trace them on butcher paper (or the back of some wrapping paper the grid lines are very helpful), just makes it a lot easier to keep them for a long time
It is very good ! This is exactly what I did and I recommend it to others. I then made measurements and calculations necessary to draw the patterns and compare them with the dimensions of those pieces. They fit very well.
For me a gamechanger in making better quality sewing was doing understitching where necessary (especially with pockets). Also, staystitching, but it is more useful with flowy, light fabrics. And the key is always good pressing, you cannot skip it. Also, in harder spaces: hand baste it in place- it is worth the time and effort.
What you call a flat felled seam is what I'd call a welt seam. What I've been taught for a flat felled seam is to sew a normal seam, trim one side of the seam allowance in half, and then fold the other seam allowance over it and stitch it down. Still not great on curves, but better and a bit less bulky. For full thighs, especially for folks with athletic builds, we tend to wind up with a lot of awkward pulling and a V shaped bunching around the front crotch. Simplest way to adjust is to lengthen the crotch extension, and widen the thigh portion of the pants by the same amount, tapering down toward the bottom of the thigh. For the front pockets, I extend the pocket bag across the front so it can be sewn to the fly facing this way they can't bunch up inside.
You're right, I do confuse naming often so thanks for pointing that out. Thank you for the other tips as well. I like the idea of attaching the pocket to the fly facing. A clever solution.
Someone else recently called the same seam a welt seam when asking about pants, so either it goes by both names, or you're not the only one who mixes those two up.
As always, your explanations are excellent. I love your videos. The cover photo is intriguing enough to be considered click bait. 🤩I would hang that picture in my sewing room.
For a stronger stitch in the back seam of trousers, I started using the straight stretch stitch on my machine. I also use the stretch stitch in the lower portion of the armscye in my jackets.
Some parts of the crotch seam would be on the bias. They need either the elasticity or extra reinforcment. My husband had a pair of hiking pants in which his mother had machine-stitched the back middle seam many times, but any time he bent over or lifted a leg very high these pants split. Only after that split happened on a longer backpacking tour and I backstitched the seam by hand with some needle and thread given to me by the landlady of the mountain house did those pants hold up 😂.
The ONLY time my pockets don't lay flat is if the pants are too tight and it's pulling across my hip area... i do love this reinforcement idea, none the less!! As far as better pockets: I ALWAYS put pockets in my pants. Women's clothing often comes with NO or very small pockets (pattern pieces). I have some large ones I use instead, and I incorporate EXTRA pockets. sometimes pockets within pockets. In addition to additional and re-positioned beltloops!
@CorneliusQuiring circling back to the side seam pocket pulling issue... I honestly am wondering about this because I see it in many men's pants and few women's. So, I'm back to pondering if it's about where on the body/leg/hip area the pocket opening is sitting that is causing it to pull. As I often also notice the pants seem a little snug. I've also made way more girls pants than boys... what did you observe in your trials? Would you elaborate? 🤔 (sewing since the 70s, always for upping my game)
@@Stacy_SunshineMaybe it happens when there are "love handles". I myself have seen it much more in women than in men, when a woman has a waist size that is one size smaller than the hip size. She might be able to squeeze into the smaller size pants but then the tight fabric around the hips pulls extra fabric out of the pockets. With men's trousers, I can only imagine that a bit of extra flesh is sitting below the waist line, but above crotch height, to cause the pull. The retired master tailor and patternmaker who taught me was adamant that if the pockets pulled, you needed to go up a dress size and reduce the waist.
having two belt loops rather that one in the back, or more specifically not having a belt loop in line with that central seam in the back, is also good in case you need to adjust the pants later, since then you don't need to take that loop off when taking them in or letting them out again
Thiese are the most informative and easy to understand pant fitting instructions I have come across (be it patterns, books or videos) Thank you. I will be making myself some new pants soon.
depending on the skirt type, leave a good 4 or 5 inches extra at the bottom and don't hem. Have her wear the skirt and mark the hem while she's wearing it. If you hem the skirt first, the hem might be straight on the garment, but it will hang crooked on the body because the body isn't straight. If you mark the hem while she's wearing it, it will allow for her bum, and for the waist. A skirt waist will not always sit straight on the body and very often if the skirt hem is straight, it actually hangs crooked when worn, very often appearing shorter in the back. The easiest way to mark the hem while wearing is a tool that stands on the ground and has a little bellow that blows chalk at the length you want the skirt to be. Sorry if you already know this :)
@@marieanne2680I didn't know this so I appreciate you putting that information in for the other person!❤ I was debating on getting one of those chalk markers to mark my skirts and dresses because clothes don't sit the same way they used to sit on my body 50 years ago! Hahaha
Sounds great, I hope your wife likes her skirt, and can I suggest trying one yourself If you haven't yet? Skirts / kilts can be exceptionally comfortable, and I think its about time we stopped gandering them.
Thank you for this one! It's always a pleasure to watch your videos, regardless of whether I need a solution to a problem or not. I like your humor and your friendly and kind manner.
I would love some fitting tips for different silluettes. My brother has quite wide hips and tighs(and he gets narrower in the waist), not "typical" male silluete (I laugh that he has our grandma's hips). He loves to wear smart clothes, but he struggles with finding something that fits him well. I would love to sew him some nice pants, but I do not know how do you solve pattern issues with male fit (well, I am still struggling with female fit too). So it would be a great series where you explain how to fit existing clothing or how to fix pattern issues for different body types. I would love my brother to feel more confident in his body type (I hate to see him crushed anytime he goes to shop for suit, even though he generally loves expressing himself though clothing- in classic style)
I think it is absolutely wonderful that you are looking to help him out in this way. It's very admirable. Thank you for the video suggestion. I will certainly consider it for a future video.
My boyfriend just shops in the women's section! There are so many different styles that there's usually something that works... You want to go for looser crotch (unless tight pants are an intentional style choice) and obviously it doesn't work so well if you're a bit taller... I'm taller than the average woman and have just accepted that my pants are usually going to be short, so I own lots of fun socks 😂
Thanks for the Skillshare link! Been sewing & designing clothes since I was 8, self taught. That’s about 45 years 😮 but I really like your videos. Helpful when I’ve forgotten a few things from design school (finally went to get that 4 yr piece of paper already!) 😉 Love the rooster’s new hat 💜
My pantmaking tip is, frankly, that facings are your friend. The more even your facings, the better. & if you’re torn on larger v smaller on the waist, go larger-easier to call it a paper bag waist than to be unable to button if up
My tip for belt loops is to ditch them (I even remove them when I can) and get some suspenders. It's the solution to many belt related problems. As a plus; if you need a belt for practical reasons, like for carrying tools or something, you can look really cool with a belt that can hang as loose or tight around the waist as would be comfortable to you! For me, suspenders fixed my lower back problems.
There's a nerve at the front hip that can be pinched by pants that are too tight in the waist, especially if the person has to crouch or sit for extended time. Suspenders paired with slightly loose pants would work to avoid pressure on that nerve.
this video couldn't have come at a better time. I am about to start altering my first draft/mock up of this pair of pants i am making using your drafting videos!! thank you for being amazing!!! 💖💖💖
I am loving your videos! You are addressing some challenges that I am facing that are not even specifically about making pants. I want to make an Edwardian style belt and wondered about how to get that curve right besides just guessing. This is going to be so helpful! Thank you!
@ As it turns out, the principle (about the curved waistline) can be applied even beyond a belt. I have a piece of fabric with a beautiful border that I would love to make into a skirt but the parts for skirts usually have a curved shape.. Yesterday I asked an experienced sewist friend if she thought I could apply this principle to the skirt on a larger scale by making a series of darts. She said absolutely. She also suggested some alternatives but the idea remains - how to make a curved piece out of a straight piece. Lovely!
Fabulous video, I do like to double stitch the crotch seam, this is especially true for children’s clothing. My husband prefers belt loops either side of the centre back seam as he wears braces and not all braces want to clip over a belt loop.
Oh, yes! I would like to learn how to make adjustable waist pants that I would feel ok tucking my shirt into for all the world to see = professional. My waist measurements fluctuate from day to day, even hour to hour because of Crohn’s disease making my “tum-tum” unhappy.😉
It comes from cutting out multiple pieces at a time with industrial cutters. The fabric layers move during the cutting. Many mass produces shirts, tees, blouses have the same issue with the side seams twisting.
What improved trousers for me was adding various sorts of gussets in the crotch area. I don't know if it's because I've wide set legs, am simply wide in the hip and/or that area in general or have a gap there, but it removed a lot of tension and wear the seams there used to suffer for me because of too little mobility and made the trousers much more comfortable to boot. Also, the algorithm made me stumble upon your channel randomly a little while ago and it has been a pleasure looking through your videos. Maybe it was our names that made you appear!
What a wealth of very useful knowledge you have shared with us, Corn! I am watching some more to take notes in my sewing notebook for future reference! Your diagram of letting out for more room in the seat and upper thigh totally explained what I had been TRYING to picture after a reading a written explaination of that very thing. Thank you for a greater understanding of pants pattern pieces and how they go together. :-)
For the twisted pant legs, this can also be due to the weave of the fabric. In particular, traditionally denim uses a twill weave which has an asymmetric weaving pattern: there's a left-hand and right-hand version that are mirror images of each other. This results in a different amount of bias stretch depending on whether you're pulling the right-hand bias or the left-hand bias. Sew it into a cylinder and that gives you a spiral-stretch. Prewashing the fabric before cutting definitely helps, and certain fabrics are more or less prone to twisting than others (they'll use a modified twill weave that's more stable, or alternates directions within the fabric). There's even some manufacturers who make the same twill weave fabric in left and right hand versions so that you can use one type on the left front and right rear, and the other on the right front and left rear, so that the spiral twisting cancels out into a more manageable diagonal stretch.
I've also had that problem because of pattern drafting. My leg seams were twisted, to much fabric on one side. Just adding this for any other beginners who haven't checked this yet! You might not even need to worry about grain and weaves yet.
A twill fabric has a left to right sense but this makes absolutely NO difference for cutting and how the trousers (or any garment) hang. You must pre-wash your fabric (unless you're going to dry clean your garment), but most importantly, you have to correct the straight grain of the fabric by stretching it on the diagonal until, with the top edges of your folded fabric together, the selvedge edges line up. If you don't do this before cutting, your garment is never going to hang properly.
@@larskars5835 It does make a difference. A twill weave fabric, when fully relaxed, will not be square with the selvedge. Your procedure is correct for a plain weave fabric, or other symmetrical weaves, though (and for modified twill weaves, like broken twill, which are much less affected by the handedness of the weave).
grain line is the biggest one I learned by experience XD also, for "seam reinforcement", I usually do shorter stitches while doing structural work, and longer when doing top-stitching. no need to go over a seam twice, since chances are, it's not gonna turn out pretty XD (I am still not very good at straight lines XD)
This was exactly the video I needed today👍👍. I'm attempting some jeans with a removable flannel lining for the northern winter here. I'm going to try bar tacks and that pocket interfacing trick. My own tip is pretty standard: I draft my pattern about 2-3 inches too long at the bottom. I hem last, and I can make sure I get the right length (in this case, long enough for thick soled boots, but short enough not to drag in the snow.) I am taller than average/ long inseam, so I love focusing on this detail to get my pants just right. It's a treat every time I wear them. Also, I do Cornelius ' tummy trick, too. I like high waisted pants, though, plus my tummy size fluctuates with that time of month. I tend to add darts or a drawstring/ elastic to the waistband all the way up at my natural waist so I can adjust if needed. (Sigh, I haven't figured out how to make them look super professional and polished while being adjustable, though.)
Have you tried adding button hole elastic for the back (more common in kid's ajustable waist pants) and look at men's side adjuster pants with buckles or elastic. I'm looking into combining those ideas to get a more formal pant with an ajustable waist for weight fluctuations.
Those are going to be comfy jeans with lining. I hope they turn out well. I'm glad the tummy trick works for you too and thanks for the other tip as well. Comfy and style are tricky balance.
Merci encore! J’ai Moi-même fait un cours de 180 heures comme styliste patronniste et l’ajustement des pantalons est ce qui a de plus difficile! Tu as réussi comme toujours à faire un très bon résumé de certaines difficultés d’ajustements. Je vais essayer de retrouver le lien d’une japonaise qui propose une façon de dessiner un pantalon sur mesure qui avec mon expérience et celle de mon prof est vraiment bien! Merci encore!
Lots of great tips, Cornelius! That extreme caboose/thigh alteration looks like men's riding pants from 200 years ago! Built for comfort when sitting. For a similar result with a nested pattern: before slashing from side seam to back seam, trace your back thigh at one or two sizes wider (and the right height to meet a line extending from your original-size back crotch). While I have some experience with making pants, I am not an expert. Perhaps some of the following will help someone anyway. When I was a kid, my grandpa gave me some tips on recognizing higher quality clothes vs lower quality. One of them was: did they put on the bare minimum number of belt loops (or buttons, on shirts)? On work pants, a center-back belt tunnel (3 inch wide loop) is an option, but don't go wider, as it keeps the waist band from crumpling, which can make the front feel tighter when you bend. Also, it looked like belt loop placement on the example pants may have resulted in the tear at the welt pocket. A welt pocket produces a tight area (since the fabric cannot flex) and a belt loop is a point of strain. In fact, anywhere that one layer of fabric meets multiple layers of fabric is a likely failure point. I've seen many pairs of worn-out pants, some of which were mine and patched multiple times. A flat-felled seam in a high-flex/pull/friction area almost guarantees failure of the surrounding material-- and then you have not just popped stitches, but worn-through fabric, which is harder to fix, especially in the crotch area where there are so many curves meeting. I've gotten longer-lasting results from triple-straight stitching the crotch seam, then clipping the curve, pressing the allowance to one side, and top-stitching it down. The triple-straight stitch allows some stretch, which is helpful especially on bias areas of fabric (like the crotch seams), plus it is thrice as strong as a regular straight stitch. About the pull at the bottom of the side pocket. This is a result of a couple things: a pattern drafted with little ease around the hips (designed to look good on a standing figure, but not for comfort or pants longevity), and the fact that the side seam has no support from the front of the pant there. Consider stitching the free edge of the pocket bag to the front of the pants, or adding a pocket stay (extension of pocket fabric that gets stitched into the next seam over, in this case, the crotch seam) combined with stronger pocket material. In pants without a side-seam pocket, this is not a problem; I prefer patch pockets in part for this reason.
I started using a stretch stitch in the crotch of my stiff denim jeans to provide more stretch to prevent the fabric from failing over time. I haven't had the pants long enough to determine if this was a terrible or good idea.
I am very interested in that little hole at the top corner of your back pocket! My jeans Always develop a hole there and I’m a female who does not use those back pockets so can’t attribute it to using it fora billfold. I wish you would investigate this phenomenon! Maybe consult with a textile expert at a University program? Thanks for All you do.
In my case, the reason for the hole is snipping too far in when sewing the welt pocket and therefore there's raw exposed fabric that frays with washing.
My understanding is that to make the back of the pants bigger, the top of the back is sloped more. It has been shown that this method has its limitations and two more modifications have been described. Given that these two changes are lateral, don't they increase the size of the pants near the thighs ? Because that's exactly what I want to avoid.
Yes, this technique does add more volume for the butt and thighs. If it's just for the butt, I would only do the one horizontal line. I hope I understood correctly.
I just love your demeanor (it’s okay, some of us are fatties) 🤣🤣🤣. and your sewing expertise. Your sewing wisdom and pattern drafting is beyond professional. God bless you and yours. My latest sewing adventure; I am 65 and old widow, is sewing fleece watch caps for people including the homeless. Thank you for your videos.
i so enjoy your take on this video and I too am a older sewer., with a few more lbs. then i want or need. I find Corn videos great, so helpful content and his demeanor.
It's somewhat uncommon but you can reinforce the crotch seam on pants by pressing open the seam allowance and sewing a length of twill tape over it. It's the same sort of technique that's used to finish the seam on the inside of a baseball cap.
Great video, thanks! I am still working on pants fit, and may be back to the drawing board with a toile marked with the grainline and cross-grainline to see what's going on. Slowing down to toile without trying to make it wearable is painful, but so is whatever is happening around the knee fit. Often I think of the O. Henry story "The Robe of Peace," but persevere I must.
My tip to improve the way to sew my pants is … watching your video of course 😂😂😂 ! Don’t laugh it is what I am going to do! Thank you very much for this video.
Great video!!! I have drafted and made 3 or 4 pairs of trousers and have faced pretty much every issue here, so this will be helpful. Does anyone know why the mouths of a side pocket would gape open rather than lying flat?
I am glad to hear that my video was of use to you. As for the pockets not sitting flat, it's often if the pants are a bit tighter, or the seat hight being too high, from my experience.
Absolutely SPECTACULAR!!! This is the most precise & concise explanation out there. Thank you so much! If you have time & feel like answering: when I've made a full (muscled) butt modification, I have too much fabric below the butt on the back leg. Is it because I added too much space or is it something else? Thank you. Wishing you & all your viewers safety, health, love & ca$h for 2025!!!
I would need to see your pattern in order to properly explain. It could be too much space as you mention. It could also be that your seat height is a bit low.
Regarding curved waistbands - I'm making some lightweight woven pants for an upcoming trip, but they're elastic-waisted. Would they fit better with a curved waistband? And how much to curve? For instance, waist is 32" and 1.5" below is 33.5" - do I spread the waistband so that the bottom measures 1.5" greater than the top? Assuming I'd have to cut 2 identical pieces, as folding over like a simple elastic waistband wouldn't work... thanks!
If they're an elastic waistband, the curve won't offer much and be more of a hassle then offer any real benefit. As for curving, you always want to do the slashes as the top so the bottom that connects to pants stays the sale.
The best tutorials I have ever seen thank you so so much. I have a really perfect pattern for pants for myself however i would like to adjust it but just do not know how. I would like to have a close fit beneath the buttocks. Itis fine in the waist and hips but after that it is an inch to wide for myself taste. Can you help me?
@@bittyskateastrologer1883 Hey, that's a great place to start! I confess, I've never made a pillowcase... but some of my first sewing attempts were cat toys and basic drawstring bags. My skills have leveled up over the years, but you know what? I still make drawstring bags. They're useful. So are pillowcases. Remember: a thing doesn't have to be complicated to be oft-used and highly appreciated.
Double stitch the crotch seam in two different directions. First from top to bottom, then from bottom to top. (Or bottom to top, then top to bottom). This will give you a little more flexibility.
One other area to pay mind is with the crotch depth. Too deep and you got a saggy bottom. Not enough and a fellow sings soprano. It's easy to adjust the pattern, and near impossible to fix in the final finished pants.
Wow, so that’s why my children’s t-shirts twist like that and look all wrong? Becouse they want to save more fabric and place the pattern pieces in the wrong direction? :))
‘Add loops…’ Whaaa?? You mean in designing and sewing, not adding loops to already extant pants, right? I’d love to ADD loops to already existing pants. How would I do that?
The big things for me have been eliminating the inseam, and comfortable knit fabric. Inseams are extremely irritating for me because they are a lump between the narrowest part of the legs, and there's almost always pressure there. If you put the front and back pattern part together along the inseam, move the space between them to the outseam using the same process as in the selvedge jeans video, now there is no inseam and the pants are WAY more comfortable. Second, commercially available men's pants are horrifically stifling to range of movement, try sitting cross legged, or other 'sitting on the floor' postures in them and notice the crotch binding. So make everything out of knit fabric: it is so much softer, and the stretch means that the crotch doesn't bind. A crotch gusset is another solution to this problem.
Oh, now thats an interesting idea regarding the inseam. I would never have thought to do that. Thanks for sharing. Knit fabrics are definitely a more comfortable fabric.
Yes! I experimented by making pants with a single seam down the leg, some with no outside seam and some with no inseam. The ones with no inseam are more comfortable. An alternative might be to move that inseam a little forward or back, as if a crotch gusset piece were cut in one with either the front or the back pattern piece. Have you looked at the historical Viking pants (brok)? They have seams in different places than we expect nowadays, but I suspect they were comfortable.
But. You’ve reduced the length is the waistband at the top, leaving the bottom with the measured length. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? When the waist is measured, wouldn’t the measurement sit where the top of the band subsequently sit?
The reason for tapering the top of the waistband is to bring them in for a slimmer waist. Bring the bottom out would make them bigger than the pants they go on, you would just need trim to size when attaching.
I tore apart a pair of pants that actually fit me after they wore out and plan on using them as pattern pieces to make more. :)
THIS!!❤
trace them on butcher paper (or the back of some wrapping paper the grid lines are very helpful), just makes it a lot easier to keep them for a long time
It is very good ! This is exactly what I did and I recommend it to others. I then made measurements and calculations necessary to draw the patterns and compare them with the dimensions of those pieces. They fit very well.
That's a great apporach!
The best way to get a great-fitting pattern! A la Cornelius' tip, make sure to mark the grainlines and stick with them!
For me a gamechanger in making better quality sewing was doing understitching where necessary (especially with pockets). Also, staystitching, but it is more useful with flowy, light fabrics. And the key is always good pressing, you cannot skip it. Also, in harder spaces: hand baste it in place- it is worth the time and effort.
Ahhh yes, pressing. An ever important step. Also, understitching is a great idea and worth the effort.
That cover photo is ICONIC!!!! 🔥🔥🔥
Just come in to say I LOVE the thumbnail photo!!!
Thank you :)
What you call a flat felled seam is what I'd call a welt seam. What I've been taught for a flat felled seam is to sew a normal seam, trim one side of the seam allowance in half, and then fold the other seam allowance over it and stitch it down. Still not great on curves, but better and a bit less bulky.
For full thighs, especially for folks with athletic builds, we tend to wind up with a lot of awkward pulling and a V shaped bunching around the front crotch. Simplest way to adjust is to lengthen the crotch extension, and widen the thigh portion of the pants by the same amount, tapering down toward the bottom of the thigh.
For the front pockets, I extend the pocket bag across the front so it can be sewn to the fly facing this way they can't bunch up inside.
You're right, I do confuse naming often so thanks for pointing that out.
Thank you for the other tips as well. I like the idea of attaching the pocket to the fly facing. A clever solution.
Someone else recently called the same seam a welt seam when asking about pants, so either it goes by both names, or you're not the only one who mixes those two up.
As always, your explanations are excellent. I love your videos. The cover photo is intriguing enough to be considered click bait. 🤩I would hang that picture in my sewing room.
Then I have done my job. I just might make some prints of it. hahahaha.
The lighting in this video is exquisite (so is the content)! Wishing you a healthy and productive new year.
A compliment of the highest order, thank you :) May your year be equally productive.
Amen to the extra belt loops. And thanks for the explanation to cover the extra junk in the trunk.
I am glad to hear that my video was of use to you. Thanks for watching.
For a stronger stitch in the back seam of trousers, I started using the straight stretch stitch on my machine. I also use the stretch stitch in the lower portion of the armscye in my jackets.
Now that's a clever solution! Thanks for sharing.
Some parts of the crotch seam would be on the bias. They need either the elasticity or extra reinforcment. My husband had a pair of hiking pants in which his mother had machine-stitched the back middle seam many times, but any time he bent over or lifted a leg very high these pants split. Only after that split happened on a longer backpacking tour and I backstitched the seam by hand with some needle and thread given to me by the landlady of the mountain house did those pants hold up 😂.
The ONLY time my pockets don't lay flat is if the pants are too tight and it's pulling across my hip area... i do love this reinforcement idea, none the less!! As far as better pockets: I ALWAYS put pockets in my pants. Women's clothing often comes with NO or very small pockets (pattern pieces). I have some large ones I use instead, and I incorporate EXTRA pockets. sometimes pockets within pockets. In addition to additional and re-positioned beltloops!
Good on you for making your pockets as you wish as opposed to just using the ones that come with the pattern. Pockets in pockets are fun.
@CorneliusQuiring circling back to the side seam pocket pulling issue... I honestly am wondering about this because I see it in many men's pants and few women's. So, I'm back to pondering if it's about where on the body/leg/hip area the pocket opening is sitting that is causing it to pull. As I often also notice the pants seem a little snug. I've also made way more girls pants than boys... what did you observe in your trials? Would you elaborate? 🤔 (sewing since the 70s, always for upping my game)
@@Stacy_SunshineMaybe it happens when there are "love handles". I myself have seen it much more in women than in men, when a woman has a waist size that is one size smaller than the hip size. She might be able to squeeze into the smaller size pants but then the tight fabric around the hips pulls extra fabric out of the pockets. With men's trousers, I can only imagine that a bit of extra flesh is sitting below the waist line, but above crotch height, to cause the pull. The retired master tailor and patternmaker who taught me was adamant that if the pockets pulled, you needed to go up a dress size and reduce the waist.
@@ClaudiaArnold I would agree!
I check every item of clothing I purchase for straight grain. I'm working on being able to sew my own clothes. You're such a character! 😆
Me too, I've bought slacks only to find upon laundering they are twisted. Argh!
Oh nice, a very worth check indeed.
having two belt loops rather that one in the back, or more specifically not having a belt loop in line with that central seam in the back, is also good in case you need to adjust the pants later, since then you don't need to take that loop off when taking them in or letting them out again
This is a great point!
Thiese are the most informative and easy to understand pant fitting instructions I have come across (be it patterns, books or videos) Thank you. I will be making myself some new pants soon.
I hope your pants turn out as you want, thanks for watching.
I'm drafting a skirt for my wife, and I'm going to alter the pattern because of this lesson.
depending on the skirt type, leave a good 4 or 5 inches extra at the bottom and don't hem. Have her wear the skirt and mark the hem while she's wearing it. If you hem the skirt first, the hem might be straight on the garment, but it will hang crooked on the body because the body isn't straight. If you mark the hem while she's wearing it, it will allow for her bum, and for the waist. A skirt waist will not always sit straight on the body and very often if the skirt hem is straight, it actually hangs crooked when worn, very often appearing shorter in the back. The easiest way to mark the hem while wearing is a tool that stands on the ground and has a little bellow that blows chalk at the length you want the skirt to be. Sorry if you already know this :)
@@marieanne2680I didn't know this so I appreciate you putting that information in for the other person!❤
I was debating on getting one of those chalk markers to mark my skirts and dresses because clothes don't sit the same way they used to sit on my body 50 years ago! Hahaha
Thank you for explaining what a bar tack is! I have been trying to figure that out and now I know it's a tight zigzag! Yay😅
Happy New Year Cornelius! 💞
Sounds great, I hope your wife likes her skirt, and can I suggest trying one yourself If you haven't yet? Skirts / kilts can be exceptionally comfortable, and I think its about time we stopped gandering them.
Thank you for this one! It's always a pleasure to watch your videos, regardless of whether I need a solution to a problem or not. I like your humor and your friendly and kind manner.
That makes me really happy to hear. Thank you so much for always tuning in.
I would love some fitting tips for different silluettes. My brother has quite wide hips and tighs(and he gets narrower in the waist), not "typical" male silluete (I laugh that he has our grandma's hips). He loves to wear smart clothes, but he struggles with finding something that fits him well. I would love to sew him some nice pants, but I do not know how do you solve pattern issues with male fit (well, I am still struggling with female fit too). So it would be a great series where you explain how to fit existing clothing or how to fix pattern issues for different body types. I would love my brother to feel more confident in his body type (I hate to see him crushed anytime he goes to shop for suit, even though he generally loves expressing himself though clothing- in classic style)
I think it is absolutely wonderful that you are looking to help him out in this way. It's very admirable. Thank you for the video suggestion. I will certainly consider it for a future video.
My boyfriend just shops in the women's section! There are so many different styles that there's usually something that works... You want to go for looser crotch (unless tight pants are an intentional style choice) and obviously it doesn't work so well if you're a bit taller... I'm taller than the average woman and have just accepted that my pants are usually going to be short, so I own lots of fun socks 😂
Thanks for the Skillshare link! Been sewing & designing clothes since I was 8, self taught. That’s about 45 years 😮 but I really like your videos. Helpful when I’ve forgotten a few things from design school (finally went to get that 4 yr piece of paper already!) 😉 Love the rooster’s new hat 💜
Rooster hat; just the right touch!
Thank you for the compliments and I hope you get plenty of use out of SkillShare. I appreciate your interest,
My pantmaking tip is, frankly, that facings are your friend. The more even your facings, the better. & if you’re torn on larger v smaller on the waist, go larger-easier to call it a paper bag waist than to be unable to button if up
That's a great point! Nothing worse than having to squeeze my tummy when buttoning up.
I have plans to sew my first pair of trousers in the new year, and am completely terrified! Thanks for these great tips.
Don’t be nervous. It is not world peace.
Good on you for taking on the challenge anyways. You got this!
Omg the thumbnail 🤩
Well all gotta have a bit of fun, right?! :)
My tip for belt loops is to ditch them (I even remove them when I can) and get some suspenders. It's the solution to many belt related problems. As a plus; if you need a belt for practical reasons, like for carrying tools or something, you can look really cool with a belt that can hang as loose or tight around the waist as would be comfortable to you!
For me, suspenders fixed my lower back problems.
A great way to bring suspenders back in fashion as well. Most importantly, I'm glad they helped fix your back issues.
There's a nerve at the front hip that can be pinched by pants that are too tight in the waist, especially if the person has to crouch or sit for extended time. Suspenders paired with slightly loose pants would work to avoid pressure on that nerve.
@ethanheyne yep it's great
this video is so perfectly timed as im trying to sew my own linen pants right now :)
Oh nice, I hope they turn out well. Happy sewing.
The belt loop tip 🤯
this video couldn't have come at a better time. I am about to start altering my first draft/mock up of this pair of pants i am making using your drafting videos!! thank you for being amazing!!! 💖💖💖
oh nice, I hope your pants turn out exactly as you want. Thanks for watching!
I already make pant on your method and its fantastic
You just covered all my pant making issues. Thank you!
Nice!
I am loving your videos! You are addressing some challenges that I am facing that are not even specifically about making pants. I want to make an Edwardian style belt and wondered about how to get that curve right besides just guessing. This is going to be so helpful! Thank you!
I agree! I also understand better , now, why collar stands must be curved,as well!
Oh nice, I am happy to hear that these concepts are translating to your needs. Thanks for watching.
@ As it turns out, the principle (about the curved waistline) can be applied even beyond a belt. I have a piece of fabric with a beautiful border that I would love to make into a skirt but the parts for skirts usually have a curved shape.. Yesterday I asked an experienced sewist friend if she thought I could apply this principle to the skirt on a larger scale by making a series of darts. She said absolutely. She also suggested some alternatives but the idea remains - how to make a curved piece out of a straight piece. Lovely!
Fabulous video, I do like to double stitch the crotch seam, this is especially true for children’s clothing. My husband prefers belt loops either side of the centre back seam as he wears braces and not all braces want to clip over a belt loop.
Oh, yes! I would like to learn how to make adjustable waist pants that I would feel ok tucking my shirt into for all the world to see = professional. My waist measurements fluctuate from day to day, even hour to hour because of Crohn’s disease making my “tum-tum” unhappy.😉
@@juanitaconover8836Yes, please
Thanks for sharing your tips and techniques. You bring up a great point about kids clothes.
These tips are gold.
Regarding twisted legs…the Gloria Vanderbilt jeans sold at Kohls and other outlets are notorious for this. You can’t see it until you wash them.
It comes from cutting out multiple pieces at a time with industrial cutters. The fabric layers move during the cutting. Many mass produces shirts, tees, blouses have the same issue with the side seams twisting.
eek :(
Thank you Corn! This really explains so much about pants
I'm glad to hear it.
Learning…..and having fun at the same time….ooooooo !! Merci beaucoup 😊
Thanks for the front pocket tip! I'll definitely try it (with or without modifications)
What improved trousers for me was adding various sorts of gussets in the crotch area. I don't know if it's because I've wide set legs, am simply wide in the hip and/or that area in general or have a gap there, but it removed a lot of tension and wear the seams there used to suffer for me because of too little mobility and made the trousers much more comfortable to boot.
Also, the algorithm made me stumble upon your channel randomly a little while ago and it has been a pleasure looking through your videos. Maybe it was our names that made you appear!
I think Duluth Trading uses those gussets in their "ballroom" jeans. You're not alone in liking extra comfort😊
I added gussets to a few pair of pants recently and discovered the joy of them. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
What a wealth of very useful knowledge you have shared with us, Corn! I am watching some more to take notes in my sewing notebook for future reference! Your diagram of letting out for more room in the seat and upper thigh totally explained what I had been TRYING to picture after a reading a written explaination of that very thing. Thank you for a greater understanding of pants pattern pieces and how they go together. :-)
Ahhh, perfect. I'm glad to hear there was some value for you in this video. Thanks for watching and happy sewing.
For the twisted pant legs, this can also be due to the weave of the fabric. In particular, traditionally denim uses a twill weave which has an asymmetric weaving pattern: there's a left-hand and right-hand version that are mirror images of each other. This results in a different amount of bias stretch depending on whether you're pulling the right-hand bias or the left-hand bias. Sew it into a cylinder and that gives you a spiral-stretch. Prewashing the fabric before cutting definitely helps, and certain fabrics are more or less prone to twisting than others (they'll use a modified twill weave that's more stable, or alternates directions within the fabric). There's even some manufacturers who make the same twill weave fabric in left and right hand versions so that you can use one type on the left front and right rear, and the other on the right front and left rear, so that the spiral twisting cancels out into a more manageable diagonal stretch.
I've also had that problem because of pattern drafting. My leg seams were twisted, to much fabric on one side. Just adding this for any other beginners who haven't checked this yet! You might not even need to worry about grain and weaves yet.
A twill fabric has a left to right sense but this makes absolutely NO difference for cutting and how the trousers (or any garment) hang. You must pre-wash your fabric (unless you're going to dry clean your garment), but most importantly, you have to correct the straight grain of the fabric by stretching it on the diagonal until, with the top edges of your folded fabric together, the selvedge edges line up. If you don't do this before cutting, your garment is never going to hang properly.
@@larskars5835 It does make a difference. A twill weave fabric, when fully relaxed, will not be square with the selvedge. Your procedure is correct for a plain weave fabric, or other symmetrical weaves, though (and for modified twill weaves, like broken twill, which are much less affected by the handedness of the weave).
Thank for expanding on this topic and sharing your knowledge. I learned something just now. Thank you!
'Trickier'
Understatement!
Another excellent teaching video Cornelius. Thank you so much.
And thank you for watching!
I really enjoy watching your videos, simply for your personality and sense of humor. You truly are one of a kind. 🥰 Happy New Year!
You sure know how to make me feel good with your compliments. Thank you for commenting regularly as well.
@@CorneliusQuiring 😊
grain line is the biggest one I learned by experience XD
also, for "seam reinforcement", I usually do shorter stitches while doing structural work, and longer when doing top-stitching. no need to go over a seam twice, since chances are, it's not gonna turn out pretty XD (I am still not very good at straight lines XD)
Ahhh, that's another good tip doing shorter stitches. I'm going to incorporate this.
This was exactly the video I needed today👍👍. I'm attempting some jeans with a removable flannel lining for the northern winter here. I'm going to try bar tacks and that pocket interfacing trick.
My own tip is pretty standard: I draft my pattern about 2-3 inches too long at the bottom. I hem last, and I can make sure I get the right length (in this case, long enough for thick soled boots, but short enough not to drag in the snow.) I am taller than average/ long inseam, so I love focusing on this detail to get my pants just right. It's a treat every time I wear them.
Also, I do Cornelius ' tummy trick, too. I like high waisted pants, though, plus my tummy size fluctuates with that time of month. I tend to add darts or a drawstring/ elastic to the waistband all the way up at my natural waist so I can adjust if needed. (Sigh, I haven't figured out how to make them look super professional and polished while being adjustable, though.)
Have you tried adding button hole elastic for the back (more common in kid's ajustable waist pants) and look at men's side adjuster pants with buckles or elastic. I'm looking into combining those ideas to get a more formal pant with an ajustable waist for weight fluctuations.
Those are going to be comfy jeans with lining. I hope they turn out well. I'm glad the tummy trick works for you too and thanks for the other tip as well. Comfy and style are tricky balance.
Merci encore! J’ai
Moi-même fait un cours de 180 heures comme styliste patronniste et l’ajustement des pantalons est ce qui a de plus difficile! Tu as réussi comme toujours à faire un très bon résumé de certaines difficultés d’ajustements. Je vais essayer de retrouver le lien d’une japonaise qui propose une façon de dessiner un pantalon sur mesure qui avec mon expérience et celle de mon prof est vraiment bien! Merci encore!
Je suis heureux d'apprendre que mes vidéos vous sont d'une grande aide. J'espère que vous appréciez votre cours et merci d'avoir regardé.
Thankyou for your videos, love your sense of humour
.
Thank you. 🙏🏻
Perfect timing as my next project is going to be trousers / pants
Thanks for all the wonderful tips, tricks and especially your humor!!!
Such a helpful video, Cornelius. Thank you for sharing your tips and expertise with us!
Lots of great tips, Cornelius!
That extreme caboose/thigh alteration looks like men's riding pants from 200 years ago! Built for comfort when sitting.
For a similar result with a nested pattern: before slashing from side seam to back seam, trace your back thigh at one or two sizes wider (and the right height to meet a line extending from your original-size back crotch).
While I have some experience with making pants, I am not an expert. Perhaps some of the following will help someone anyway.
When I was a kid, my grandpa gave me some tips on recognizing higher quality clothes vs lower quality. One of them was: did they put on the bare minimum number of belt loops (or buttons, on shirts)? On work pants, a center-back belt tunnel (3 inch wide loop) is an option, but don't go wider, as it keeps the waist band from crumpling, which can make the front feel tighter when you bend. Also, it looked like belt loop placement on the example pants may have resulted in the tear at the welt pocket. A welt pocket produces a tight area (since the fabric cannot flex) and a belt loop is a point of strain.
In fact, anywhere that one layer of fabric meets multiple layers of fabric is a likely failure point. I've seen many pairs of worn-out pants, some of which were mine and patched multiple times. A flat-felled seam in a high-flex/pull/friction area almost guarantees failure of the surrounding material-- and then you have not just popped stitches, but worn-through fabric, which is harder to fix, especially in the crotch area where there are so many curves meeting. I've gotten longer-lasting results from triple-straight stitching the crotch seam, then clipping the curve, pressing the allowance to one side, and top-stitching it down. The triple-straight stitch allows some stretch, which is helpful especially on bias areas of fabric (like the crotch seams), plus it is thrice as strong as a regular straight stitch.
About the pull at the bottom of the side pocket. This is a result of a couple things: a pattern drafted with little ease around the hips (designed to look good on a standing figure, but not for comfort or pants longevity), and the fact that the side seam has no support from the front of the pant there. Consider stitching the free edge of the pocket bag to the front of the pants, or adding a pocket stay (extension of pocket fabric that gets stitched into the next seam over, in this case, the crotch seam) combined with stronger pocket material.
In pants without a side-seam pocket, this is not a problem; I prefer patch pockets in part for this reason.
I'm always learning from experienced sewers like yourself. Thanks for sharing your expertise!
The best thumbnail ever!
That makes me happy to hear :)
Thank you for making videos! I am just starting to learn to sew, your videos teach skills and tips I’m aspiring to.
I'm glad to hear it. Thanks for watching and may you sew a plenty.
Sir you are genius in stitching ❤ thank you so much
Thank you. 🙏🏻
Massive thank you to you!!! Very helpful video!!! ❤
And thank you for your generosity! Happy sewing.
Currently making my first pair of pants and this was so helpful!
Wonderful, I hope they turn out exactly as you want.
Just about to start getting into sewing and found your channel with this video. Needless to say...I subbed instantly. Great video! :)
That makes me really happy to hear. Thanks for watching and happy sewing.
Absolutely brilliant!❤
I started using a stretch stitch in the crotch of my stiff denim jeans to provide more stretch to prevent the fabric from failing over time. I haven't had the pants long enough to determine if this was a terrible or good idea.
One other person mentioned using this stitch for the same purpose. It's a good approach!
Great information and I like your quirky, intelligent style and humor😀 Subbed immediately!
Thank you, I appreciate your interest.
A gem of a video! Thank you so much! And happy new year to you!
Thank you and a very happy new year to you too.
I always have a tightness in my thigh area. Thank you for the tip, now I'll change my pattern
I am glad to hear that my video was of use to you.
I am very interested in that little hole at the top corner of your back pocket! My jeans Always develop a hole there and I’m a female who does not use those back pockets so can’t attribute it to using it fora billfold. I wish you would investigate this phenomenon! Maybe consult with a textile expert at a University program? Thanks for All you do.
In my case, the reason for the hole is snipping too far in when sewing the welt pocket and therefore there's raw exposed fabric that frays with washing.
Happy New Year greetings from Switzerland
A very happy new year to you from Canada.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge! This video was very helpful 😊
My understanding is that to make the back of the pants bigger, the top of the back is sloped more. It has been shown that this method has its limitations and two more modifications have been described. Given that these two changes are lateral, don't they increase the size of the pants near the thighs ? Because that's exactly what I want to avoid.
Yes, this technique does add more volume for the butt and thighs. If it's just for the butt, I would only do the one horizontal line. I hope I understood correctly.
@CorneliusQuiring That was the point of my question, yes. Thanks for your reply, now everything is clear.
Thanks Corn
No pant hints, but a huge Thank You for brightening my rather grime month. ✂
My pleasure, I hope things start to look up for you.
Perfect timing! I was just having issues with the taper on my waistbands.
Oh nice, I'm glad this came in handy! Thanks for watching.
I just love your demeanor (it’s okay, some of us are fatties) 🤣🤣🤣. and your sewing expertise. Your sewing wisdom and pattern drafting is beyond professional. God bless you and yours. My latest sewing adventure; I am 65 and old widow, is sewing fleece watch caps for people including the homeless. Thank you for your videos.
i so enjoy your take on this video and I too am a older sewer., with a few more lbs. then i want or need. I find Corn videos great, so helpful content and his demeanor.
Your comment brought me a bit of joy this morning. Thank you for the kind words but also making things for those in your community.
Best thumbnail award 🏆
I was planning to try making pants soon, this will for sure be helpful!
Thank you. I hope the pants turn out as you want.
It's somewhat uncommon but you can reinforce the crotch seam on pants by pressing open the seam allowance and sewing a length of twill tape over it. It's the same sort of technique that's used to finish the seam on the inside of a baseball cap.
Ooh, clever! I think I've seen this done in a theater costume or two, especially for dancing. Thanks for the tip!
Thanks for this top as well. That's a good one.
Sir pls can you make full tutorial on waist coat & coat ? Like you make before on pant and shirt ( drafting & stitching )
Thank you for the suggestion. I will consider it for a future video.
Great video, thanks! I am still working on pants fit, and may be back to the drawing board with a toile marked with the grainline and cross-grainline to see what's going on. Slowing down to toile without trying to make it wearable is painful, but so is whatever is happening around the knee fit. Often I think of the O. Henry story "The Robe of Peace," but persevere I must.
Good on you for persevering and getting the fit just right on your pants despite the effort required.
Great tips, thank you! You’re awesome!
Nice. Helpful
Excellent explanation and demo. Women need more room in the seat and clipping pattern and redrawing helps.
Oh nice, I am glad to hear that my video was of use to you. Thanks for watching.
My tip to improve the way to sew my pants is … watching your video of course 😂😂😂 ! Don’t laugh it is what I am going to do! Thank you very much for this video.
I am happy to hear it, no laughs here :) Thank you for checking it out.
Love it!
Great video!!! I have drafted and made 3 or 4 pairs of trousers and have faced pretty much every issue here, so this will be helpful.
Does anyone know why the mouths of a side pocket would gape open rather than lying flat?
I am glad to hear that my video was of use to you. As for the pockets not sitting flat, it's often if the pants are a bit tighter, or the seat hight being too high, from my experience.
@@CorneliusQuiringThank you Cornelius
Hi. I appreciate you sharing. What machines do I need to make jeans and canvas slacks?
You should be able to do those with just about any decent "regular" sewing machine.
Absolutely SPECTACULAR!!! This is the most precise & concise explanation out there. Thank you so much!
If you have time & feel like answering: when I've made a full (muscled) butt modification, I have too much fabric below the butt on the back leg. Is it because I added too much space or is it something else? Thank you. Wishing you & all your viewers safety, health, love & ca$h for 2025!!!
I would need to see your pattern in order to properly explain. It could be too much space as you mention. It could also be that your seat height is a bit low.
Regarding curved waistbands - I'm making some lightweight woven pants for an upcoming trip, but they're elastic-waisted. Would they fit better with a curved waistband? And how much to curve? For instance, waist is 32" and 1.5" below is 33.5" - do I spread the waistband so that the bottom measures 1.5" greater than the top? Assuming I'd have to cut 2 identical pieces, as folding over like a simple elastic waistband wouldn't work... thanks!
If they're an elastic waistband, the curve won't offer much and be more of a hassle then offer any real benefit. As for curving, you always want to do the slashes as the top so the bottom that connects to pants stays the sale.
Excellent content, as always!
Thank you!
The best tutorials I have ever seen thank you so so much. I have a really perfect pattern for pants for myself however i would like to adjust it but just do not know how. I would like to have a close fit beneath the buttocks. Itis fine in the waist and hips but after that it is an inch to wide for myself taste. Can you help me?
It sounds like a case of bringing up the seat height. So essentially "squashing" the top part of the pants.
i watched too many of these videos and now my husband has bought me a sewing machine
Now that's a keeper of a husband :)
@CorneliusQuiring I agree! hope he likes mediocre pillow cases
@@bittyskateastrologer1883 Hey, that's a great place to start! I confess, I've never made a pillowcase... but some of my first sewing attempts were cat toys and basic drawstring bags. My skills have leveled up over the years, but you know what? I still make drawstring bags. They're useful. So are pillowcases.
Remember: a thing doesn't have to be complicated to be oft-used and highly appreciated.
Double stitch the crotch seam in two different directions. First from top to bottom, then from bottom to top. (Or bottom to top, then top to bottom). This will give you a little more flexibility.
Thanks for this little detail. I'm going to try it.
One other area to pay mind is with the crotch depth. Too deep and you got a saggy bottom. Not enough and a fellow sings soprano. It's easy to adjust the pattern, and near impossible to fix in the final finished pants.
You bring up some great points. A finished pair of pants is a like a baked cake .. can't really be adjusted :)
Wow, so that’s why my children’s t-shirts twist like that and look all wrong? Becouse they want to save more fabric and place the pattern pieces in the wrong direction? :))
That. Also, industrial fabric cutting is done in a way were they cut hundreds of layers at once and some layers just naturally shift.
Also why does some trousers catch at the middle of crotch and lift ?
This is a good question that I haven't ever investigated. When I do, I'll include it in a future pants episode.
@CorneliusQuiring thnx 😊 also wud love to learn how to cut women pamts with big waist and narrow hips.
@CorneliusQuiring also how to avoid black fabric shining after ironing the seams
OH!!! Its a CONE!❤
Genius❤
Brilliantly Helpful Cornelius.Just what I needed. All the best for 2025. From Uk.J
And may your new year be equally great.
I have a flat butt and very skinny thighs. Can I follow your large butt/big thigh instructions backwards to help with that?
Absolutely!
Good to see the lil birb have a hat (:
👒🎩👩🌾
Lil' bird says thank you. 🙏🏻
BRILLiant!!!
‘Add loops…’
Whaaa?? You mean in designing and sewing, not adding loops to already extant pants, right? I’d love to ADD loops to already existing pants. How would I do that?
I would simply take off the old ones with a seam ripper, reposition them and add as many extras as needed. The challenge is finding matching fabric.
You are so so cool
No, you're cool :)
The big things for me have been eliminating the inseam, and comfortable knit fabric. Inseams are extremely irritating for me because they are a lump between the narrowest part of the legs, and there's almost always pressure there. If you put the front and back pattern part together along the inseam, move the space between them to the outseam using the same process as in the selvedge jeans video, now there is no inseam and the pants are WAY more comfortable.
Second, commercially available men's pants are horrifically stifling to range of movement, try sitting cross legged, or other 'sitting on the floor' postures in them and notice the crotch binding. So make everything out of knit fabric: it is so much softer, and the stretch means that the crotch doesn't bind. A crotch gusset is another solution to this problem.
Oh, now thats an interesting idea regarding the inseam. I would never have thought to do that. Thanks for sharing. Knit fabrics are definitely a more comfortable fabric.
Yes! I experimented by making pants with a single seam down the leg, some with no outside seam and some with no inseam. The ones with no inseam are more comfortable. An alternative might be to move that inseam a little forward or back, as if a crotch gusset piece were cut in one with either the front or the back pattern piece.
Have you looked at the historical Viking pants (brok)? They have seams in different places than we expect nowadays, but I suspect they were comfortable.
God Bless
😍
But. You’ve reduced the length is the waistband at the top, leaving the bottom with the measured length. Shouldn’t it be the other way around? When the waist is measured, wouldn’t the measurement sit where the top of the band subsequently sit?
The reason for tapering the top of the waistband is to bring them in for a slimmer waist. Bring the bottom out would make them bigger than the pants they go on, you would just need trim to size when attaching.
Huh, interesting
How about the problem of pulling at the knees, Cornelius? My knees pull the back of my pants down.
It sounds like they may be too tight at the knees then? I suggest widening the pattern.
I wonder, on the front, or on the back? This happens with RTW as well.
It's a place to start, anyway.
You are adorable