Tips for Sewing Denim

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When I think about denim, the first thing that comes to mind is blue jeans. After all, I wear a pair practically every day. However, denim is used for all sorts of apparel besides jeans. You can make denim jackets, skirts, and shirts, too.

If you’ve never sewn with denim, you need to give it a try. It’s a strong, versatile fabric that’s comfortable to wear. I’ve compiled this fabric guide to help you learn how to sew denim like a pro.

Denim originated in France but became popular in the United States thanks to Jacob W. Davis and Levi Strauss. According to TextileFocus.com, 7.5 billion feet of denim fabric is produced every year!

Denim is made predominantly from cotton, but it is often blended with polyester to prevent shrinkage and spandex to add stretch. It comes in a wide variety of weights, washes, and colors, but the twill weave with blue/indigo warp threads and white weft threads is most common. The surface of denim can be brushed, napped, printed, or stonewashed.

Earlier this month, I sewed a pair of skinny jeans for my son out of some blue stretch denim. They turned out amazing (photo). After that fun sewing project, I thought I’d share with you some tips for sewing denim so you can have the same success.

Denim Preparation and Care

Denim shrinks a lot with washing, especially if it is 100% cotton. The color also tends to bleed. Therefore, prewashing denim is an essential first step.

Note: Before you buy denim, check the bolt to see if it is “Sanforized.” Sanforized denim has been pretreated so that shrinkage does not happen when you wash it.

Before you throw denim in your washing machine, serge or zigzag the cut edges to minimize raveling. Then, wash it separately in cool or warm water with no chlorine bleach. The heat from your dryer is what causes most of the shrinking. Repeat the washing/drying step if you’re worried about additional shrinkage.

After washing denim, iron it with steam on the cotton setting. It’s best to do this on the wrong side of the fabric, especially if your denim is napped.

For future washes, turn denim garments inside out and add vinegar to the wash to minimize fading. The more you wash denim, the softer it becomes.

Layout, Marking, and Cutting Tips for Denim

Pay special attention to grainlines when laying our pattern pieces on denim fabric and make marks with a sharp, water-soluble chalk pencil. Depending on the thickness of your denim, you may need to cut out your sewing pattern one layer at a time.

Regular sewing pins work well for holding two pieces of denim together. However, I recommend using Wonder Clips if you need to hold three or more layers together. I use these little clips for everything, especially when quilting. You should get some!

Sewing Machine Setup for Denim

Most sewing machines are strong enough to sew through denim. You don’t need to buy a special, industrial sewing machine. However, a serger makes the task much easier.

Needle: You do need a special denim/jeans needle. A size 90/14 or 100/16 needle is vital because it pierces through thick denim fabric more easily than a universal needle. You’ll want to use a size 100/16 if you’re using thick topstitching thread because the eye is also larger.
Presser Foot: A regular, straight stitch foot will work for sewing denim, but an even-feed, walking foot can help you manage your fabric better. I also recommend using an edge-stitching foot for topstitching. It makes everything look neater and more professional.
Stitch Length/Width: Set your stitch length between 3.0mm and 4.0mm. Practice with scraps until you get the look you want. Stretch denim requires a stretch stitch, such as a narrow zigzag or triple stitch. If you try to sew stretch denim with a straight stitch, you’re going to get popped seams.

Sewing Tips for Denim

One of the biggest challenges to sewing denim is trying to sew through multiple layers of fabric without breaking your needle or thread, especially on hems and belt loops. To get over these bulges, you can use a Big Jig tool. You simply slide it under your presser foot when approaching a bulge and remove it when you’re over the bulge. You can also try using a tailors clapper and mallet to compress bulky seams before you sew over them. If you’re having a particularly difficult time sewing through layers of denim, use your handwheel and GO SLOWLY.

Denim is already heavy, so choose lightweight material if you’re adding a lining to a garment. Fusible tricot interfacing works well with denim because it stretches. You’ll also want to buy heavy duty snaps, riveted jeans buttons, and metal zippers for denim.

Hold your fabric taut when sewing to prevent skipped stitches, but don’t stretch it. Also add bar tacks to high-stress areas, such as the top of pockets, to reinforce the seams. Keep in mind that denim ravels easily, so seam finishing is essential. A serger works best, but you can also use an overcast stitch, a tight zigzag, or flat-fell seams. Pinking shears also work.

Did you know that the gold thread you see on store-bought Levi jeans is trademarked? To get the same look, you can buy decorative jeans thread for topstitching. Topstitching also helps reinforce seams. When topstitching, chalk the lines first, especially if you’re not topstitching along an edge, such as when making designs on pockets or topstitching a faux fly.

Topstitching thread is sometimes too thick for your bobbin to handle. If your sewing machine gives you any problems with it, only use jeans thread in your upper needle and use regular polyester thread in your bobbin. Backstitching is sometimes problematic, too. If you’re having issues, try starting with a very short stitch length, such as 1mm or 1.5mm to secure your thread. Then increase your stitch length after you’ve sewn a few stitches.

Recommended Sewing Projects for Denim

Heavyweight denim is commonly used to make pants, jackets, and bags. Medium- and lightweight denim is used to make dresses, shirts, and upholstery. Of course, you can make whatever you want out of denim. I recommend you try sewing a pair of blue jeans. I wouldn’t say it’s a beginner project, but you can pull it off if you have a few sewing projects on your resume.

Machine embroidery looks fantastic on denim. Add some embroidery designs on your pockets or near your cuffs for a one-of-a-kind look. However, denim is hard to hoop because of the thickness, so you may have to float it on your hoop with spray adhesive and tear-away stabilizer.

Here are links to a few sewing patterns that are perfect for denim: