Comparing the Philippa Pants and the Dawn Jeans

What a privilege and joy it is to sew our own clothes! Our own pants!

I sewed the Philippa Pants by Anna Allen and the Dawn Jeans by Megan Nielsen in the same denim to compare the look and fit of each. Both are wonderful patterns! They each have good instructions and are an enjoyable sewing experience. It’s a delight to have each of these pants in my wardrobe.

Note that the Philippa Pants pattern has a side seam, but I joined the front and back pattern pieces on this pair and omitted that seam.

The Dawn Jeans pattern has 4 leg options. This is the tapered leg view.

The denim is 12 oz brushed bull denim from the lovely Cloth Story. She still has some in stock if you want to grab it for yourself!

Here are side by side photos of each.

Philippa Pants

Dawn Jeans

The simple lines and wide fly are what I love about the Philippas. The classic jean look and back yoke are what I love about the Dawns. This is my second pair of each pattern, and I hope to make more!

XOXO

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Two-Toned Bleached Denim Dawn Jeans

I finally sewed my first pair real jeans - the Dawn Jeans by Megan Nielsen. Non stretch, high waist, classic tapered fit. Needless to say, they are fulfilling my handmade jean dreams.

I bought 2 yards of 12 oz., dark wash, non stretch denim. I cut it in half and soaked one half in bleach water for 3.5 hours.

The longer you leave the denim in the bleach, obviously the lighter it gets. I checked on it every 15-30 minutes and swished it around to make sure it was bleaching evenly. When the color looked about as light as I wanted, I took it out and washed it.

Once I washed and dried both the light and dark wash denim, I cut out the pieces and sewed them up.

The Dawn Jeans pattern instructions are a joy to follow and sew along with. I made a size 4 and tightened up the waist a bit by taking off some extra width from the center back and the side seams — a common adjustment I have to make with pants.

To see my favorite way to sew beautiful topstitching on a button fly, check out my photo tutorial here!

What a joy to have my very own jeans, handmade by me, fit perfectly to my own body. So thankful for this pattern!

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