If you are planning to join in with our Denim Theme Month but are feeling a bit nervous about sewing with denim fabric, or tackling a denim garment, we have rounded up a variety of tutorials to support and inspire you.
Tutorials
Before you begin sewing, check out Blackbird Fabrics’ tips on washing your denim fabric. Seamwork have published a number of denim tutorials, from top tips for sewing with denim, to guides to customising your denim garments through distressing, boro, sand washing, or hand embroidery. That Black Chic also has a great tutorial for distressing denim. If you’re interested in refashioning denim you can gets tips and inspiration from The Refashioners denim projects, or Threads Magazine’s article on making a denim jacket from a pair of jeans.
Sewalongs
A number of indie patterns designers offer sewalongs and resources for their denim patterns. They’re ideal if you are planning to sew one of these patterns this month, but even if you’re not, there’s still lots of useful advice to be found in these sewalongs.
Megan Nielsen offers a sewalong for the Ash and Dawn jeans, plus guides to distressing or embroidering denim. Thread Theory have a detailed jeans sewalong for their Quadra and Fulford patterns, plus a guide to installing jeans rivets. Closet Case Patterns provide a sewalong for the Ginger Jeans, plus tutorials on sewing jeans buttonholes and repairing jeans with invisible mending. Cashmerette has some posts to go with their Ames Jeans, including a video on sewing the fly front.
For denim jackets, Alina Sewing & Design Co. offer a sewalong for the Hampton Jean Jacket, and Grainline Studio have a sewalong for their new Thayer Jacket, while Seamwork subscribers can access their Sew a Denim Jacket class.
Maven Patterns have a series of tutorials for the Good Times Skirt, and Helen’s Closet has advice on installing overalls hardware.
For visual learners, Jalie offer a video tutorial to making their stretch Éléonore Jeans, covering the whole process in 21 minutes! Norris Danta Ford has a video tutorial to making unisex denim jacket pattern Simplicity 8845, and Mimi G has a video tutorial for making skinny jeans pattern Simplicity 8222.
YouTube
While on the subject of videos, there are a huge number of tutorials for sewing denim on YouTube, including Workroom Social’s tutorial for sewing flat felled seams, and Blackbird Fabrics’ guide to installing jeans hardware. Professor Pincushion has some general tips for sewing with denim and for distressing denim. If you’re planning a refashioning project this month Mimi G has published a tutorial for creating a denim skirt from a pair of jeans.
And finally, if you’re looking for more inspiration, Love to Sew podcast discussed denim in Episode 107 and shared some of their favourite resources.
Charlotte is a Sewcialists Guest Editor. She is based in the UK, and blogs at English Girl at Home.