Sew a Side Panel into Jeans
The 90’s are back with updates! I vividly remember my 501 Levi cutoffs that had blue, gingham fabric strips sewn into the sides.
Recently on Instagram, I saw jeans with triangle inserts, making the jeans wide legs and the bells starting ringing in my head. I rushed to the donation bag that sits at my backdoor and pulled out some old favourite jeans that had become more than I little snug.
I am so DELIGHTED with the results! The process took WAY longer than anticipated - as usual. The panels are quilted with vintage fabrics and project remnants. My goal was not to purchase a thing for this project.
Here is an overview of the steps!
Seam rip the sides of the jeans as high as you would like the panel inserts. I went just above the pockets, so the jeans would fit over my hips again… I did not want to cut the waistband - too fussy.
I knew I needed a panel about 12” wide x 32” high - make the template slightly longer than needed. I quilted enough squares to match the panel size.
Attach the back onto the quilted top before cutting the panel - quilt them together however you like! I did it after cutting the panel shape, which is just silly and made it more difficult.
For the panel, measure the side seam of the jeans. Draw a triangle, including the seam allowances - so the top of the triangle with be flat and the width of 2 side seams…
This is the part I did NOT do and I should have. Sometimes I get excited and all previous know-how and wisdom just escapes me… until I am fixing my mistakes later.
Mark placement guides that are equally spaced on along each side of the panel. Mark your jeans with the same guides. So if the first placement guide is 12” from the top, mark your jeans 12” from the top.
When I sewed my panels into the jeans, the first panel sat perfectly. The other side had a ‘ripple’… because I had not used placement guides to help keep the layers even as I sewed. Sigh. It took some fiddling, but that side still has a slight ripple.
Side panels are ready! I used an old sheet for the quilted base.
Remember to mark your placement guides! (Not shown above, because I was a fool).
With right sides together, secure the panel to one side of the jeans. Align using your placement guides!
Repeat on the other side. I had to switch to a zipper foot on my sewing machine to accommodate how tight and awkward it is at the top!
Press the seams towards the panels. Top-stitch on the panel side.
Trim the bottoms of the panels and stay stitch. I wanted the bottoms to fray and match the jeans, so a stay stitch is all I needed to finish the hem. You could do a roll-over hem or use bias tape to finish the bottoms.