After making a trio sewing project last week with Céline and Marie-Hélène, this week I’m presenting a duo sewing project with Gaëtan.

This time, we’re moving to the bottom and sewing jeans but not only that... of course, I couldn’t resist combining my passion for sewing with embroidery by creating embroidered arcuates.

It took me about two months to fully complete these two pieces since I started embroidering the pocket of Gaëtan’s jeans around mid-April and finished the finishing touches on my own jeans this week. As you know, I like to have several projects going at once and switch between them depending on my mood; which also explains the time it took to complete.

Enough chit-chat, let me tell you about this sewing and embroidery adventure, here we go!

A little backstory

When I started sewing, my goal was to make my own clothes. I sewed a lot and in 2020, I decided to have a handmade wardrobe. Indeed, I was having more and more trouble finding clothes with nice finishes (made from natural materials and at reasonable prices) in stores, so why not make them myself? I no longer buy anything (except some lingerie pieces and knitted sweaters)... so my wardrobe is turning year after year into a "home made" wardrobe.

In 2021, my boyfriend joined the homemade wardrobe adventure (even though I sew and he orders 😂). So, I became the champion of shirts and jeans! The first jeans I made wasn’t a success but with perseverance, you always get there! Today, I can say I’m happy with the fit of the jeans I make.

Since then, I love sewing jeans for my boyfriend and last year I started making my own, including the Philippine model by Coralie Bijasson and the Sunshine by Iam patterns. Both articles are also on the blog.

The chosen jeans models

For today’s sewing projects, I chose to make the slim jeans from the book "Jeans et denim" by Gwenael Luong published by Mango (which we also sell, only in our physical store) for my boyfriend. It’s the one he chose and that I adjusted to his measurements over time. So I strayed a bit from the original cut to make the jeans fit him 100%. I think it’s important for this iconic wardrobe piece to really feel comfortable in it.

For my part, I made my Sunshine jeans again, adjusting the cut. I’m still a fan of its high waist which really suits me perfectly. I find it shapes the "tummy" nicely and the rises highlight the "bottom" well.

The embroideries made

I have been embroidering for a long time and I love it even though it takes quite a bit of time.

Gaëtan wanted new jeans. I suggested embroidering a Japanese carp on one of the patch pockets. I had a nice design in mind that would cover a good part of the pocket. I didn’t know exactly where I was going yet, but the idea had taken root!

For mine, I also chose an aquatic animal somewhat in response to the koi carp; it’s a frog! These are two aquatic animals very present in Japanese culture that Gaëtan and I really like. The carp symbolizes courage and perseverance and is very present in traditional and modern Japanese culture (you’ll also find a Pokémon modeled after it).

The frog is called "Kaeru" in Japanese. The Japanese see it as a symbol of protection for travelers. Indeed, Kaeru also means return. So Japanese travelers often carry a frog-shaped amulet that ensures a safe return. Some Japanese also slip it into their wallet so that money comes back to them (we should all try that, right?).

Enough talk, I used solufix to reproduce my designs and then started choosing my color palette from the DMC stranded cotton thread range from my collection.

For the carp, I used ombre stranded threads and for the frog I wanted flashy colors so I was tempted by Anchor’s neon colors.

I searched for the stitches that would best create the designs. I experimented a bit to find the prettiest stitch to create the carp’s scales. It was worth the effort, I’m super proud of the result!

For the frog, the challenge was to use neon colors without overdoing it and to make the frog’s base lines clear so the design is immediately recognizable. I enjoyed this challenge. I had to be quite precise, especially since I wanted small spots on the frog like poison dart frogs.

Once the pockets were embroidered, I rinsed them in cold water to magically make the solufix disappear. When they were dry, I could attach them to the back of the jeans as usual.

For your information, I spent about twenty hours making the carp and about 12 hours embroidering the frog.

Assembling the jeans

Once the patch pockets were attached, I continued assembling the jeans: the front pockets, the fly, the waistband, the belt loops...

For Gaëtan, I chose a poppy red thread for the topstitching and for myself, I combined khaki thread with neon green thread.

Finally, I made the buttonhole and attached the jeans button.

I’m delighted to have sewn these two pieces in parallel with their beautiful embroideries that complement each other.

In fact, I’m thinking of making another pair of jeans as a duo for the new season because now I want to move on to more summery sewing projects!

For my part, I find more and more joy in sewing for the people I love and making them happy by creating unique pieces. And you, do you like sewing for your loved ones?

If you also want to learn to embroider or maybe start creating your own jeans, the courses are online 😊. Feel free to take a look at our program.

Get your needles ready!