Oh, I do love these! After being a teeny tiny bit ranty the last time I blogged about these Lander Pants, I think I need to show the other side of the coin. Yes, the zip instructions were unduly complicated, but the rest of the making of the garment was just fine. And the finished result is a little more than “just fine”!
I overlocked the pieces either before sewing or as I went along, depending on what was required. The fabric I have used is a heavy-ish weight denim that I bought from Truro Fabrics back in September while on holiday. I had gone in to find something to buy, and I wasn’t disappointed! I left with two pieces of denim, zips for jeans and, new to me, a reel of Gutermann Denim Thread. The demin is gorgeous! It is woven with blue and chestnut coloured thread, instead of blue and white. The blue gives the chestnut a deep, rich colour, which I just love. So, as there’s more blue on the underside of the fabric, I used navy thread in the overlocker. I also used a 100 denim needle, it’s a chunky fabric.
I lined the front patch pockets with a scrap of navy blue linen left over from my first Zadie Jumpsuit. Topstitching was done, anywhere I had two lines, with a denim twin needle! Get yourself one, it’s great for even, parallel lines of stitching, and makes your work look extra fabulous! The thread used, that Denim Thread, is thinner than regular topstitching thread and was recommended by the ladies at Truro Fabrics after I said that my Bernina has the biggest hissey fit when I try to use topstitching thread. I used it in the top (needle thread) only, and regular thread in the bobbin. That’s because I didn’t want to waste it! As it turns out, when I did use it in the bobbin, for the waistband topstitching, it went as wrong as regular topstitching thread. But not quite as bad. The thread comes in a variety of decent denim-y colours, and wasn’t a pricey alternative. I’ll definitely be using it again!
The length of these pants is perfect for me, I had thought I’d need to cut a chunk off when I first put them on to check length, and turned up a nice healthy 8cm, but when I checked the hem requirements in the instructions, it says to turn up 6mm and then approx 7.5cm. Well, there’s your 8cm! Perfect! I can’t believe these and the Ash Jeans have been the perfect length, straight out of the envelope. These are the size 12, with an extra 1cm taken out of the outside seam to compensate for the small percentage of stretch that this denim has. I wore these pants all day and have to apologise for some creasing, although some is in the fabric after washing and storing. I hope they’ll soon wash/iron out! They’re a very comfortable par of trousers, and I’ll most definitely be making another pair.
THE COMPULSIVE SEAMSTRESS 
These look great, Anne❣️ And what a great hint about thread and a double needle. If there’s any denim in my future I’ll remember these tips. 🥰
They look really good, and the colour of the denim is lovely. I will make sure I try out that denim thread – it sounds like a useful tool. Thanks for sharing!
Style and color is fabulous!
These are beautiful and fit you so well! I’ve tried making skirts with a zip and have not really succeeded yet. What do you mean when you say you must move the button? (not sure I’ll ever have the courage to sew pants)
Thanks! They’re my fave, but the fabric faded and creased in the wash, leaving white crease marks, which is a shame. They fit great though! I need to move the button a little over to my left, you can see from that last photo that there is pulling at the top of the zip, because the button is sitting back of the zip, needs to go between 5 and 10mm further over to reduce strain.
Ah! Understood. Thanks for explaining it!