We often use the words jean's, denim, sergé... in our sewing jargon... But ultimately, do you really know the differences between these terms? To use these words properly and know their correct definition, we need to go back in time to understand their origin... So I suggest we dive back into the history of cotton fabrics and an iconic garment of our wardrobe!

Alright, let's go! 

Let's start with sergé

To be able to talk to you about jean's, we must first define its weave...

Sergé is a weave, that is to say a way of weaving the warp and weft threads to create a fabric. It is very easy to spot because it consists of small diagonals. These diagonals are created by the interlacing of the warp and weft threads. The weft thread passes under one then on two (or more) warp threads, offset by one thread at each pass (hence the diagonal). 

By working with yarns of different colors, it is possible to create effects and patterns like houndstooth, the most famous of which is denim! 

And what about twill then?

Well twill is the English name for sergé... Twill is therefore not a material but a way of weaving the fabric. That is how you will find cotton twills, wool twills, linen twills... or even blends of materials...

Now let's move on to jean, denim and the one we all love, the jean's...

The oldest term is "jean". Indeed, this term appears in the 16th century in the field of the navy. The English use a plain blue twill fabric. This fabric made of cotton and wool yarn is then used to make ship sails and sailors' clothing.

The English have been importing this fabric from northern Italy through the port of Genoa. Pronounced in English, the word “Genoa” then becomes ”Jean” and that is how this first fabric got its name of jean. 

Let us now leave old Europe to take a leap forward in time of more than two centuries.

At the end of the 19th century, many migrants landed in the United States seeking a better future, and some set out to conquer the West to become gold prospectors. Working conditions meant these men needed ultra-resistant and easy-care work clothes. And it was overalls that became "the" work garment for the prospector. These were made from tent canvas and were therefore all brown in color.

A few years later, a fabric also crossed the Atlantic. This fabric is produced in the south of France, more precisely in Nîmes. This twill fabric called “from Nîmes” in blue was very popular with Americans and spread across the new continent. The advantage of this fabric, besides being as strong as tent canvas, is obviously that it is much prettier in terms of colors! You understood it: "the fabric from Nîmes" quickly came to be called “denim” fabric.

Quickly, denim fabric became the main material used for making American work clothes including the famous overalls. Thanks to its success, this fabric was adapted into other types of clothing such as the famous “jeans,” denim pants whose pockets are reinforced with rivets to be even more resistant.

How is denim made?

Denim is therefore a twill fabric whose warp threads are dyed deep blue and the weft threads are left white. This results in the well-known faded effect of denim fabric. One side of the fabric ends up being dark blue and the other is practically white. The threads have a very strong twist to make the fabric more durable. When dyed, only the outer threads absorb the dye, leaving the core of the fabric white. This white thread in the center creates the typical fading of jeans that we know well.

Birth of jeans

The jeans pants is a purely American invention born from the collaboration between tailor Jacob Davis and businessman Levi Strauss in 1873. 

A bit of history

In 1852, a Bavarian immigrant named Levi Strauss opened a dry goods store in San Francisco. And since this man was a true entrepreneur, he noticed that manual workers especially needed sturdy clothes designed to last. Without hesitation, he added this to his product range popular with candidates for the conquest of the West. Riding on his success, in 1873, he had the idea, with tailor Jacob Davis from Reno, Nevada, to combine durable denim with copper rivets to make their product even more resistant. The two men then patented their system. The very first "blue jean" was born! 

In this patent, the two Americans imposed certain features on their famous jeans, notably having five pockets. Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis's jeans were originally made from two different fabrics: on one side, brown canvas and on the other, blue denim. In 1890, they created their flagship model, jean no. 501, made entirely of denim.

The characteristics of jeans are:

• the copper rivets 
• the orange thread stitching
• the leather patch at the back at the waistband
• the five pockets including two patch pockets on the back of the pants, two front scoop pockets, and the famous small pocket.  

In 1922, they added belt loops and from 1954, zippers replaced button flies.

When their patent expired in 1890, competition intensified and the major brands that also made the history of jeans appeared, notably:

• OshKosh B’Gosh thus arrived on the market in 1895,  
• Blue Bell (later becoming Wrangler) in 1904 
• Lee Mercantile in 1911. During the First World War, Lee Union-Alls jeans were worn by all workers participating in the war effort.

What is the famous small pocket for?

Well, to understand that, you need to know the history... Let's not forget that co-creator Jacob Davis was a tailor and therefore created custom-made clothes for wealthy Americans. He was also used to making custom pants that all had a small pocket so his clients could store their pocket watch.

So he simply applied to jeans what he did for his tailored pants by integrating this watch pocket, which measures about 5 cm wide. 

Once the pocket watch was replaced by the wristwatch, the watch pocket found other uses. Indeed, it was very practical for storing a Zippo lighter, this iconic lighter that fit perfectly in the small pocket and had to be kept upright to prevent the fuel inside from spilling.

Even today this small pocket remains very practical for slipping coins, tickets, condoms, ... I believe it still has a future ahead of it...

Sewing jeans 

Back to the present... is it difficult to sew jeans?

It is probably not the simplest piece to start sewing but with practice and patience, it is quite possible to make your own jeans. I started two years ago because my husband was asking me for some and I must say I now love making them 😊! 

My little tips 

1. Choose a fabric with a bit of elastane (2 to 5%) this will make the jeans more comfortable and simplify (a bit) the adjustments for your first creations. We have brought in very pretty ones in the shop with super nice colors

2. It is necessary to overlock all the pieces of your jeans because denim can fray. You can do the overlocking with a zigzag stitch, however overlocking with a serger will give a much better result. You can have fun contrasting the overlock so that the jeans look as good inside as outside.  

3. As for the sewing itself, a straight stitch will be used. For my part, to strengthen my seams, I use the saddle stitch which also allows the stitches to stand out because it is thicker. I always lengthen the stitch to 3-3.5, it looks much nicer.

4. use denim thread and a denim needle depending on the fabric chosen

4. Dare to use very contrasting seams. The orange-brown thread is the classic but why not try other colors or even fluorescent!  

5. Dare to use fancy stitches for patch pockets which allows you to personalize the jeans. 

6. Practice straightness. Topstitching also characterizes jeans sewing. It is therefore important to master the straightness of these stitches, especially if you want to use contrasting thread. If you are not confident, I advise you to practice and, in any case, to do a test on a scrap to evaluate the spacing between the topstitching that suits you best.  With a bit of precision, you will definitely succeed!

If you want to find the article dedicated to sewing jeans, it's here.

Which patterns?

There are many, so this list is by no means exhaustive. However, I chose to offer you the patterns I know and am confident about regarding explanations and adjustments. These are also the ones you will find in the shop. 

For the ladies

- Iam Sunshine by Iam Patterns is a simple jeans to make and very popular. 

- the Philippine model by Coralie Bijasson has a high waist and flare legs (it's next on my wish list...)

- the Pénélope model, also from Coralie Bijasson, has a little 70s look with its flared legs and under-belly cut. 

For the gentlemen

I suggest the Bad Boy from Beaux Gosses, its straight and fitted cut makes it a classic of the men's wardrobe. 

How to care for your jeans

After sewing your jeans, you will need to take care of them as best as possible.

It is often said that you should wait at least a year before washing jeans to preserve their color and limit wear, and it's true! If your jeans are not stained, air them but wait before washing. Jeans should be washed as infrequently as possible.

And when washing is necessary, machine wash it inside out on a 30°C program. Do not use the tumble dryer (especially if your fabric contains elastane). Instead, let your creation air dry to avoid deforming it. 

I am delighted to have dived back into the history of this iconic piece to write this article for you... I hope you like it as much as I do! Feel free to tell me in the comments 😊

Get your needles ready!