I love wearing jeans, and after I had finished my first pair of me-made jeans, I knew I wanted a second.
I had 2 meters of denim left from my first pair, so I decided to bleach it for a lighter colour. I must say, this wasn’t the easiest of tasks. The only way I could tackle it was in our very small bath.
As you can see, the denim was no where near laying flat. For the first 10 minutes I moved the denim around non-stop. After that, I would swish it and flip it every 15 minutes. I did this for 2 hours (setting a timer so I didn’t miss a flip).

Before and after the bleach bath
It was a long (and smelly) process, but I am so happy with the result. There are a few small bleach lines and lighter patches, but it is as even as I could possibly get it.
If you want to try bleaching denim, True Bias has a wonderful tutorial which I referenced quite a lot.
With my denim lightened, I got onto making the jeans. Again, I used a hardware kit from Closet Case, but this time I picked the copper colour. My topstitching thread was pink, to match.
My first pair turned out to be a pretty good fit, but I did make a few changes with this pair. I took the ankles down to a size 10, but I also shaped the leg to hug my knee. I’m not sure if it’s because the denim is softer after the bleach, but I found that there was a lot more room around the knee this time.
I really love the fit of this pair. I won’t transfer the alteration to my pattern, I think I’ll just have to judge each new pair as I make them.
I added a little faux leather patch to the waistband which I think looks great! I might go back and add one to my original pair.
I used the same pocket topstitching design from my first pair, but I added another line. I really like the way it looks.
GARMENT DETAILS
- Pattern brand/name/number: Ginger Jeans by Closet Case Patterns
- Style, size: High rise version with the skinny leg, size 10 at waist, 14 at hips and 10 at ankles
- Fabric: Stretch denim from M.Recht which I bleached, cotton lining from stash scraps
- Notions:
- Zipper fly hardware kit in Copper from Closet Case Patterns
- Gütermann topstitch thread, colour 473
- Gütermann general thread, colour 311
- Modification/alterations:
- Shaped the leg to hug my knees
- Added a faux leather patch to waistband
The finishing touch was to stitch the make-date on the inside of the fly shield. It’s a cute little detail which makes me smile every time I see it.
Mitty x