linnen kavels: prototype make your own jeans workshop

During a four-day prototype workshop, participants from The Linen Project community sewed their own jeans by hand, using sample meters of the Linnen Kavel textiles. This took place in anticipation of the workshops to be offered as part of the Linnen Kavels approach to a local linen economy; the opportunity to learn how to make your own garments by hand from locally cultivated and locally woven linen cloth, through practice and with the support of experienced craftspeople, designers and makers. 

The Make Your Own Jeans workshop was developed in collaboration on behalf of The Linen Project by Pascale Gatzen and Melanie Bomans together with facilitator Patricia Kooijman, whose experience and expertise includes denim development at G-Star and tutoring technical skills at Meesteropleiding Coupeur (Master Tailor Institute). 

For the construction of their jeans, participants used the Linnen Kavel twill weave, as is customary for a denim, and the mid-weight Linnen Kavel plain weave. Starting with a choice of two original jeans block patterns, allowing for eventual fit-adjustment and customisation, participants prepared their materials and garment pieces, learning and working with various hand-stitching techniques as desired – including traditional construction and expressive freestyle – to sew very personal jeans-inspired garment outcomes. 

The prototype Make Your Own Jeans workshop took place on June 24 + 25 and July 01 + 02, 2022.