The Every Wear Trouser Tutorial

Cutting

1. Start by folding your fabric in half, selvedge to selvedge.

2. Lay out and pin (or trace) pattern pieces according to your fabric width. Remember, the grain line is always parallel to the selvedge. Cut and notch accordingly.

Inseam, Side Seam, and Crotch Seam

7. One leg at a time, place the front and back leg pieces right sides together. Pin from the crotch point down to the hem of the trousers. Pin the sides of the trousers together. Backstitching at the beginning and at the end, sew these two pieces together.

8. Repeat for the other leg.

9. When the seams are all nicely pressed, join the two separate leg pieces together by placing one leg inside the other and sewing around the crotch curve. One leg right way out and the other leg inside out, place one leg into the other, right sides touching.

With one leg the right way out and the other leg inside out, place one leg into the other, right sides together.

10. Line up the crotch seam, making sure to match the edges, notches and the inside leg seams. Pin the two legs together and stitch in place. Remember seam allowance is still 1 cm all the way around.

11. Once this is done, press the seam allowance open all the way around. It’s quite a tricky area to press, so you might find a tailor’s ham or sausage will help.

Waistband: Sink Stitch Method (skip to step 17 for the easy method)

14. Press the seams upwards into the waistband. The goal is to hide the seams in between the waistband.

– Press the unfinished outer edge of the waistband in towards the wrong side. This edge should be pressed approximately 2-3 mm less than the final seam allowance for this edge. For example, if the waistband seam allowance is 3⁄8″ (1 cm), this edge of the waistband should be pressed 7-8 mm.

15. Time to close off majority of the waistband. The folded edge should be neatly pinned along the seam so that it covers the stitch line. Make sure to insert the pin directly into the ditch of the seam, securing the underside of the binding.

Pin from the right side of the garment for easier removal when you sew. Leave a gap about 6-8 cm wide in the waistband so that you can feed the elastic through.

*Check that the pins have captured the folded binding edge on the underside of the garment.

16. Use the edge joining foot if you have one to complete the next step, it will make your life easier! A regular foot will work but will require more patience. Place the machine’s needle in the ditch of the seam. Sew slowly and pull the fabric lightly on either side of the needle as you guide it through the ditch. Remove the pins as you approach them. The finished stitch is invisible on the right side of your garment while capturing the inside folded edge.