Birkin Flares
$14.00
Inspired by 1970s fashion icon Jane Birkin, the Birkin flares are a high-waisted, flare-leg, classic jean. These jeans feature a universally flattering high waist (but not too high) with classic five-pocket styling, a curved yoke and a straight-cut waistband.
The Birkin Flares are equally perfect with your comfiest tee or a flowy, silk blouse, and the inseam can be adjusted in multiple ways to lengthen/shorten or create a deeper hem. In waist sizes 24-35, the sizing closely mimics that found in ready-to-wear, designer jeans.
Looking for larger sizes? I’ll be releasing extended sizing in the coming weeks. Enter your email below to be one of the first to know!
Fabric
Yardage
Supplies
Notions
Fabric
10-12 ounce stretch denim, corduroy, etc. with at least 2% spandex content
Yardage
Pocketing
All sizes/widths: .25 yard/meter
Main Fabric
45″ fabric – 3 yards/meters (all sizes)
54”-60” Fabric
Sizes 24-27: 2.25 yards/meters
Sizes 28-31: 2.5 yards/meters
Sizes 32-35: 2.75 yards/meters
You will also need a small scrap of lightweight, fusible interfacing for the buttonhole and button area. This is optional – I don’t always use it if the denim is thick and tightly woven enough!
All sizes/widths: .25 yard/meter
Main Fabric
45″ fabric – 3 yards/meters (all sizes)
54”-60” Fabric
Sizes 24-27: 2.25 yards/meters
Sizes 28-31: 2.5 yards/meters
Sizes 32-35: 2.75 yards/meters
You will also need a small scrap of lightweight, fusible interfacing for the buttonhole and button area. This is optional – I don’t always use it if the denim is thick and tightly woven enough!
Supplies
- Sewing machine
- Serger (zigzag or overedge stitch may be substituted)
- Scissors
- Pins (I prefer glass-head pins so they don’t melt if ironed)
- Topstitching/jeans sewing machine needles in size 14, 16 or 18 (these have a larger eye and accommodate topstitching thread without skipped stitches, and they are easier to thread)
- Hammer (for flattening seams to make them easier to topstitch without skipping stitches)
- Wash-Away Wonder Tape (for temporarily adhering pockets and waistband)
- Swedish Tracing Paper (for tracing pattern pieces if desired)
- Washers/pattern weights (for holding down pattern when tracing and cutting fabric)
- Small paneling nail or tailor’s awl (for punching rivet/button post holes)
- Tailor’s triangle chalk
- Steam iron
- Seam gauge or ruler
- Transfer paper and tracing wheel – I prefer Saral paper
- Tailor’s clapper
- Pressing ham (for pressing crotch curves)
- Sleeve sausage/tube (for pressing legs)
- Buttonhole/keyhole punch set (You can also use a seam ripper with a pin placed at the end of your buttonhole to prevent ripping straight through it!)
- Fray-Check (to prevent buttonhole edges and ends of belt loops from fraying)
- Needle-nose pliers (to remove extra teeth from metal zipper)
- Leather sewing machine needle (totally optional – for applying leather tag)
Notions
- 6-10 rivets (plus one or two for practice)
- 1 jeans post button (plus an extra for practice)
- 7”/18 cm metal zipper (longer is fine as you will cut it down to size)
- Topstitching thread (certain machines don’t like certain topstitching thread – my Bernina likes Guetermann Extra Strong M282 which isn’t technically topstitching thread, but it looks like it.
- All-purpose thread
Size Charts
