NEW JEANS IN JAPANESE DENIM

Hooray for new fabrics! We recently updated our stock at Threadbare Fabrics with four new arrivals, including our first foray into Japanese denim. And of course, I tested it for myself!

Pattern: Closet Case Patterns Ginger Jeans
Size: 10
Modifications: View A (low rise) at waist, View B (skinny leg) from the hip down
Fabric: Japanese 10.5oz black-on-black denim from Threadbare Fabrics
Worn with: An unblogged Sewaholic Granville in chambray from Michael Levine

Japanese denim is known for its quality, and Jeremy and I were interested in exploring fabric from outside of Cone Mills (which is the majority of our current stock). From reading various blogs and talking to some people, I realized there was a desire for not only Japanese denims by the yard, but also black denim with black threads. What better way to address both of these issues than to stock Japanese 10.5oz black-on-black denim?

Of course, it was important for me to do a test run with this fabric. It's sourced from a different place than what I'm used to (I know I can expect great quality and recovery from Cone Mills denim), so I made up this pair of Ginger Jeans. I've made Ginger so many times, it was really easy to compare the final product to that of my other pairs.

To start, I decided to do something a little different, and I made a low rise version with the skinny leg (View A at the top, View B from the hip down). It was really quick and painless to blend between the sizes, although I'd really love to give Heather Lou's recent mid-rise tutorial a whirl sometime.

The low rise is... very low. But I really do like that I have another option from the high rise. Next time I'll probably raise the front and back rise by about an inch and call it a day. Currently, these really need to be worn with a belt - which I've gotten used to not wearing due to better fitting jeans. Also, I may have accidentally made the waist too big, and was too lazy to unpick everything.

The real test of these jeans, however, is the quality of the denim. To say that this denim is fantastic is an understatement. I easily wore these jeans 4 or 5 times before washing, and they held up just fine. In fact, they almost never seem to "relax" and feel fresh from the wash until about the 4th or 5th wear. That's actually something you may want to keep in mind if you decide to make jeans with this denim... Our S-Gene fabrics relax a bit after one wear, so making them tight is no problem. But the Japanese denim takes longer - so I'd definitely baste before sewing to check the fit (and don't over-fit them).

This denim is getting major love in our house right now, and I'm almost done with a pair for Jeremy to replace his fading black Levi's. So despite the stretch factor (and the lighter weight), I think they make a nice pair of men's jeans. The texture is great, the recovery is great, and the color is uniform and dark. I love them, and everyone needs a great pair of black jeans! :D

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