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  • Jenni Beth
    • Sep 15, 2021
    • 3 min read

Rebecca Page Skinny Jeans & Jeggings


I have had jeans on my "to make" list for a while now. I have actually tried a few other pairs by Rebecca Page, but this one is absolutely my favorite, because it has an option for "jeggings" as well jeans with a faux-fly or regular fly. As always, RP's instructions walk you through each part of the pattern in detail, so you can succeed even if you don't have much experience in fitting pants. Without further ado, let me tell you about Rebecca Page's Skinny Jeans pattern.


The Grammar

Finished Measurements - Every Rebecca Page pattern has a finished measurements chart. The finished measurements chart differs from a size chart in that it lets you know how much ease is intended in a particular pattern. This pattern's finished measurement chart is seriously amazing. It has measurements for the waist, top thigh, hip, mid thigh, knee, inside leg, ankle, midcalf, and front and back rise. You can compare your measurements to the finished measurements chart (and subtract 10%, as the fitting instructions suggest), and you can fit these skinny jeans to every part of your leg. Have a wide calf? No problem. Need extra room in the thighs? Super-easy. Want to adjust the length? The instructions tell you exactly how to do that.


Ease - A patter will either have positive ease (imagine a woven dress that doesn't cling to your body at all) or negative ease (like workout gear or a swimsuit). The intended ease is determined by comparing the size chart to the finished measurements chart. If the number for the hips in the size chart for a particular size is larger than the finished measurement number for the hips, the pattern will have "negative ease." If the size chart number is smaller than the finished measurement number, the pattern will have "positive ease." This pattern has about 10% negative ease, which means you must use a fabric that will stretch: either a stretch knit or a stretch woven.


Stretch Percentage - Each pattern will have its own fabric requirements, and these usually include a stretch percentage for that fabric. The stretch percentage means how much does the fabric stretch when you pull on it. It is usually given in vertical and horizontal stretch. If you can pull a five-inch section of fabric to ten inches, that fabric has 100% horizontal stretch. If you can only pull that five-inch section to seven-and-a-half inches, it has 50% horizontal stretch. This particular pattern calls for fabric with 20% stretch if you are inserting the fly zipper. This will be your typical stretch denim. Or you can use fabric with 50% stretch if you're making the "jeggings" version. This may be a fabric more like ponte or scuba.


The Logic - Sewing it up

This pattern is fairly straightforward. The first step is to add the pockets to the back. Aren't they cute?!

And then you do the front pocket and the fly/faux fly. The pocket instructions look like they would be difficult or confusing, but I promise if you read each step and do as suggested, they will magically turn into regular jeans pockets!! I made the faux-fly on these, as these are jeggings. It looks like regular jeans from the front, but the waistband is elastic, which makes them a lot easier to put on/take off.


After that, the construction feels fairly normal. There are instructions for the serger with topstitching (like I did here), as well as for a flat fell seam (like I will do on the "real jeans" that I have cut out).


I paired this one with another new RP pattern, the Wrap Cardigan. This one was a super-fast sew, and it goes perfectly with the pants :)


Here are the links I used one more time:


Rebecca Page Kids' Skinny Jeans

Rebecca Page Kids' Wrap Cardigan


And the link for the coordinating women's jeans/jeggings:


Rebecca Page Women's Skinny Jeans


And that's about all there is to it! She absolutely loves these for playing all the day long. And they work great for chasing the ducks at the park!

This post contains various affiliate links. Purchasing patterns using these links does not cost my readers more, but the designer does provide me with a small commission from any sales. The commission helps to fund my fabric costs, and is very appreciated.

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Disclosure: I am an affiliate and promoter for these two designers, and I will make a small amount of money if you make a purchase after clicking on my link. The cost to you will not change. These are designers whose patterns I love, and that I would sew up for myself whether I was an affiliate or not.

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Why "Sewing and the Trivium"

The Story

Classical educators like to divide education into developmental stages called the Trivium. These are called "Grammar," "Logic," and "Rhetoric." Grammar refers to the first steps of learning anything: learning the vocabulary of the subject being studied and memorizing facts about that vocabulary. Classically speaking, this corresponds to the elementary years of learning - years when students never seem to grow tired of astounding the adults around them with fact after fact about things they are interested in. Have you experienced talking to a six year old who is really into dinosaurs? enough said...

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Adults also begin learning with the grammar of a subject. Each subject has its own unique terminology and facts that need to be mastered before one can explore the more complicated applications of that subject. Sewing is no different. What is a french seam? What kinds of knit fabrics are better for different applications? What is a dolman sleeve or a raglan top? These are grammar queries.

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In classical education, logic refers to the action of logically processing the grammar facts students have learned, or are learning. The student who is particularly suited to this type of thought is the middle-school scholar - the student who wants to argue his or her way through the world and "be right" about all the things. This pattern of thought includes bringing different ideas together, comparing and contrasting them, analyzing what an authority figure says about an argument, and deciding whether different arguments are consistent with each other. In the sewing world, logical questions include things like, "How is knit fabric different than woven fabric?" and "Why does this pattern ask for a particular fabric type?" as well as tasks such as mashing two patterns together or changing the sleeve/length/placket from how the pattern was designed.

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The final part of the classical trivium, rhetoric, is when a student makes an argument of his or her own by developing a "thesis" or main point and then laying it out for someone else in writing or speech. Typically, students are ready for formal rhetoric in their high school years - years that they are very concerned about what they look like to other people and gain an interest in learning to craft a message in a way that will be most effective for their purposes. Examples of rhetoric in sewing would be fully-formed tutorials or sew-alongs - or even the writing of a blog post itself. Anything that is explaining previously thought-out/tried-out projects can count as rhetoric. 

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My goal on this blog is to lay out my sews and thoughts using this framework. And that is why I chose this title.

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