Finished Seams: My Handmade Barrel Jeans: Style Arc Kew

Barrel, lantern, horseshoe, balloon--different names that refer essentially to the same style of jeans that are currently trending. The common denominator is a wide silhouette that tapers at the hem to give that unique shape. I became obsessed with it after seeing a pair of Sid jeans by Tibi early last year. Looking for a sewing pattern to replicate it was not that difficult. I just googled "barrel pants sewing pattern" and a number of choices came up. It was narrowing them down to one that proved time consuming.

So you may wonder how I eventually decided on the Style Arc Kew pattern. Here are the reasons:

Shape

The barrel silhouette in this pattern is a result of shaping not just along the sides. The back is made up of two center and two side pieces all of which are gently curved along the lengthwise edge. In above photo, 1 refers to the side back, 2 is center back and 3 is front piece.

A long dart on the center of the front near the bottom hem contributes to the tapered look.

Fit

It has a close fit around the waist and hips before gradually widening. Hence it is not shaped like a literal barrel. It is more subtle.

Waistband

It is flat and shaped with no elastic. Some barrel pants pattern achieve their shape because of the excess fabric from the elasticized waist.

Design Details

Gotta love the details that allow one to use jean style construction.

Diagonal front pockets with coin pocket on right side. Opportunity for applying metal rivets not just as accent but also as corner reinforcement.

Belt loops

Fly front

Zippered front opening

Opportunities for topstitching.

And more topstitching!

Construction Highlights:

I used a 100% cotton denim from Nick of Time Textiles. It weighs 10 oz but because it is stone-washed it is super soft. Bonus that it didn't leave any blue stain marks on my fingers at all!

For the pocket bag, I used some leftover upholstery canvas with my favorite design--calligraphy print.

Essential tools of the trade

Topstitching and all-purpose threads, appropriate sized needles, rubber mallet, awl, metal button, etc.
Notice the square piece of denim fabric. That was my handy dandy tool for easily sewing over thick humps. I could easily fold it to approximate the thickness of the seam I was sewing over. Better than any fancy tools!

Topstitching

For topstitching, I did not backstitch at the beginning and end. Backstitching usually creates a mess of threads on the wrong side (at least in my case) and the start/stop points can be pretty obvious when using thick thread. Instead, I pull the topstitching thread to the wrong side, knot together with the bobbin thread and hide them within the seam. I also apply Fray Check sparingly. In above example, I did not do the knot since the edges were serge-finished and sewn to the main pocket.

Here are samples of where I used topstitching.

Fly front

Front lower dart and hem.

Zipper edge, waistband, belt loops.

Center/Side back seams. This is a view of the wrong side. I serged the seams together, pressed them to the sides and used double topstitching on the right side.

The scariest part for me was attaching the rivets as I have never done it before. I was afraid of creating a big hole in the finished garment. I practiced several times and proceeded with extreme caution. After the first successful application, I thoroughly enjoyed the succeeding ones and was even looking for more projects to apply rivets to:)

For belt loops, I finished the raw edge with zigzag before turning under and sewing the loop over the waistband. I sewed them down first with straight stitches using the all purpose thread and then topstitched with zigzag using topstitching thread.

I eventually finished the exposed short raw edges of the belt loops with tiny zigzag stitches. Nothing worse than threads fraying after using belt on jeans.

Hard to see here but those are the tiny zigzag stitches.

I sewed the top of the belt loop with straight stitches first before doing final topstitching.

View of the finished belt loop.

Although I have already sewn the Kew pants many times before, I am really proud of how this latest one turned out. I love the finishing details that mimic a traditional five-pocket jean. And I love the toned down version of my barrel jeans! All that's missing is a proper jean label.

Here are some modeling shots:)