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Hello,

I made another pair of jeans in a ponte grey fabric. It’s the same ponte I used for my Marfy dress – its thick with good stretch recovery. This is my muslin of the popular Simplicity S8222 Mimi G pattern (which I picked up during the last half price sale). I have had a good experience with Mimi G patterns so I thought I’d give these a try. Here is the pattern cover:

They come in sizing for normal, average and curvy fit. I made the Size 10 average fit on the assumption that my booty is not what I’d call curvaceous (based on the cover picture of Mimi who is wearing a curvy fit) , but I was wrong . There was some gaping at the waist that I had to take out with 2 darts either side of the CB on the yoke. Next time I will try the curvy fit. Trying on the jeans to check fit is very important as gaping can be easily taken out before the waistband is applied.

Mimi has a YouTube sewalong that I used for this project <link here>. It was generally quite good but the fly insertion did not work that well for me. It’s not that the instructions weren’t clear – they were very clear – but it’s drafted such that the underside is so close to the CF seam that it’s slightly visible when zipped up (you can see it in the pictures). I dont have this issue with my Birkin flares. When I make them again I will have to figure out a fix for this.

Tangentially – the presence of a video sewalong makes this a great pattern for someone who is wary of sewing their own jeans because they think it’s too hard (I know I used to feel that way myself) or for beginners. The sewalong breaks it down into very easy to follow bits.

Though I was using ponte I did everything as if it was denim – i.e. topstitching everything and using a jeans post button. I skipped the belt loops though. For the pocket lining I used a denim chambray scrap from an Alder shirtdress I’d completed before starting the jeans.

My machine absolutely refused to topstitch the fly so after the 4th attempt I just let it be. I also struggled with the buttonhole – perhaps its the stretch fabric with insufficient interfacing. I interfaced using medium weight on one side of the waistband but maybe I needed to interface both sides.

Pictures-

Simplicity s8222 Jeans – the zip is visible from this side.

Simplicity S8222 I like the fit

Topstitching …..like a BOSS 🙂

The darts added to remove the gaping waist

My machine made a dog’s dinner of that front fly topstitching

Chambray pocket lining

The buttonhole is also a bit of a dog’s dinner

Verdict:  I quite like this style of jeans and they turned into a wearable muslin. A tad too long but I quite like the ruche effect at the bottom. They go with a lot of things in my wardrobe as well. Will definitely be making another pair using a stretch denim and contrast mustard topstitching.

Until next time, Happy Sewing all!

Peace and love,

Hila