Denim may appear just as a fabric but for many of us this fabric is more of affiliation. From celebrities to common people around the globe this fabric is one of the most widely used fabric, not recently but since 90s. Retro styling also constitutes Denim and is in trend too. Nowadays, people can be seen walking down a street wearing denim jeans, Jackets which is making this much more of a street style too. Denim comes in different colors having different weights and can be used for range of garments. High demand and too much attention naturally leads towards much production and much consumption.
Lucky are the brands associated with production of Denim. Why not make your own old piece of Denim clothing or your parents’ stuff more appealing, new and a trendy? Almost everyone is a denim aficionado and they contribute to their daily go to look. This may even aid you in starting your own business. Once you get your hands on denim, later you can publicize your own handmade piece of clothing, prompting others to do alike too. We should promote our work. Shouldn’t we? Just follow some focus-oriented steps and make a DIY denim jean or a jacket what suits your style.
Sewing by hand is a bit tricky and usually depends on quality of fabric. Thinner fabric is sewed easier than thicker ones.
You will be introduced with all essential tricks while working with Denim.
Preparing Denim for Sewing
This task requires patience and is not for one who get frustrated easily. And this is the foremost thing you have to do. You will need to prepare your mind and arrange the basic necessities.
Things You will Need
Needles, Scissors, Denim Jeans, measuring tape, fabric markers, thread, safety pin.
Pre-Treating Your Fabric
First of all, wash your fabric to avoid it shrinking later on. Try avoiding the use of detergent or bleach for the first wash. Let it dry and then begin with your process.
Measuring
Get your best fit as a sample. Cut the front side and back side separately and then sew them together at the seams. Similarly measure the pocket size and attach them after you are done sewing the front and the back. Be mindful f the fact that an inch or two of the fabric is used in the sewing process so, keep a margin of an inch or two when measuring.
Cutting
One of the most essential and a bit mentally task. Easy for the one who has a prior knowledge about sewing but on the other hand it requires some extra effort for a newbie. For a light weight fabric, you have to cut on a double layer using a sharp cutter and for heavy weight cut in single layer in a flat manner.
Marking with dark colored pencils chalks or markers
As denim comes in vast range of colors so whenever you are marking the fabric use opposing or contrasting colors than original color of fabric for your own convenience.
As we are done with washing, cutting and marking now it’s time to sew.
Pressing
Pressing is as vital as sewing the fabric. Iron your fabric with the help of steam iron to get the seams or any folds flattened. This will make a difference on the finished fabric.
Seams
Two pieces of fabric are sown together in the seam line. There are many types like graded seam, bound seam and flat- fell seam choose the one that suits style and weight of denim.
Facing
In case of a thicker fabric cut out the facings from lighter fabric. In this way, they will set best on edge of neckline, sleeve edge and are not bulky to sew.
Decorative Stitching
For outside decorative stitching you will need to have right cotton and for that you have to change the needle to bigger one.
Denim has been transformed into many ways into bags, jackets, jeans etc. There is no end to ideas for the denim sleeve or transformation of old pair of jeans lending itself to saying
“SOMETHING OLD, SOMETHING NEW, SOMETHING BORROWED, SOMETHING BLUE.”
The sewing of denim to make something new for its imperishable designs which is something definitely blue.