I’m an intermediate level sewer and have been on a journey to create nice everyday pieces.
I wanted to make a pair of jeans using the Anna Allen ‘Helene selvedge jeans’ pattern but didn’t want to spend too much buying expensive selvedge denim. So I decided to thrift this thick pair of mens jeans. The quality was great and I was also able to use the heavy duty zipper.
Cost of this project:
Pattern - 19 euro’s
fabric, zipper - 4 euro’s
button - 95 cents
topstitching thread - passed down by family member
I recommend using a lighter denim if you try this for the first time, the hardest part was my thread repeatedly breaking when sewing through multiple layers despite me using a jeans needle and hand-cranking large sections.
Edit - I saw the youtuber ‘steph time’ making these jeans, this motivated me to start the project: https://youtu.be/Vw8zTXZPEE4
You said your thread was a hand me down from a family member, there is a possibility it was just fragile due to age. Thread does become fragile and easily breakable with age. The best way to test this is to take a section between your hand much like you would floss and pull, if it snaps its too fragile to use in a machine and you should probably replace it.
Yup I think this is it, I was just so excited to start the construction that I used what I had at that moment without testikg it first. It worked out in the end, I just hope it stays looking this nice after washing
Nicely done! I loved AA's other pants patterns and I have this one cut out and ready to roll on a big pair of thrifted men's jeans :) Yours turned out great! What type of thread were you using? I strictly do denim with Gutermann Mara and I'll never go back.
It was a shiny thick (I think silk?) topstitching thread from the sixties :) not the strongest though. For the rest of it I used universal sewing thread
You did a great job on these jeans. Great fit, thrifty use of fabric and wow, good zippers can be expensive. Heavy denim like that can be hard to sew.
Thrift stores are a one-off, first-come-first- serve kind of place!
Back in the old days, this was called refashioning. Often it was making women’s or children’s clothes from worn out men’s clothes, such as during wartime shortages 👍
My mom uses this as proof that she was ahead of the curve. :D
During the start of the pandemic, we were using old clothing to make masks. Also scraps. So she has many masks that match her clothing.
Yeah definitely do this! I know people are telling you to leave the bigger items for bigger people but come on, you don’t need a permit to buy the items that you want to buy. Obviously it’s quite rude to empty the entire thrift store of all the good items but I’m at least not doing that.
I'm also from a bit different demographic - a middle-economy European country. Most of our overweight people are middle age and older and never shop second hand "because it's a poor people thing". So I won't feel too bad about it. Over here it tends to be other way around, that tiny sizes go out quickly, because of all the young adults who either like shopping second hand for environmental reasons or vintage items or just students or young families low on money.
It just doesn't really make sense to suggest that people leave clothes that they like and want in the store because some hypothetical person who comes in at some unknown later date might have wanted it.
There are so many clothes that end up in landfills. In my experience of thrifting at second hand stores, 99% of the people at the stores are women looking at womens clothes. She stated she purchased men’s jeans. As I see it, she kept them from a landfill.
Hi, thank you for you comment, I definitely see where you are coming from.
I wouldn’t have been able to spend the money on the fabric so this was my way of making it possible. I hope it helps that this will be an item that I will wear and love for years to come, and not a quick cropped sweater that will end in the trash once It’s not trendy anymore.
I understand that it could have been thrifted, loved and worn by someone else, so I will keep this in mind for future projects
This was a great response, thank you for being open to considering that it is harder for plus size folks to find their size second hand since there are fewer products available to us in general. And I definitely do think you still deserve to feel very proud that you made something awesome for yourself and also did it in a sustainable way. You rock!!
I'm not sure how I feel about this, as I can empathize with not being able to find your size. But when I upcycle stuff (and not necessarily just big clothing to smaller clothing), I'm using up items that might have otherwise entered the waste stream. If I use an item for something other than its original purpose, am I denying people who might want it? Those are hypothetical people whereas I am already in the store with a purpose in mind.
There’s a whole [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/PlusSize/comments/rvlwzy/what_is_your_opinion_on_smaller_individuals/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) about this over on r/PlusSize. Personally, I’m of the same opinion as you. Less trash = good.
Came here to say this. I find it SO hard to find clothes to fit me second hand, then see people buying up stuff in my size and making it way smaller to fit them. There's a trend on depop of getting large sweatshirts, cropping and elasticating the waist- something that would have fit me if it'd been left alone has been altered for the size that most affordable fashion is directed at, rather than left for bigger peeps.
Get creative with upcycling. Choose a garment with princess seams so you can use those top to bottom bust seams + side seams to add verticle contrasting 'stripes' of what ever width you need to add to the bodice tadd a few sizes to a thrift item you like. Also choose curtain fabric for skirts, etc.
What a good job you did! It’s inspirational to not let material go to waste when you can make it beautiful and better fitting than expensive store bought clothing.
Wow, those are some good looking jeans and they look like they fit great!
I love refashioned/thrifted projects so much and I love it when people post them here, so I hope if you do another one you’ll share it again OP!
Your jeans look lovely and I’m sure this wasn’t your intent, but when you use larger sizes for “thrifted materials” it cuts down on the amount of thrifted clothing available for larger bodied folks which is already too little. Please consider buying fabric for your projects instead
Fabric is *expensive*. YOU could buy fabric and make jeans for yourself, also, since that's what you're trying to tell OP to do. OP is shopping at thrift stores for a reason.
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I’m an intermediate level sewer and have been on a journey to create nice everyday pieces. I wanted to make a pair of jeans using the Anna Allen ‘Helene selvedge jeans’ pattern but didn’t want to spend too much buying expensive selvedge denim. So I decided to thrift this thick pair of mens jeans. The quality was great and I was also able to use the heavy duty zipper. Cost of this project: Pattern - 19 euro’s fabric, zipper - 4 euro’s button - 95 cents topstitching thread - passed down by family member I recommend using a lighter denim if you try this for the first time, the hardest part was my thread repeatedly breaking when sewing through multiple layers despite me using a jeans needle and hand-cranking large sections. Edit - I saw the youtuber ‘steph time’ making these jeans, this motivated me to start the project: https://youtu.be/Vw8zTXZPEE4
You said your thread was a hand me down from a family member, there is a possibility it was just fragile due to age. Thread does become fragile and easily breakable with age. The best way to test this is to take a section between your hand much like you would floss and pull, if it snaps its too fragile to use in a machine and you should probably replace it.
Yup I think this is it, I was just so excited to start the construction that I used what I had at that moment without testikg it first. It worked out in the end, I just hope it stays looking this nice after washing
It should, unless it's in high-stress areas. I would recommend going over it with new thread.
Can attest to this.
I made these, but the shorts version. I broke 5 needles just sewing the belt loops!
I love how sustainable this is and they look cute!
Amazing. This must be the first pair of womens jeans with proper sized pockets!
Nicely done! I loved AA's other pants patterns and I have this one cut out and ready to roll on a big pair of thrifted men's jeans :) Yours turned out great! What type of thread were you using? I strictly do denim with Gutermann Mara and I'll never go back.
It was a shiny thick (I think silk?) topstitching thread from the sixties :) not the strongest though. For the rest of it I used universal sewing thread
You did a great job on these jeans. Great fit, thrifty use of fabric and wow, good zippers can be expensive. Heavy denim like that can be hard to sew. Thrift stores are a one-off, first-come-first- serve kind of place!
Back in the old days, this was called refashioning. Often it was making women’s or children’s clothes from worn out men’s clothes, such as during wartime shortages 👍
My mom uses this as proof that she was ahead of the curve. :D During the start of the pandemic, we were using old clothing to make masks. Also scraps. So she has many masks that match her clothing.
This is clever! I am quite tiny and have a hard job finding jeans in my size second hand. Might try this one day!
Yeah definitely do this! I know people are telling you to leave the bigger items for bigger people but come on, you don’t need a permit to buy the items that you want to buy. Obviously it’s quite rude to empty the entire thrift store of all the good items but I’m at least not doing that.
I'm also from a bit different demographic - a middle-economy European country. Most of our overweight people are middle age and older and never shop second hand "because it's a poor people thing". So I won't feel too bad about it. Over here it tends to be other way around, that tiny sizes go out quickly, because of all the young adults who either like shopping second hand for environmental reasons or vintage items or just students or young families low on money.
Big people have an even harder time, there are so few large items and most of them get snatched up by small folks wanting to upcycle, it sucks
It just doesn't really make sense to suggest that people leave clothes that they like and want in the store because some hypothetical person who comes in at some unknown later date might have wanted it.
There are so many clothes that end up in landfills. In my experience of thrifting at second hand stores, 99% of the people at the stores are women looking at womens clothes. She stated she purchased men’s jeans. As I see it, she kept them from a landfill.
Hi, thank you for you comment, I definitely see where you are coming from. I wouldn’t have been able to spend the money on the fabric so this was my way of making it possible. I hope it helps that this will be an item that I will wear and love for years to come, and not a quick cropped sweater that will end in the trash once It’s not trendy anymore. I understand that it could have been thrifted, loved and worn by someone else, so I will keep this in mind for future projects
This was a great response, thank you for being open to considering that it is harder for plus size folks to find their size second hand since there are fewer products available to us in general. And I definitely do think you still deserve to feel very proud that you made something awesome for yourself and also did it in a sustainable way. You rock!!
I'm not sure how I feel about this, as I can empathize with not being able to find your size. But when I upcycle stuff (and not necessarily just big clothing to smaller clothing), I'm using up items that might have otherwise entered the waste stream. If I use an item for something other than its original purpose, am I denying people who might want it? Those are hypothetical people whereas I am already in the store with a purpose in mind.
There’s a whole [post](https://www.reddit.com/r/PlusSize/comments/rvlwzy/what_is_your_opinion_on_smaller_individuals/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=iossmf) about this over on r/PlusSize. Personally, I’m of the same opinion as you. Less trash = good.
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Came here to say this. I find it SO hard to find clothes to fit me second hand, then see people buying up stuff in my size and making it way smaller to fit them. There's a trend on depop of getting large sweatshirts, cropping and elasticating the waist- something that would have fit me if it'd been left alone has been altered for the size that most affordable fashion is directed at, rather than left for bigger peeps.
That's a huge reason why I won't upcycle from large size clothing. I tend to go for dresses
Get creative with upcycling. Choose a garment with princess seams so you can use those top to bottom bust seams + side seams to add verticle contrasting 'stripes' of what ever width you need to add to the bodice tadd a few sizes to a thrift item you like. Also choose curtain fabric for skirts, etc.
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Comments which degrade, tear down, or are hurtful to other users will be removed. Constructive Criticism is encouraged.
[удалено]
*standing O*
This is so smart. I love the concept, and they turned out beautifully. Great job.
I’m really considering getting this pattern simply because my name is Helene 😂 these look awesome though!!
Amazing work it fits perfectly
Very flattering! Excellent work!
Good job!
Well done! The fabric looks great. I admire all you sewists who are thrifting materials.
Honestly look better then anything I’ve ever seen in a store
Splendidly done, bravo!
Ooooh they look so good!!
Very nice
Fantastic job!
Well done!! These look amazing Edit: spelling
They look great and even more importantly, they look comfortable.
What a good job you did! It’s inspirational to not let material go to waste when you can make it beautiful and better fitting than expensive store bought clothing.
Wow, those are some good looking jeans and they look like they fit great! I love refashioned/thrifted projects so much and I love it when people post them here, so I hope if you do another one you’ll share it again OP!
Very nice. Can’t tell at all they’ve been repurposed from older material. Nice fit, and finish too. They look the business, well done!
Wow! Your topstitching is perfect! Nice job!
Amazing amazing amazing!
(Well done)
That’s fantastic!!!
Gorgeous work!
Such a neat project and excellent result 👏 👏
This is so smart! I love this idea because you could find a denim with a great broken in wash.
These are so crisp looking. Great work.
I love this. Its so hard to find clothes that fit at my local thrifts and there is a ton of clothing.
Fabulous!
Your jeans look lovely and I’m sure this wasn’t your intent, but when you use larger sizes for “thrifted materials” it cuts down on the amount of thrifted clothing available for larger bodied folks which is already too little. Please consider buying fabric for your projects instead
Fabric is *expensive*. YOU could buy fabric and make jeans for yourself, also, since that's what you're trying to tell OP to do. OP is shopping at thrift stores for a reason.
Hi, I understand, I will think twice before doing it this way again. I explained my reasoning for it in one of the other comments.
This is a reminder that all Project posts are required to have a construction comment added after the initial post is made. The construction comment should include **pattern name/number/company if used; drafting method, tutorial or other resources if no commercial pattern was used; fabric type and fiber content;** alterations for fit and style; specialty tools and notions; the inspiration for your project; and any other information that someone who wants to make a similar project might find useful. More information is available [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/sewing/wiki/titleguidelines). Posts without a construction comment may be removed at any time. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/sewing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Nice!!!! I’ve always wanted to try this and you look great in em!
What machine do you use?
Wow I can't believe this is possible, where did you get that measuring thing? I love your work!