What’s Up This Week at J Stern Designs: I authored an article in Threads Magazine!

Hi Everyone!

I had some time this week to sit down and read the article I authored in the Summer Issue of Threads Magazine.  The topic?? One of my favorites… pants fitting!  In this article, titled Key Measurements for Making Pants, I took a look at the range of pants styles and the different kind of body measurements that you may need when you’re working on them.  It was inspired by my experiences trying out a new method of fitting pants.  I’ve been spending a lot of time working with the Top Down Center Out method of Pants Fitting (TDCO), as described by R. Collins in Threads Issue #218.   Ruth was so generous with her time to help me learn how to do it!

Ruth recommended the Peppermint Wide Leg Pants Pattern as my first foray into TDCO. After spending some time playing with it and with Ruth’s help, I made a really nice fitting pair of pants.

After my success with the Peppermint Pants, I was excited to try TDCO to fit patterns that were more fitted. The basic premise is that you can use this gender neutral method to fit any style pant pattern on any body shape. I really, really wanted it to be the holy grail of pants fitting. Imagine if one method of pants fitting worked for every body with every pattern!

Jeans and TDCO

I decided the best way to test this theory was to use TDCO to teach an in-person jean fitting workshop. The group of women in this class had a variety of shapes and sizes. Jeans are different from wide leg pants because the crotch curve snugs against the body instead of hovering below it. Plus, there is little or no space between the inside of the fabric and the body. This creates a situation where the fabric can get caught on the leg at the knee or calf. We picked starting sizes based on the full hip measurement as directed by TDCO. I decided to use this single measurement and forgo comparing the leg measurements of the pattern to body measurements. After preparing our patterns we started fitting.

You know the saying “When there’s a will, there’s a way?”, I was literally willing the fabric to hang properly on each student. Happily, I was able to balance the front/back leg and get the fabric to hang properly on almost every student. This gave us a great starting point to fine tune the fit of the pattern. It was also exciting to see that some of the ladies (who had similar shapes) had very little fitting to do. In these cases, the TDCO fitting process resulted in a lovely fit with the crotch curve positioned properly. Maybe this had something to do with how similar the shape of the pattern crotch was to their bodies.

Some Bumps in the Road

A couple ladies had prominent inner thighs or knees. There were also a couple ladies who had very slender legs compared to their full hip measurement. Because I didn’t take these body specific issues into consideration when prepping the pattern pieces, new fitting issues appeared. As it turns out, all the fitting cannot be accomplished at the side seam to remove or add ease. I needed to use the traditional pants fitting methods in my tool box to finish the fitting process.

Something else happened in the process of getting the inseam to hang straight with the hem parallel to the floor. The crotch curve ended up sitting too low, especially in the front. This was a surprise because the design of the pattern intends for the crotch to fit close to the body. I thought it would be a simple thing to pull the fabric back up from the waistline. But every time I tried to do so, it caused wrinkles on the back leg.

It was frustrating that I could not get that crotch back up to where it should be. Every time I tried pulling up the fabric at the waist it messed up the drape of the back leg. So, I needed to resort to using traditional pants fitting techniques instead. This result hints at the fact that if the crotch shape does not agree with your body, it can’t fit like a glove. Let me share one example of how the front crotch curve could not be properly be fitted by adjusting the waistline and side seams.

In Conclusion

I went on to teach more pants and jean fitting classes both in-person and on Zoom. Like with anything else worth doing, fitting a great pair of pant requires the right tools. TDCO is amazing for making wide leg pants. It also makes the process more accessible for home sewers no matter what style pant they’re working on. In the case of more fitted styles, like jeans, it’s a great tool to have in your toolbox to start the fitting process, it may get you most of the way to your goal! From my experiences in these pants fitting classes I’ve taught over the last year, if you’re lucky enough to have a similar shape to the pattern pieces, you’ll have an easier time fitting them. This can be said for other garment patterns, not just pants!

The Whole Scoop~ Multi-Method Pants Fitting teaches students how to incorporate TDCO with traditional fitting techniques. Combining the two can minimize the number of traditional pants fitting adjustments you may need to craft the perfect pair of pants. If you’re interested in learning more, check out The Whole Scoop Playlist on my Youtube Channel.