Results May Vary: Skinny Jeans

Hello Readers. The rain is gone and it is a pretty day to throw the windows open and enjoy some fresh air in the house. Today's project is a pair of skinny jeans. They started simple, I made them crazy, but they ended well. Read on.

Here are some classic black boot cut pants. Black goes with everything. You can spill coffee or tea on them and it won't show. All the black dog hair my dog leaves around? No problem. These are nice and soft but just a bit big. I can fix that.

I did what I usually do. I sewed down the sides to take them in a little. I also sewed inside seams to take them in some there too. I wanted the legs to be more narrow. I thought this would make them more balanced than if I just took all the excess out of the sides. I had to do this several times, trying them on in between to get them just right. 

I also made a couple darts in the back to take in the waist. I don't like to have the waist gaping out in the back. I started at the waistband and ended down in the pockets. Darts can be tricky for me. Ending them under the pocket hides any imperfections. 

I should have stopped here. I should have put my new skinny jeans on and walked away before I got in trouble. I didn't. (Life lesson?) As you can see here, I tried to lighten them. I wanted gray. What I got was orangey-black yuck. I was not happy with this. What can I do now?

Well, I am not one to give up. The only fix for this is dye. I have to dye them back to black to cover the orange. These pants are not going to be gray. It just isn't meant to be. I just have to accept that and move on. It's OK, maybe next time. (Life lesson #2?)

I followed the directions and dyed them. I washed them a couple times to get the excess dye out, and here we are. I had to buy the dye and spend extra time on them but after all the sewing, it was worth it. I hate to let go of a project. I don't like to give up. No surrender! (I know, calm down. It's just a pair of skinny black jeans for goodness sake.)

Thanks for reading, now go make something fabulous for yourself. (And don't give up!)