When I put on my jeans, they held the memory of shape of my body. It felt like something I could almost define as comfortable.
On the phone over the weekend, I expressed my fears to my mom that I had made my jeans too big and baggy, that they would stretch out too much over time. She told me I could wear them as comfortable around-the-house pants, and I said, why would I ever wear jeans at home?
Maybe, I have never known comfortable jeans. I’ve never thought this was a thing that was possible.
Day 6
I always figured that when the fabric of my jeans relaxed, I’d probably need to fold a deeper cuff. I decided to check out if it might be time to adjust, and discovered two things: the cuff was firmly set in a crisp fold, and some spots of dye had leeched onto the inside of the denim just above the crease line of the cuff. I left the cuff as it was.
Day 7
Near the end of my workday, I lost a rivet (upper left front pocket). I was able to find both ends of it, but determined the post end was not salvageable. I replaced it with a spare one. I also checked the other rivets to see if any seemed loose, and re-hammered those as well.
On the days I didn’t wear my jeans, I wore one of my other newly made pants for the first time and an old pair of jeans that had previously been my favorite.
My new pants are made from a gray Tencel fabric. Tencel is a type of rayon made from wood pulp, and is one of the most sustainable fabrics. The water used in processing the fibers is recycled. It’s also really soft and breathable. Like my denim, it also has no stretch content, so I made sure not to over-fit my pants. Sometimes, when I’m making clothes, I think they fit right, and then the first time I put them on to wear, they seem to have grown a size or two in my closet (sometimes I panic that I’m shrinking, but I know that can’t be so). I almost didn’t go through with wearing these pants because I was afraid they were too big and looked sloppy.
I’m still trying to get comfortable with wearing pants that are actually comfortable, rather than squeezing my body tight.
My old favorite jeans are tight, but not as tight/skinny as some older ones I still own. I’ve been a little disappointed in these jeans since I checked the label and discovered that they weren’t just cotton and spandex, but part polyester too. When I put them on this Thursday, I was very aware of the fabric on my skin. I could feel them tight against my thighs, my calves. Yes, the fabric moved with me, not controlling my movements, but I didn’t know if I preferred that anymore. I got reacquainted with the feeling during the course of the day, but was happy to wear my jeans again the following day.
These days were a mix of standing and sitting. I still walked to and from work every day. The most uncomfortable moments were during long periods of sitting, sewing at the sewing machine.
Week 3
October 18, 20, 22
Day 8
It was raining a significant amount when I left work this day. I used an umbrella, but the lower half of my jeans still got fairly wet.
At night, I dreamed that my jeans had faded quite a bit all over, to more of a medium denim wash. Also in my dream, they were starting to develop holes in the middle of the fronts of my thighs. I thought that was a weird and random spot for holes to form, and I was a little sad about it.
Day 9
I received a series of compliments about my shirt, but none about my jeans. That’s just fine.
Day 10
Measurement check-in
Jeans Me Ease
Top of Waistband 28.25 (+.75) 27.5 .75
Hips 39 (+1.5) 36.5 2.5
Thigh 23 (+0) 21 1
Knee 16 (-.25) 13.5 2.5
Calf 14.5 (+0) 14.125 .375
Ankle (@cuff) 12.5 (+0) 8.75 2.75
Inseam (double-roll) 28
On Friday, I committed to adding another roll to the cuff of my jeans. This inseam measurement is likely more accurate to my actual length. The expansion of the waistband also means it’s likely that the jeans are sitting lower on my body.
I started to see more signs of the movement of dye. There is a blurry area of smudged dye at the top of the fly, likely from leaning against my cutting table. There are also some creases of dye loss around the top of the inseam.
Also, always using the low-flow toilet at work, even though it is the stall farthest from the entrance, the lighting is bad, the toilet was installed not quite perpendicular to the wall, and I have to flush with my finger.
