I’m such a fan of wearing classics – jeans, button-down shirts, tee shirts to name a few, so it’s always fun when you see an updated classic that brings something new to the game.
When I saw this white Vince Camuto shirt in the Nordstrom catalog, I just had to make a DIY version. It’s a classic redefined with bell sleeves. I love this version except for one thing. The Vince sleeves are a bit too long for me. They’d end up in my soup. So my DIY sleeves are a little shorter.
For the shirt, I used a tried and true pattern, Butterick 5526 (made here) and modified the sleeves. This shirt is one of my favorites because it has princess seams and fits well. 
I used a linen/cotton blend from Fabric Depot. It has just the right amount of body to support my bell sleeves. To make the bell, I used the bell off of another pattern, Butterick 6456 (made here). It was just my luck that the top of the bell sleeve on that pattern fit the shirt sleeve of B5526 perfectly! If it hadn’t, I would have tapered it slightly to make it fit.
My jeans were inspired by the Nordstrom catalog too. I used the Jalie Jeans pattern for my DIY version, and used stretch denim from Modern Domestic, one of the awesome fabric stores here in Portland. This is my second pair of Jalie’s so they went together without too much struggle. I did forget how to do the front pockets though. So I referred to a great tutorial on this blog, Jillie Be Joyful. It was so helpful! I kept the design on back pocket pretty simple this time.
To make the jeans straight legged, I tapered the pattern’s legs by using a ready to wear pair that I love to guide me. For a little variety, I added some of the raw jeans salvage to the hem as a border. It’s a popular look in ready to wear so I couldn’t resist giving it a try.
I like the fit of these jeans, but I’m a bit frustrated with the knees. As I took these photos, wrinkles started to appear. Grrr. I might make a pair of legging jeans next (maybe Mimi G’s version?) to see if that works better in the knees.
DIY jeans are fun when you’re a top stitching maniac like me. I’m determined to get a pair with perfect fit though, so I’m considering ‘rubbing’ a favorite RTW pair to copy them. Have any of you ever tried that? Does it work? How about legging jeans? Do you have a favorite pattern?
Happy Spring sewing and thanks for stopping by!
Reblogged this on By the Mighty Mumford and commented:
LOVE THE BELL SLEEVES AND THE ENTIRE ENSEMBLE!
Thanks so much!
I actually like the legs and knees. I thought it looked more expensive ready to wear jeans because of it!
Thanks! I hadn’t thought of it that way:) The good news is my new jeans do fit me better than ready to wear in the waist and hips!
Kenneth King has a Craftsy class, Jeanous, on how to trace your jeans for a pattern. Lots of steps but so worth it. Love the blouse, my favorite pattern too.
Thanks for the tip on the Crafts-y class! Kenneth King is such a great instructor, I’m sure it would be a good investment. Thanks! I can’t get enough of that pattern. I was just thinking about cutting out another version of it :).
The selvedge on the hems is such a cool touch! I get wrinkly knees too. I don’t worry about them too much. I’ve had some that weren’t so wrinkly and they were stiff to move around in. My bigger fitting issue is my flat backside–if I get that down in a pair of jeans, I’m happy. I do have a pair of Banana Republic jeans whose hem width I really love. It’s not quite skinny, but it’s slim, and they were non-stretch jeans. I’d love to have a non-stretch pattern just for some variety.
Thanks! The selvedge idea made this particular pair of jeans fun to sew. I wonder if non stretch jeans wouldn’t bag in the knees? Hmmmm, you might be on to something. I think my RTW non-stretch jeans might be my favorites too. It makes me feel better that someone else has that issue:)
Fantastic outfit top to toe! Such a clever me-make of an RTW look. I don’t think I over-estimate your skills at all. I’ve yet to tackle jeans!!!
Thank-you! For me, making a pair of jeans wasn’t as much about skill as it was about time. I felt like a needed a block of uninterrupted time…When I finally pulled it off, it was just me, my pattern and Netflix..heaven!
Ahhhhh! Sounds very heavenly indeed! Next stop: mastering chiffon??!! 😉
Indeed!!
I love both. Especially, draped sleeves are beautiful. Perfect jobs.
Thanks! Bell sleeves are so easy, Yet they look as though I worked so hard! I love that about them.
Love your Blog. Like the Tencel shirt. I don’t think it will wrinkle , and if so everyone else is hot in the summer in Spain, so it will be fine. Love the bell sleeves. I am putting them on a sweater and just used a 2 to 1 ratio from my forearm circumference to the bell area. Can’t wait until your next post!
Thank-you! Good point. If I’m wrinkles everyone else will be too! Love your idea of a sweater with bell sleeves!