Table Of ContentMAKING
Men & Women
for
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MAKING
Men & Women
for
A MULTIMEDIA SEWING WORKSHOP
David Page Coffi n
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CONTENTS How to Use This Book 6 CHAPTER TWO
TOOLS AND MATERIALS 30
Introduction: Sewing and Pressing Tools 31
Beyond Fit and Style 8 Gluing Supplies and Marking Tools 33
Thread 33
Outer and Inner Fabrics 34
CHAPTER ONE Pocketing Fabrics 35
LEARNING FROM CUSTOM AND
Interfacings 36
READY-TO-WEAR GARMENTS 12
Waistband Reinforcements 37
What is Quality Construction? 13
Two Extremes: L.L. Bean Jeans and CHAPTER THREE
YSL Couture 14 BASIC CONSTRUCTION 38
Mid-Level Ready-to-Wear 16 Master Patterns vs. Styled Patterns 39
High-Level Ready-to-Wear 19 Allowances and Outlets 42
Men’s and Women’s Before You Cut 43
Custom-Tailored Trousers 21 Adding a Cut-On Waistband 46
Men’s Vintage Custom-Tailored Trousers 24 Piecing the Fork 46
A Few Conclusions 28 Staying the Fork 46
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CHAPTER FOUR CHAPTER SIX CHAPTER EIGHT
POCKETS 48 WAISTBANDS 98 LEARNING FROM PROJECTS 122
Bag Basics 49 Sew-On Waistband 99 Casual Cotton Pants 123
On-Seam Pockets 51 Extended Waistband 105 Dressy Woolen Trousers 126
Leather Piping 54 Belt-Loop Options 110 Experimental Designs 129
Slant-Front Pockets 56
Expanding-Waist Pockets 61 CHAPTER SEVEN Sources 132
Double Welts 65 REFINEMENTS 114 Further Reading 134
Single Welts 71 Lining Flaps 115 About the Author 136
Topstitching and Machine-Tacking 73 Stitching the Crotch 116
Zipper Pockets and Other Shaping the Legs 117 Index 140
Security Features 74 Felling 119
Back Stitching 120
CHAPTER FIVE Tying-Off Knot 120
FLY FRONTS 76
Ready-Made Waistband Finishes 120
Zipper-Fly Basics 77 Afterthought Pleat Stays 121
Cut-On-Waist Zipper with
Cut-On Fly Shield 79
Zipper Fly with an Add-On Shield 84
Button Flies 90
Keyhole Buttonholes 97
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6 MAKING TROUSERS FOR MEN AND WOMEN
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HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
Greetings, and thanks for taking a look at my book!
Before you fl ip to whatever the chase is for you on your
pants-making journey, I hope you’ll read the introduc-
tion and Chapter 1, which is a tour of custom-made
and ready-to-wear pants. This tour is my eff ort to bring
readers to a common point of pants literacy. We’ll take
a close look at selected samples from the trousers uni-
verse, and you’ll learn which elements I felt were inter-
esting enough to demonstrate and to discuss in more
detail throughout the rest of the book.
For more information, discussion, and book-related
extras, visit http://makingtrouserswithdpc.blogspot.
com, my blog all about making trousers and specifi cally
designed for the readers of this book.
I hope you fi nd this multimedia workshop fun and
useful as you make your journey!
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I N T R O D U C T I O N
BEYOND FIT AND STYLE
My very fi rst sewn garment was a pair
of pants. They didn’t really fi t (I’d used
an unaltered Vogue pattern), they were
too hot, and the pockets were too big
and in the wrong place—but they were
exactly the pants I’d wanted: made of
tweed, lined in cotton sateen, with no
belt loops, and with all-cotton pockets
and a little pouch for my Swiss Army
knife. I LOVED them! The main problem
was that I had no idea how to create
a second pair. My class instructor just
took over whenever I didn’t know what
to do next. She’d handled the tricky
parts and, of course, I still needed to
refi ne all those pattern-related issues.
So, I turned my attention to something
I thought would be easier. Shirts! Ha!
8 MAKING TROUSERS FOR MEN AND WOMEN
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When I fi nally returned to pants fi fteen or so years later, I problems could continue to resist solution if you didn’t have
had a better idea of how to proceed. Obviously, I needed a fi t- a pretty comprehensive understanding of all the issues that
ted basic pants pattern, and I didn’t want to struggle over get- could be involved. Because I’d never wanted to sew for anyone
ting one. As you’ll learn, I found a solution to that problem and but myself and a few loved ones, I saw no reason to become
was soon ready to hit the books, always my primary resource learned in these issues. If someone off ered to provide me with
when undertaking new ventures. (You’ll fi nd an annotated list- a well-fi tting, basic pants pattern or two so I could get on with
ing of my favorite pants books on page 134.) the good stuff , I’d be delighted! Well, it turns out there are a
My most signifi cant fi rst step was to drag out the few lot of skillful people who can provide that service, from local
men’s and women’s study pants I’d collected over the years to dressmakers or tailors to nationally recognized fi tting special-
examine their construction and details. (You’ll get a good look ists and sewing authorities.
at them in Chapter 1.) I knew that I would eventually make My personal solution was to order a custom pants pattern
another pair of pants, so I was collecting interesting specimens draft by mail, using a measurement chart and posture ques-
to plunder. What exactly was I collecting? It didn’t matter to tionnaire from Stanley Hostek, a wonderful and long-retired
me if they fi t well, or even if I could wear them, or if they were tailoring teacher who still off ers a pants-drafting service. I’d also
generally in a style I liked. I wasn’t planning on copying any of been lucky enough to have a muslin-draping session with a fi t-
these garments entirely. The deciding factor was always in the ting expert I’d met while editing her article on pants-fi tting for
details, either hidden deep inside the construction or visible Threads magazine. By combining the best-working parts from
on the surface. These compelling features are exactly the focus both of the resulting patterns (they were remarkably similar)
of this book: the details and the construction methods, not and tweaking my way through a simple muslin trial, I was in
the fi t or the style. All the details and construction ideas I have business. Moral of story: Pick your battles!
included can be applied to any style of pants and don’t have If you do want to become the pants-fi tting guru in your
much, if any, impact on the fi t. neighborhood, you’ll need to test your skills on a LOT of bod-
ies, but you’ll have plenty of help. There’s no more popular
ON NOT FITTING PANTS topic in the sewing literature than fi tting, and pants are the
If I learned anything from my shirtmaking years, it was that number-one problem garment. Based on my experience as
fi tting is a huge challenge that can easily eat up all your editor for many an article on this painful subject, I’d person-
available sewing time and block all further sewing progress, ally gravitate toward drafting a basic pants pattern, either by
if you let it. It also seemed that even apparently minor fi tting hand or with a computer, as the fi rst step to achieving a usable
“The deciding factor was always in the details,
either hidden deep inside the construction or
visible on the surface.”
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pattern (rather than trying to alter an existing commercial pat- Being an amateur means that, however much I’m com-
tern). Even drafts, however, must be tested in muslin to reveal mitted to high-quality results, I’m not primarily interested in
postural, weight distribution, and silhouette issues that aren’t effi ciency, standard practices, economy, or any other profi t- or
easily captured in measurements. production-oriented constraints that aff ect working sewers.
The logic of drafting pants from a well-fi tting skirt is compel- I’m primarily interested in enjoying my sewing time, and that’s
ling. If you have at least one straight skirt that fi ts reasonably what guides me as I gather and develop techniques. Obviously,
well above the hips, your pants-fi tting work from waist to hips I want great results, but I also want to indulge my preferences
may, for the most part, be already done. The most signifi cant for experimentation, for not doing things the same way every
aid I’ve had in my own fi tting eff orts has been a cast body form, time, and for making each new project a chance to try out a
created by wrapping one’s own body in plaster, duct tape, or new idea, fabric, detail, or style. I enjoy being free to take risks,
something similar, to copy its exact contours. Once you get to try out hare-brained schemes and have instructive failures,
over the inevitable shock of seeing your own shape as others to take as long as I want to fi nish anything, and to not sew at all
do, the benefi ts of working directly on yourself will amaze you. whenever other interests take priority. I’m my own quality-con-
The form I use started with a plaster-bandage cast fi lled with trol examiner, and I happily regard my sewing skills as eternally
self-hardening foam, and it’s still serving me well after at least a in development. In short, I don’t make products. I do projects.
dozen years. My cast form is not designed for pants, and I’ve not This approach is very agreeable—in fact, it’s the reason I
used it for fi tting below the waist, but many people swear by continue to enjoy sewing—but there are downsides. For ex-
their custom-made pants forms. I see no advantage to fi tting on ample, I’ll never develop the amazing precision, the eff ortless
a standard body or pants form that has not been customized— control, or the speed of a sewer who makes the same garment,
unless you’re designing ready-to-wear. or part of a garment, dozens of times every day under constant
scrutiny. Any process that requires the practice and precision
Finally, I’d like to point out that the more closely any gar- that only an all-day, every-day sewing professional can provide
ment fi ts, the harder it is to make that fi t work—unless you’re is both out of my range and also not covered in this book.
using swimsuit fabric! So don’t underestimate the power of Rest assured, then, that all the techniques presented in this
simply adding back a little ease if you’re struggling to achieve workshop require only care and patience to apply at least as
a graceful fi t. This approach is especially true when fi tting the eff ectively as I’ve managed to. I have not tested any of these
critical areas of the crotch curve, hips, and seat, none of which techniques in a production or sales environment, simply
is traditionally close-fi tting in tailored trousers, either for men because I’ve never worked in either. Any techniques that may
or for women. Long, vertical drape lines are always preferable have originated in a production environment, I’ll be demon-
to short, diagonal or horizontal stress lines, at least to my eye. strating as an amateur who has adapted them to his skills. I
hope this fact will help make these techniques more accessible
ON NOT BEING A PRO to other amateurs, without misrepresentation, but I do ac-
I’m an amateur, not a professional, garment maker—and un- knowledge that these methods might very well look diff erent if
apologetically so. And, because it’s for my fellow amateurs that they were demo’d by a master.
I’m writing this book, not for aspiring professionals or manu- To any readers who would like to develop more than ama-
facturers, I’d like to briefl y explore some of the more interesting teur skills and don’t have a master handy to watch, I off er only
implications of this distinction. two words: practice and commitment! If you were to make, say,
10 MAKING TROUSERS FOR MEN AND WOMEN
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