Sewing my first jeans – Megan Nielsen Dawn Jeans

MY FIRST JEANS!!! It’s hard to put into words the excitement I felt when I tried on my jeans for the first time. My voice jumped up an octave and I squealed as I closed my eyes and shook my entire body. After a lifetime of difficulty finding jeans to fit my tall, curvy, thin body I am FINALLY empowered to sew my own! 🤯🚀🎉🍾😁

I feel like I’ve been standing next to double dutch ropes to sew jeans for the past 3 years. Every fall I’ve told myself it’s time to try and fill this most gaping hole in my wardrobe. But I’ve been intimidated! I have sewn with denim before, but I’ve been too nervous to make a true pair of jeans because:

• Fit
• Sewing thick denim
• Topstitching
• Zipper fly
• It’s practically the most recognizable wardrobe staple. A good pair could be worn almost every day. A bad pair would be a lot of work for very few wears.

My first attempt at sewing the Megan Nielsen Dawn Jeans about 6 months ago was a hilarious fail. I used the pattern I’d cut a year prior and didn’t re-measure myself or the pattern before sewing. Using a small cut of denim, my aim was to make a wearable muslin of shorts. I squeezed the jeans over my hips, wrenched the zipper up…and destroyed the zipper immediately. While they absolutely did not fit, the practice of stitching the fly and topstitching everywhere helped to increase my confidence for sewing jeans. It’s never really a fail if you’re learning!

These finished jeans fit so well! Not perfect, but I’m so happy with how they fit through my waist, hips and bum. Truth be told, they fit a little too good. On my first wear straight off of the sewing machine I could barely move or breathe. It took several wears to break in the denim and get them to be comfortable – so I held off on taking these pictures until I could show you realistic images of the fit. Now I can sit and put my shoes on with minimal complications.

I’m already so pumped to make another pair and then start designing and self-drafting new possibilities. Jeans have been demystified!

Pattern

• Dawn Jeans by Megan Nielsen Patterns
• Tapered leg View A
• Sewing Difficulty – 3/5
  • Certainly not easy, but denim is an easier fabric to sew with the right needle
  • Topstitching will likely be the most challenging detail to execute well
  • The buttonhole is the most stressful step!
• Fit Difficulty – 3/5
  • The pattern comes with regular and tall sizes
  • There is an expanded size range with a curve fit up to a 58″ hip as well as the standard size range

Fabric

• Middle-weight denim from Chic Fabric
• The denim is 100% cotton and has no stretch
• I used grey Tex 80 thread for all of the topstitching

Fit & Modifications

• I cut a size 16 but tapered to a 14 at the waist
• I added 1/2″ to the rise all around
• This is the tall full length with no extra length added at the hem – still quite short on me!
• After basting the pants together and trying them on I removed 1/2″ of width from the top of the center back yoke (1/4″ on each side)
• I love the pants now, but there are several changes I’ll incorporate next time:
  • Make the pockets bigger – the pockets aren’t graded in the pattern but as the sizes increase so should the pocket sizes
  • Move the pockets down and centered a bit more – I need to baste on the pockets and find the ideal placement based on my hip width
  • Add a bit more to the front rise so the waistband sits parallel to the floor
  • Add length to the hem – I wanted to make ankle-length pants because I most need a pair for transitioning weather and wear with booties
  • Re-draw the side seams a bit and true the seams with the pocket shape to fix the curve I modified when grading the pattern
  • The zipper pull peeks out a little bit. I need more practice with the overlap of a zipper fly because this isn’t the first time a zipper has poked out on me!
  • I’d love to develop a signature to topstitch or embroidery design for my pockets

Tips to Sew Your First Pair of Jeans

• Start with a good pattern. The Megan Nielsen Dawn Jeans have 5,000+ posts on IG because they’re so well-loved.
• Measure well! Make sure you use your current measurements to cut the pattern. Dated or vanity measurements like your old jeans size will not serve you.
• Get some denim you absolutely do not care about. This will take the pressure off of sewing your first pair. You might even be able to upcycle a larger thrifted pair for sustainable practice.
• Make sure you have the right tools. You’ll definitely need a jeans needle.
• Just try! Don’t be like me and procrastinate for 3 years because you’re too afraid to try.