Wowee zowee, I discovered the motherlode of stretch denim, and boy is it going to come in handy now that I’ve fallen hard for the Jalie 2908 jeans pattern, a.k.a. the Holy Fecking Shet Jeans. A lot of folks have asked where I got my stretch denim for them, and it was just a lucky buy at Fabric.com. After I finished them, I immediately went back to Fabric.com and was disappointed to find only one stretch denim remaining in a decidedly “mom jeans” shade of medium blue. Denver Fabrics had no stretch denim at all in their inventory, and the higher end places don’t tend to stock it regularly as far as I can tell. After a little more digging, I hit upon Lura’s Fabric Shop, which seems to be a small family run business with an amazing selection of denim.
I promptly sent away for a bunch of swatches of dark wash stretch denim, received a friendly email within 24 hours, and an envelope full of drool-worthy denim swatches within a couple of days. Check these out:
From the upper left going clockwise, these are article numbers LDEN095, LDEN096, LDEN13, LDEN09R and LDEN12 respectively, representing a range of weights and washes, but all dark, modern, great quality, moderately stretchy and perfect for more pairs of Holy Fecking Shet jeans. The photos on Lura’s website are a little different and make the denim look lighter than it is, probably to show detail. I think my photo is represents the color more accurately, but order your own and see for yourselves. Unlike a lot of the other online fabric shops, it looks like denim and stretch denim are part of Lura’s bread and butter, so there’s no crossing your fingers and hoping that they’ll get some in. Plus how nice is it to get a handwritten note from the owner with your samples? Talk about service. Love it!
They have lighter washes too, but my preference for handmade jeans is to go dark because I think the lighter blues bear a bit of the “homemade” stamp unless you can get the ripply fading and wear effects at the seams and hems that RTW jeans get through various treatments. (I tried sandpaper and it just made the denim fuzzy.) But if you like your medium and light blue denims, Lurah’s has that too.
Anyway, I wanted to share that in case any of you have been trolling the fabric sites in hopes of a decent denim popping up, and in case any of you have been hesitating on making up your Jalie 2908s. What are you waiting for? I’m putting it on a platter and serving it up to you!
21 comments
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February 13, 2010 at 6:25 pm
Katie
What, no camo for you?? That site looks great! Thanks for doing all our legwork for us!!
February 13, 2010 at 7:04 pm
AmyG
Thanks so much, I’m always looking for worthwhile fabrics. I am 4′ 11″ and at times have to cut so much of the leg off the jean and then alter the waistband I have figure why not start from scratch and make them. I have made two pairs, one with a vogue pattern that was just o.k. and the other with a Palmer Pletsch from McCalls and that one was a bit better. I will order from Patternreview the Jalie jean pattern and give it a try. You are amazing in your sewing and talent, just thought I’d let you know.
February 13, 2010 at 8:16 pm
Christina
I didn’t think it was possible for someone to discover a ‘new’ fabric store online, but you did! I’m so doing those Jalie jeans later this year.
February 13, 2010 at 8:27 pm
Betsy
Thank you! I just bought the famous Jalie pattern and got some “trial” fabric at Joann. It’s not exactly what I wanted but it looks like the fabric you found will be perfect!
February 13, 2010 at 9:06 pm
Kathi
I rather like the denim that is embossed with the leopard print!!
Thanks for the link – another place to spend money on fabric!!
February 13, 2010 at 9:07 pm
Kathi
It just hit me — sharing this site was very UNSELFISH of you!!!!!!!!!
February 14, 2010 at 11:58 am
CindyC
Yes, but did the Selfish Seamstress selfishly put in her own big order for denim FIRST to make sure that SHE would get her own supply before sharing it with us?
I know I would.
February 15, 2010 at 9:03 pm
Kathi
You know, I did notice that they were out of several items!!
February 13, 2010 at 11:21 pm
Annie
I purchased the denim for my favorite Jalie jeans from Lura’s. I was also very impressed.
Mr. Clean Magic Eraser works for lightening areas on the jeans. You’ll probably need a couple and it takes some elbow grease but it worked pretty well for me. I swear, whoever invented these and Reynolds Wrap Release deserve a Nobel prize!
Annie
February 14, 2010 at 6:49 am
Julie
You rock! I have been trolling the internet for stretch denims and got lucky at Fabric.com ONCE. Since there no dark denim to be found. Thanks for the tip.
February 14, 2010 at 7:44 am
bobbikg
So unselfish of you to share Lura’s with us. I have been looking everywhere for black stretch denim and until now have come up empty. Thanks so much!
February 14, 2010 at 8:11 am
Alexandra
Thank you for this post. I’ve been looking everywhere for damn stretch denim. All I can get locally is wimpy 8 oz stuff.
February 14, 2010 at 2:45 pm
CGCouture
Thanks for sharing this source of denim with me! I’ve been struggling to find decent denim at Jo-Ann’s, and it’s super frustrating. :-(
February 16, 2010 at 7:51 pm
subversivesewer
Why yes, I was in fact looking for decent stretch denim for the Jalie stretch jeans! Thanks!
February 18, 2010 at 9:14 am
amber
I’m all about dark wash denim. Just looks sleeker and more chic in my opinion. I’m really lucky to have found a great super lightweight stretch denim at my local fabric maven for cheap, but I’d definitely check out this shop if I ever decided to make real jeans and not just trousers and skirts. Thanks for the tip!
February 28, 2010 at 7:19 am
Nora
Thank you! I saved it to my fav’s! I am making my first pair of Jalie Jeans, I cut them out last night! Wish me luck! Nora :)
March 2, 2010 at 6:00 pm
Ann's Fashion Studio
Thank you for Lura’s Fabric shop link.
Your jeans do look awesome.
March 10, 2010 at 4:18 pm
The Selfish Seamstress answers your jeans questions « The Selfish Seamstress
[…] no wash to it. You can purchase very similar denim online from Lura’s (more details in a previous post) – highly recommended for a great denim selection and wonderful, personal customer service. […]
March 11, 2010 at 2:29 am
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[…] pair of jeans for myself in the past 2 weeks, after the selfish seamstress have posted multiple jean teasers just to tempt me into making another pair of jeans for myself. (OK, I do have multiple other […]
November 3, 2010 at 8:05 am
Robin
You. Are. Awesome. Yes, I was looking for stretch denim to sew “jeggings” for my daughters and your picture of the colors was just what I need. Thanks for posting!
June 8, 2011 at 7:28 am
Steve
Thank you soooo much Elaine for turning me on to Lura’s Fabrics. I’ve been desperately trying to find a good source for a ring (“cross hatch”) style stretch denim. On my first pass of Lura’s website I was not impressed by the swatch pics, but your one image changed my mind. I think the LDEN13 is exactly what I have been searching for!
Keep up the inspiring work!