J&O Sewing Tip of the Week: Making Pants

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Making Pants?

Interested in making yourself or someone else a pair of pants?

Stumped on where or how to begin?

Quick guideline for fabric selection.

Depending on the inseam and waist of the individual you are making the pants for, special attention needs to be paid to the width of the fabric you are purchasing. While most fabrics are manufactured with 45″ width, there are some sold at 54″, 60″, 72″ and even 108″ wide as well. If you are using a pattern to map out your project, check the fabric requirements on the side. Most patterns base their fabric yardage requirements on 45″ wide material. More is always better if you can afford it though, so if a pattern calls for 2 1/2″ yards of a 45″ corduroy, go ahead and get 3. You never know what may happen in the crafting process. Again, the more, the better.

For the average adult pant, 2 yards usually covers the basis, but if you have a little more girth, hips, height, or thickness all around, or want to add pockets and such to them, then a little more will be necessary. So for the average adult, I would go with 3 yards minimum. Now, when you are thinking about the kind of fabric you want to use, consider the weight, durability, look and feel of the material. Because of their look and feel, most dress pants are made from linen, polyester, or a 50/50 blend. If you are making a pair of pants for a more casual affair then a durable denim, corduroy or cotton twill would work. Jersey knits like the fabric used for sweats is nice too but keep in mind the shrink factor. Almost anything that is 100% cotton is going to shrink so buy a little extra and pre-wash before cutting. When you are ready to cut out your pants, pay close attention to the direction your pattern is layed out in on the material and where you cut so that the length of the pattern goes in the same direction as the salvage and your size markers are correct. There’s nothing like cutting incorrectly so as the old seamstresses saying goes…..’Measure twice, cut once’.

Between the wonderful information highway known as the world wide web, the information contained on your pattern envelope, and plenty of how to videos, books and blogs available for novice and experienced seamstresses alike, the rest of the steps toward your first handmade (machine sewn) pants should be easy to find. Hopefully this little tid bit was enough to get you started.

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