Good news, readers! My denim jeans are underway and so far, so good. There's not much to see at this point, but one never tires of looking at topstitching -- or is it showing it that one never tires of?
Rather than use an actual jeans pattern, I opted for vintage Seventies pattern Simplicity 5048, which includes Western shirt and vest, neither of which I'm making this time around. See the shape of that front pocket? Different, right?
As I mentioned yesterday, I'm topstitching with my Singer 201 and stitching all the other seams with my Singer 66 treadle, which I hadn't sewn with in a long time. (BTW, I've put my hand crank dreams on hold -- once I start on a sewing project I'm reminded how many machines I already have, though I may purchase an after-market repro crank and try it out on my 66.)
What else?
I finally sat down and watched The Prodigal last night. As biblical epics go, it was meh -- dull, really, and you have to feel for poor Lana Turner, who apparently wanted nothing to do with it but was under contract and couldn't say no. Instead, she connived to make her skimpy costumes skimpier. Let's just say it was no Ben Hur.
Speaking of The Prodigal, word has it that the 3,000 lb. fertility god statue used in the film currently sits in a trailer park off Rte. 13 in South Jersey. While not actually autographed by Lana, I think it's a pretty good bet it's authentic. Any interest?
Friends, as it's something of a slow news week and I'm eager to get back to my jeans, I'm going to sign off now.
I leave you with Lana (along with Ann Miller and Zsa Zsa Gabor). Priceless.
Happy Friday, everybody!
That's some pretty smooth top stitching Peter. Well done.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tammy!
DeleteI'm looking forward to making some jeans myself, but like so many others, its so hard to sew denim on these new plastic body machines! That's why I'm trying to find a good metal vintage model. Your top-stitching looks great!! I would have to be sipping a little wine when doing that to keep my sanity! LOL!!!!
ReplyDeleteAny old Singer straight stitch (it doesn't have to be Singer of course), will topstitch well. The old metal machines could handle almost anything.
DeleteI agree with the "old metals" handling anything. I have a singer 99 which has sewn everything from silk chiffon to tarpauling. It is just a matter of the right needle and thread, slow steady speed with the foot pedal and of course the inclination to do it.
ReplyDeleteLUV those pockets!
ReplyDeleteJeans are looking good, Peter!
ReplyDeleteReferring to the video clip ". . . as the women dry their eyes.” Blatant stereotypes like that are why I can’t stomach many old movies (or the show Mad Men which just made me feel bad through every episode I tried to watch).
ReplyDeleteOn a brighter note, I hope to be able sew top stitching as pretty as yours some day!
Beautiful top stitching! I agree that the old metals are best. But that great top stitching takes skill. Well done!
ReplyDeleteMy son has a pair of jeans made from an Ottobre shorts pattern (modified, of course) with a similar pocket opening. He loves it and so do I!
ReplyDeleteThe jeans / topstitching are looking great Peter.
ReplyDeleteBut we are dying to see them on you!
ReplyDeleteI'm making jeans too at the moment - tell me, do men have the same fitting issues that women do? You know - the bit between the legs? will be watching with interest and probably envy.
ReplyDeleteTidy topstitching! I can see why you're proud of that!
ReplyDeleteThe trailer park tatue's snake is further down. I wonder if it came to life, observed its new surroundings, and tried to slither away??
ReplyDeleteI noticed that myself. I think the head just broke off somewhere down the line, which is a much less interesting story!
DeleteBeautiful top stitching! I recently got so frustrated with trying to get a nice even top stitch on my newer machine that I threaded my little featherweight and now use that for all my top stitching -- perfect!!
ReplyDeletePeter, I'm amazed by your creativity and skill level. I have been following your blog for quite some time but never taken the time to comment on all the interesting posts I've been reading. I wanted to ask you for some pointers. I started sewing jeans a while ago, and all is well with one exception. Whenever I try to topstitch using actual topstitching thread it always end in disaster. Either the thread gets all tangled up inside the bobbin, or it comes out too loose with big loops on the wrong side of the fabric (no matter what tension I use). Any pointers on where I might go wrong? It would be a dream if I could manage to have my topstitching look anything close to yours.
ReplyDelete