TOTALLY GEEKED!

tlc · Regular

Any seamstresses on the board?

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

It's easy to do. I've done it tons. PM me and I can give you some suggestions. Or you can take them to an alteration shop.

tlc · Regular

I would like to learn myself, so I'll PM you.

Nobody Just Nobody · Rib-it! Rrrib-it!

Sure!

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

My MIL has this problem naturally with her hips. Her waist is tiny and her hips....well, let's just say they were made for birthin babies. She likes to find drawstring waist pants, finds that to be the easiest solution.

DemoniaD · Senior Member

Have you considered wide-leg pants? They would fit much looser over the brace and wouldn't require alterations to make the waist fit.

Domestic Engineer · Guru

Along with the wide-leg pants, I like the curvy fit since I have a smaller waist.

tlc · Regular

I refuse to wear drawstring or elastic waist pants. There has to be jeans out there that can work or be altered. I can never find wide leg jeans, and I've tried the curvy jeans - they get really narrow through the knee and widen out too much through the hips. It's also hard to find jeans that aren't low rise. Even mid-rise sometimes isn't enough to go up far enough.

TrudyML · Guru

Levis? Not everyone likes Levi's though. The GAP has many different cuts.

Congrats on the weight loss! You deserve some new jeans!!!!!!

Domestic Engineer · Guru

Try the Levi's 515, Boot cut. They are sold at Penneys, Kohls, Macy's and online at Amazon, Zappos and Levi's.

TrudyML · Guru

I always kick in Levis. Work well with Frye boots.

tlc · Regular

I have Levis 515's and the knees are not wide enough. The denim gets stretched so tight that they wear out really fast. I always buy boot cut because the tapered leg is too tight around my ankles and I can hardly get them off otherwise.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Obviously I don't know the specific of your situation, but I have seen several people wearing braces on their legs on top of their pants. Is that possible at all? I am sure you would have thought of it if it were, I just thought I would ask.

Lexxy · My dog name is Sasha, too!

TrudyML wrote:
I always kick in Levis. Work well with Frye boots.

Jealous! I found a pair of Frye boots I just loved but they were about $600 & I just couldn't pull the trigger.

Lexxy · My dog name is Sasha, too!

Mellow Momma wrote:
Obviously I don't know the specific of your situation, but I have seen several people wearing braces on their legs on top of their pants. Is that possible at all? I am sure you would have thought of it if it were, I just thought I would ask.

The same thought occurred to me so I hope she answers.

TrudyML · Guru

Lexxy wrote:
TrudyML wrote:
I always kick in Levis. Work well with Frye boots.
Jealous! I found a pair of Frye boots I just loved but they were about $600 & I just couldn't pull the trigger.

They aren't cheap but invest. They'll last forever! Tax refund perhaps???

tlc · Regular

Mellow Momma wrote:
Obviously I don't know the specific of your situation, but I have seen several people wearing braces on their legs on top of their pants. Is that possible at all? I am sure you would have thought of it if it were, I just thought I would ask.

No. They are molded to fit your leg/foot exactly, and the jeans would add too much bulk. Plus it's a huge brace, and not very pretty, so I wouldn't wear it on the outside anyway. They have padding in them, and it gets stained from sweat, and turns yellow, so can't do that.

ETA: I actually lost the weight about 5 years ago and have been wearing the smaller jeans since then. I'm just getting frustrated having to pull and pull the jeans on over the brace so that I can actually get the jeans up. Then they wear out where the metal rods are because it's so tight. Not to mention I look poured into my jeans. I"m trying to lose more weight, but there's no way anything smaller will go around my one leg.

-- Edited by tlc on Wednesday 25th of February 2015 03:05:30 PM

-- Edited by tlc on Wednesday 25th of February 2015 03:06:45 PM

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

tlc wrote:
Mellow Momma wrote:
Obviously I don't know the specific of your situation, but I have seen several people wearing braces on their legs on top of their pants. Is that possible at all? I am sure you would have thought of it if it were, I just thought I would ask.
No. They are molded to fit your leg/foot exactly, and the jeans would add too much bulk. Plus it's a huge brace, and not very pretty, so I wouldn't wear it on the outside anyway. They have padding in them, and it gets stained from sweat, and turns yellow, so can't do that.
ETA: I actually lost the weight about 5 years ago and have been wearing the smaller jeans since then. I'm just getting frustrated having to pull and pull the jeans on over the brace so that I can actually get the jeans up. Then they wear out where the metal rods are because it's so tight. Not to mention I look poured into my jeans. I"m trying to lose more weight, but there's no way anything smaller will go around my one leg.

-- Edited by tlc on Wednesday 25th of February 2015 03:05:30 PM

-- Edited by tlc on Wednesday 25th of February 2015 03:06:45 PM

Have you tried Lee jeans?

The boot cut?

I haven't found any Levis that work for me, for a while.

Lee, seem to be more generous in the leg.

Just an idea. I hope you find some that work. smile

tlc · Regular

Well, I think if I just get several sizes larger, then take in the waist several inches, it should work. I'm going to try altering a cheap pair of Walmart jeans to practice.

TrudyML · Guru

I'll send you my seamstress! The woman is awesome!

Fort Worth Mom · Mod/Penguin lover/Princess!

tlc wrote:
Well, I think if I just get several sizes larger, then take in the waist several inches, it should work. I'm going to try altering a cheap pair of Walmart jeans to practice.

Don't go too many sizes larger, tlc.

If you put in some darts, to make them fit your waist, they might be too small, to get over your butt.

Find a brand that works for your leg brace, and would need a small tweak, to make it smaller, for your waist.

(JMHO, I've been sewing for a long time. Jeans are very hard to work on. Get some really good needles for your sewing machine, thick ones. You will break them left and right.)

DemoniaD · Senior Member

I second what FWM said if you choose to alter. Plus, I think the larger you go in size, the further you have to shrink the waist and increase the potential of it looking wonky.

TrudyML · Guru

Wonky is not a good look.

tlc · Regular

I've even looked into custom made jeans, but they're about $70 a piece. It kills me to spend more than 30-40 bucks on a pair of jeans.

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

tlc wrote:
I've even looked into custom made jeans, but they're about $70 a piece. It kills me to spend more than 30-40 bucks on a pair of jeans.

But your time is worth money as well. And the time you are going to spend taking in the jeans, plus the needles to work on them...you might be further ahead to pay for them!

The butt is going to be a problem. You can't just take in the waist and then it's all good. The butt area will still be several sizes larger. So unless your butt is already a different size than your waist, it might not work and you will have a saggy bottom. Or, you will have to also tailor the butt area - which is a PITA (lol, pun intended).

DemoniaD · Senior Member

A few pairs of jeans that fit well and last at $70 each is better than several pairs at $30-$40 that get worn out faster from improper fit, and have to be altered to make them last longer.

Bonny22Pye · Guru

tlc wrote:
I've even looked into custom made jeans, but they're about $70 a piece. It kills me to spend more than 30-40 bucks on a pair of jeans.

70 for a good pair that fits and will last seems reasonable to me. If you are going to practice I'd get a pair at the good will. You might also want to check out etsy.

tlc · Regular

Mellow Momma wrote:
tlc wrote:
I've even looked into custom made jeans, but they're about $70 a piece. It kills me to spend more than 30-40 bucks on a pair of jeans.
But your time is worth money as well. And the time you are going to spend taking in the jeans, plus the needles to work on them...you might be further ahead to pay for them!
The butt is going to be a problem. You can't just take in the waist and then it's all good. The butt area will still be several sizes larger. So unless your butt is already a different size than your waist, it might not work and you will have a saggy bottom. Or, you will have to also tailor the butt area - which is a PITA (lol, pun intended).

I have sort of a bubble-butt because of my disability, so a bigger butt shouldn't be a problem. I don't know, all I know is that I'm tired of the knees being too small and tight, and having the waist be too big. I've tried several types of jeans and just can't find the right combination. I'll try to post a few pictures later.

Domestic Engineer · Guru

If you decide to go with custom jeans, I read on another board that you should take your waist to crotch measurement while sitting. Otherwise, when you sit down the jeans show more than you want shown. 😉

Domestic Engineer · Guru

Have you tried shopping in stores that cater to African American women. I have a friend that fusses about "white women's jeans" not fitting her black butt. I don't know where she gets her jeans, but she calls them "black a$$ jeans".

Mellow Momma · Sniff...sniff, sniff. Yay! A Bum!

Domestic Engineer wrote:
Have you tried shopping in stores that cater to African American women. I have a friend that fusses about "white women's jeans" not fitting her black butt. I don't know where she gets her jeans, but she calls them "black a$$ jeans".

This whole post made my day.

I used to be a manager at Gap and I can't tell you how many women came in and said those exact phrases.

tlc · Regular

I tried to take a couple of pictures, but I can't get them off my phone without putting them on Facebook. I found a couple of pictures from our Lego kickoff that shows my legs. This was when I still had that huge mass that made me look pregnant. I'm the one on crutches. You can see where the jeans are really tight and you can see the outline of the brace on my right leg.

Bonny22Pye · Guru

i just looked at apple bottom and all the jeans are super skinny. The sucky part is that right now the trend is skinny jeans.

tlc · Regular

Bonny22Pye wrote:
i just looked at apple bottom and all the jeans are super skinny. The sucky part is that right now the trend is skinny jeans.

And therein lies my problem. They don't make many wide leg or even straight leg jeans.

ed11563 · Guru

tlc wrote:
I tried to take a couple of pictures, but I can't get them off my phone without putting them on Facebook. I found a couple of pictures from our Lego kickoff that shows my legs. This was when I still had that huge mass that made me look pregnant. I'm the one on crutches. You can see where the jeans are really tight and you can see the outline of the brace on my right leg.

The people who made your braces might know who makes or sells jeans to wear with them.

Lawyerlady · On the bright side...... Christmas is coming! (Mod)

You may have better luck widening the legs - use inserts and make yourself some funky bell-bottoms!