In this week’s session, I focused on addressing fit issues for students’ trouser patterns and demonstrating how to make necessary adjustments. We covered dropping the waistline, adjusting the rise, and modifying leg width to achieve a better fit for different body types. I also previewed upcoming topics like adding pockets, waistbands, flies, and pleats for next week’s session.
Demonstration Steps:
- Showed how to drop the waistline on both front and back pattern pieces
- Demonstrated adjusting the rise and crotch curve for a better fit
- Explained how to take in or let out the leg width at different points
- Illustrated blending and truing adjusted seam lines
- Advised on testing adjustments on muslin before modifying the pattern
Questions & Answers:
- Q: How do I move my dart point down without adding too much fabric?
- A: Close the original dart, cut to the new point, and pivot to create the new dart. This maintains the same amount of fabric while lowering the dart point.
- Q: My trouser waist is too high. How much should I drop it?
- A: For most students, I recommended dropping the waist about 1 inch in front and 1-1.5 inches in back, curving the side seam to blend the adjustment.
- Q: The legs on my trouser pattern are too wide. How can I fix this?
- A: Take in the side seams gradually from the hip down, tapering to the knee. Add width back at the hem if desired for a balanced silhouette.
Next week, we’ll cover adding details like pockets, waistbands, flies, and pleats to our basic trouser patterns. Don’t forget to test your fit adjustments on muslin before our next session!
