after doing some maths and comparing that with my fabric, I decided to go for the skinny version. They ended up being a bit too tight when I baste fitted them. So I ended up sewing at a different seam allowance and that helped.

The instructions were great. These weren't my first pair of jeans - although you'd be excused for assuming so if you were following me on instagram as I kept screwing up at every turn. I didn't need to google anything nor did I consult the sew along on Megan Nielsen's website. You start with the zip fly, which is the most time-consuming bit, but it works because it's all straight forward from then on. 

Mine went a bit wrong though. I sewed the fly shut to start with. Which made it super bulky and my machine was throwing hissy fit after hissy fit trying to topstitch through so many layers.

After the mammoth unpicking session (I only noticed my mistake after I finished topstitching everything) and starting the zip fly again from scratch, I managed to break my zip. I'm not even sure how. But the slider got stuck. It was not my day. I couldn't fix it, Ginner couldn't fix it and I had lost the will to sew and very nearly the will to live as well. My head hurt, I was shaking, on the verge of tears and just as I'd texted Mel to say I was giving up and walking away, as if by magic, the zip started sliding down again! Hallelujah! 🙌

As I said, I sewed a straight size 29 and didn't make any meaningful adjustments. The only changes I made were to sew the inseam at 1cm  from the top of the thigh. I left the crotch seam at 1.5cm so as not to mess with the rise and tapered the seam out to 1cm and kept it at that until the hem. I also narrowed the seam allowance on the side seams. I kept the waist at 1.5cm then tapered out to 1cm all the way to the bottom. That was because I felt my legs were too tight around the calves, even though I'd done the maths. They're better now but maybe proper skinny legs aren't for me.

I also feel that the inseam is incredibly short at only 70cm/27.5in. I should've checked it but the pattern is drafted for a height of 165cm and I'm 159cm so I thought I'd be ok. But they are well short, especially after I sit down. And because they're very skinny, they don't slide back down on their own, which is a little frustrating. I had lots of people messaging me on instagram insisting they'd look good with ankle boots after I mentioned they were short. They don't. It looks really stupid and here are a couple of photos to prove it.

 

The first one is the regular length. The second one is what it looks like while my legs are bent, for instance, when I sit down. I think it's terrible! 🤦‍♀️ And because they're very skinny they don't slide back down on their own. I will definitely lengthen them by 3 or 4 inches next time.
I should also mention that these only have a 1.5cm hem. The pattern instructs you to double fold that, so in theory, they would've been another 1.5cm shorter if I'd followed the instructions.
The fabric I used was a stretch twill from Fabworks but they no longer have it in stock, unfortunately. It was lovely to sew and I have loads of it left for another project.

I want to mention the thread I used for topstitching as well. It was Gutermann Extra Strong and it has been a revelation! It looks very similar to topstitching thread but it's so much easier to sew with because it's thinner. I didn't even need a topstitching needle as I could fit the thread through the eye of a normal denim one. No major dramas or hiccups even on bulkier bits, like the crotch seam or belt loops. I'm never going back. I hear now there's a denim thread option as well but I've not used that yet. It seems to be similar to the Extra Strong I used. You can check out this post by Philippa if you want to see a side by side comparison of the denim and regular topstitching thread. I believe the Extra Strong has more colours available though, which is great if you're looking for something less traditional than denim topstitching colours.
Overall, I am very happy with my Ash jeans and I have a few notes to work on next time. I want to try the slim leg version.
All I have left to do is thank Mel for being my sewing buddy! I love our virtual sewing sessions. 🥰 You should go check out her jeans on her instagram feed. They're fabulous and I hope she had a great first foray into jeans making.