I’m so thrilled to finally be able to share with you my very favourite pair of Ash jeans! One of the hardest things about spending a long time developing a pattern, is how long I have to wait before I can show you my makes! Especially ones i love this much. Though admittedly I snuck Ash jeans into a lot of blog posts without anyone noticing ;)
This pair is my go to pair and has a special place in my heart for a number of reasons. The first of which is the denim itself! The denim is from Potter Textiles in Perth and is probably the softest stretch denim I have sewn with. It is just beautiful. It has a rather large amount of stretch (30%) which makes the fit of this pair a lot looser, but it’s nice for a change. This denim lost a lot of dye in prewashing – i washed it three times with vinegar until it was no longer turning the water blue! How crazy is that? I’m still a little nervous about the dye so i only wash it with other dark wash jeans.
The cut is the Version 1 slim leg jean, and i think it’s my favourite cut. It’s looser around the knee, calf and ankle than the skinny leg jean, and I am really enjoying it as a change from all the skinny leg jeans i’ve been wearing for years. Is anyone else at that point?
(the colour of the denim isn’t showing up accurately in this flat shot)
I used very bright gold topstitch thread (Gutermann colour 415) because i really wanted a lot of contrast (It’s the same topstitch thread that I used in the V1 sample sewn with light wash denim). I feel like making a very conscious decision about what notions you use with your jeans makes all the difference. I used the Nickel colour jeans notion kit from my store, though the button i used is much smaller (i initially bought 14mm jeans buttons and found i really didn’t like how tiny they were). I’ll be replacing this button because the size is driving me insane.
And lastly, for the hem i recreated a trend i’ve seen all over the place in the last year – a frayed step hem. This was honestly so easy. I literally just cut the jeans at regular full length and then cut the front a few inches shorter. I just let the fray develop naturally, and I really love how it turned out. I love shoes (as you have probably noticed) and i feel like the stepped hem allows your footwear to stand out a bit more. I desperately want to do more step hems on my jeans, but know that when recreating a trend it’s probably best to stick to one wardrobe piece as otherwise you risk your entire wardrobe being out of style in a year. Darn that required self control!
These photos were taken by my lovely sister in law Annelise when I visited her in Melbourne at the end of last year, and they ended up being the jeans i wore on both plane flights because they were just so darn comfy!
I’m also wearing my Dove blouse in crisp white shirting again, because I just can’t get enough of it! It’s crazy to think how long i waited to make this blouse, and now it’s in constant rotation. I guess it’s a real lesson in prioritizing sewing the things you really love. Though the more I talk about sewing things you love, the closer i am to sewing another pair of step hem jeans hehehe.
photography by Annelise Nielsen
