Safran Jeans - pour mon grand derriere

This is the first pattern I've sewn from Deer and Doe (although I own the Brume skirt and it's on my to-do-soon list).  I swore I was going to commit to making pants and jeans this fall, really loved all of the tester versions, and was high on the success of my first pair of Closet Case Ginger jeans, so I was ready for the Safrans.

I started with Version A, the longer length with pockets.  I cut a size 42 at the hip and graded to a 38 at the waist. I usually don't grade pants patterns that have a yoke, I just take a dart out of the yoke, but these are sans yoke, hence the grading.

For fabric I actually bought some of the fabrics they recommended in one of their blog posts - very helpful! Especially when ordering online.  Descriptions of stretch % can be greatly exaggerated depending on the source. So I started with this charcoal stretch twill from Mood fabrics.  This fabric feels amazing. It is quite heavy but with a ton of stretch.  Great to sew and very comfortable on.  Mood's description about varying color is very accurate - when I took it out of the box, I thought, "oh, it's more brown". While sewing it, I was convinced it was indeed charcoal. When I stepped outside to photograph them wearing black shoes, it looked  brown! I give up.  If Mood sold this in black or navy I would buy 20 yards of it to wear forever, but this color is confusing...

These were pretty quick to sew. I've made pants before - beaucoup de pantalons, for Tim. It's not the construction I was avoiding, it was the fit issues that I knew I would have to deal with.  The instructions are quite good except for their method of installing the fly front. It was merde.  I tried it their way, hated it, ripped it out and used my preferred method.  I also find it slightly odd to do the fly after the fronts and backs are attached; I usually do the front in its entirety, then the back, then put them together, which also makes it easier to tweak the fit.  So for my second pair I changed the order of construction. Other than the fly, it is a very well done pattern.
The only modification I made was to not interface the waistband.  They're very snug pants and I thought it would be more comfortable, and so far no regrets.
My first pair - LOVE them. Love them. They fit pretty perfectly. The high waist was great in terms of avoiding the gaping I usually get at my back waist. I immediately decided to make 6 more pair!
Pics! My backyard was under construction so these are kind of crappy pics from my doorway, but they'll do.

They look brown against the black and gray shoe, no?

 I love how they fit. LOVE.

Those shoes look ridiculous! I swear that fabric is supposed to be charcoal gray.

They're ass-tastic!  I don't think they really twist like they do in the photo. I think I sat down to put on shoes and didn't adjust them before taking the pics....

I made a second pair, in denim, also with a fabric recommended by Deer and Doe. This was a Telio black denim from Fabric.com.  I don't think it has as much stretch as the twill (Fabric.com says 15% even though Deer and Doe recommend 20-30%).  I made the shorter version, View B.

They are a tad snug as you can see! I look 15 lbs heavier than in the other pair! Merde again! This fabric is a bit thinner, I'd call it the lighter side of midweight, and I don't love it as much as the twill.  Oh, also, I was watching football and since this was my second time thru I thought I could half pay attention to the instructions. So I topstitched my pockets closed! They are purely decorative.

 Boom.  I haven't worn these for a full day yet, so it's likely they'll stretch out a bit and I won't look like a sausage in a denim casing.  Oh, and even though these are View B, I included the pockets. I don't think I can go pocket-less, I think my ass is too big.

My stash is full of stretchy bottomweights, and this is now one of my go-to pants patterns (and my Closet Case Gingers). I do think you need to choose your fabric carefully, with respect to weight and stretch, which is why muslins for stretch wovens can be so frustrating (I didn't make a muslin!), there's just so much variability.  But I'm in love with both pairs even though they aren't perfect, with definite plans for more.