Pants? Pants. Pants!

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Pants? Pants. Pants!
A lecture on the shape of pants
Gennette Gill Technical Communication (Comp
321) January 27, 2006
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Pants Goals

• Understand the shape of pants
• Visualize how to sew fabric together
• Alter existing pants to fit better

Non-Goals

• Using a sewing machine
• Creating your own pants patterns
• Making new pants styles

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Organization

• Develop a pants pattern
• 1 look at the shape of pants
• 2 come up with a pattern
• 3 discuss resulting pants
• 4 if pants are not acceptable, goto 1
• See pants being sewn together
• Discuss altering existing pants

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The Shape of Pants
basic pants shape
the shape of one pant
legs in pants
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The Shape of Pants
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Modified Pant Design (front)
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What Goes Where
waist
hip
thigh
inseam
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Modified Pants Design (back)
longer
wider
same length
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Putting It Together

• Sew the front to the back of each leg along the
  inseam
• Sew right leg to left leg along the U
• Sew the front to the back of each leg along the
  outer seam

back
front
inseam
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Making Alterations

• If the crotch is too loose, which line do we need
  to change?

• How do we change it, without adding any aditional
  fabric?

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Making Alterations

• If the crotch is too loose, which line do we need
  to change?

• How do we change it without adding any aditional
  fabric?

• Shorten at the top

• What else changes?

• Waist may get bigger
• Legs are shorter
• Zipper and belt loops cut!

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Making Alterations

• If the crotch is too loose, which line do we need
  to change?

cut here somehow
c1 discontinuity

• How do we change it without adding any aditional
  fabric?

• Shorten at the bottom

• What else changes?

• Less room across thigh
• Legs narrower / differently shaped

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Making Alterations

• If the crotch is too tight, which line do we need
  to change?

• How do we change it, without adding any aditional
  fabric?

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Making Alterations

• If the crotch is too tight, which line do we need
  to change?

• How do we change it without adding any aditional
  fabric?

• What else changes?

• Waist gets smaller
• Less room across hips
• Zipper gets cut!

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Making Alterations

• If the crotch is too tight, which line do we need
  to change?

• How do we change it without adding any aditional
  fabric?

• What else changes?

• Less room across thighs

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Use Your Skills

• Visualize how pants are put together.
• Look at the pants you have
• How they are different from each other?
• What properties will you look for when buying
  pants?
• How would you modify your existing pants
• Too lose? Too tight? What needs to change?
• What side effects will possible changes have?
• Avoid mistakes when making pants
• Visualize how the pattern will come together.
• Small alterations based on your own measurements.

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Thanks To

• Chris Oates, my coach
• Jose Bastardes, my pants model
• Jeff Feasel, for my sewing machine and many
  valuable pants conversations

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Questions?
Pants?
Pants.
Pants!