Last week, I talked to you about arcuates: those pretty designs that decorate the patch pockets of our jeans. I told you it was one of my favorite parts to think about the design, the colors, the style so that the pocket flatters the butt. 

This week, I reveal to you the creation process of an embroidered arcuate for my new Sunshine jeans modified with a flare cut, about which I wrote a little blog post that you can find here. 

Alright, let's get started talking about sewing and embroidery! 

1. Choose the design

When I create an arcuate or more generally an embroidery, I take time to think about the design. You obviously need to focus on the theme, the size, and the colors used. 

The theme of the design is often inspired by Japanese themes for me, whether it’s flowers (cherry blossoms, peonies...), kawaii characters, mythological animals (dragon, tiger...), or elements from Shinto religious culture... I draw a lot of inspiration from reproductions of images in art books, ukiyo-e (woodblock prints), the tattoo world which has a lot to offer in terms of designs, the coloring world, and artists. For the jeans theme, I was inspired by the coloring world combined with a travel book about Japan and the cherry blossom season. 

The size of the design must of course be adapted to the piece to be embroidered. You can always reduce or enlarge a design; however, you will still need to embroider it but also "read" it, meaning to clearly see and understand the design at first glance. It must therefore be proportionate to the size of the piece, because you don’t want someone to blatantly stare at your backside to understand the embroidery design. For the size of the design on my jeans pocket, I chose to create a diagonal of flowers by embroidering them roughly at a 1:1 scale. 

The colors used are also very important. It's one of the parts of creation that I really enjoy as well: choosing the color palette! Over the years, I have accumulated a box filled with DMC threads that allow me to create harmonious palettes to which I occasionally add new skeins to complete my palette. I chose to stay within mauve, lavender, and pink tones to maintain harmony both with the true color of cherry blossoms and to match the mauve topstitching on my jeans. Always keep in mind the background color of the piece to be embroidered when choosing sufficiently contrasting colors; it would be a shame to spend time embroidering a design that will barely be visible on the finished garment due to lack of contrast. 

For the relief of my design, I chose to embroider a few lines with DMC light thread (metallic thread). I love the effect it gives on embroidery (be careful to use it sparingly so it’s not too flashy). 

2. Prepare your design

To embroider my designs, I trace the drawing onto vlieseline solufix or DMC magic paper. I reproduce the design on the backing and then I just have to stick it like a sticker onto the surface I want to embroider. 

You just have to position it well and then you can embroider directly on it. 

I decide on my paper pattern the colors to use. I note the DMC thread numbers that I use for each part of the design in order to create a coherent color palette. 

Finally, I determine which embroidery stitches I will use for the different parts of the design: linear stitch, filling stitch, decorative stitches... it's a very creative moment! 

3. Embroider your design 

Then comes the time to carefully embroider everything we decided on. For this, I stitch through my fabric and the adhesive backing as evenly as possible. I really like embroidering color by color and watching the design gradually take shape. I move slowly with the satisfaction of seeing the design come to life. 

To embroider my arcuate, I took two small Sunday afternoons and really enjoyed myself. 

Once the design was finished, I placed my pocket in a small bowl of cold water to see the solufix paper dissolve and reveal my pretty embroidery. 

To complete everything, I embroidered a tiny flower from the design on my front coin pocket. Cuteness guaranteed! 

4. Integrate your design into your sewing

I was finally able to integrate my embroidered pocket with its arcuate into my jeans. I made sure to place it according to the markers and topstitched it. 

This time I chose not to put rivets but to make bartacks. They help reinforce the tension points of the pocket and highlight the pretty plum color of my thread and embroidery. 

After making these patch pockets, all that was left was to get down to sewing my jeans properly and, hours later... I could finally put them on and tell myself I could be really proud of my creation 😊. 

I, who had only made jeans for my man until the end of last year, am really getting into the game of making jeans for myself 😂. I have plenty of other ideas in mind for what's next! 

And you, would you like to sew your own jeans or create pretty embroideries? If yes, why not start alone or with me in the workshop? I would be delighted to guide you. 

You will also find the essentials to start embroidery in the shop; I wrote a complete article on the subject which you can find here.

Come on... get your sewing or embroidery needles ready! 

Have a great week, 

 Eugénie