Woven Pants Pattern An Ongoing TaleSeptember 12, 2025 For a long time, maybe 10 years, I have given up on trying to do a fit on woven pants. The problem isn't so much the garment itself as the fashion
period we are in. Pants today must fit a certain way or they are baggy and therefore ill-fitting.
This is a typical example. These pants can not be made. I know this because I am familiar with the photographic morphing techniques used to make these pants appear slim and trim. And to make these pants look this way in real life (where you
actually shape the seam and sew it up), it might look like this, but you wouldn't be able to move (like getting in and out of a car) in pants that fit this tightly. So they have to have stretch. Stretch is not a woven pant.
So I moved to making ponte or stretch pants that looked like woven pants, but fit the way most people wanted them to fit - snug around the bum, and no ease, or rather, no bagginess. For the last couple of weeks, I've transitioned away from that look and onto a more relaxed, yet sophisticated pants. Just like my ponte pants, the key here is to make sure that the hang is correct.
My main model for doing this was the Armani pants that he did in the 70s and 80s. It was inspirational and yet still as modern today as it was back then. That's the very definition of classic.
These looks from his 2025 Spring/Summer show are still as fabulous today and way more wearable than some of the other shows out there (except for Ralph Lauren that shows some semblance of sanity).
I mean I'm not going to wear something like this to the grocery store, or any place I want to be taken seriously. This is junk fashion that screams THE EMPEROR IS WEARING NO CLOTHES! / But back to pants. The pants that I began to love so much are these fabulous Armani pants.
Except for the wood background (those are vintage pants), the rest of these are current styles from Armani. All of them are doable, and they aren't baggy, and yet they are very wearable, and they aren't stretchy! There's a drape and elegance to all of
these.
So waxing on about Armani isn't all this is about. When I spilled food on my Armani pants and ruined the ones I had made just a short time ago, I decided to take them apart and copy the design, as I had the line so great on those pants. And this is what I got.
This looks okay, but my bottom is not this size. This is one of those measurements that's terribly difficult to take and just as challenging to fix or even see what's wrong. My pants have been pulling around the crotch depth, and adding more to the
side didn't help. Finally, when I saw the pants in this condition, I knew instantly what the matter was. This thin crotch seam isn't even close to my shape. I'm way wider than this seam in these pants - and this was supposed to fit and hang well. Probably more a testament to the fabric than my ability to fit myself.
Granted, it's been a while (okay, 25 or so years) since I've re-evaluated and dressed up my fit on a pair of woven pants. I just haven't
felt the need to do this. Maybe it was Armani reaching out to the universe in his last days on this planet. Maybe not! However, I felt I really needed a pair of Armani-esque woven pants. As we used to say in the 80s, "mani, mani, mani!" Referring to his excellent style and graceful designs for women.
At any rate, that crotch seam needed work, and fortunately, I knew exactly what to do. It's "gusset time!" Now, I could have easily added this
to my pant pattern, but there's another problem with that approach.
The truth is that this crotch seam is difficult to measure, because we are actually taking measurements in a 2_D way for a 3-D fit. And the most accurate way to get this measurement is to cut yourself in half at the waist, and then cut
off one leg, and measure the crotch that way. There's a massive problem with this, which is that you wouldn't be able to wear the pants afterwards, not to mention the health hazard! Like Humpty-Dumpty, we couldn't put you back together again! So we won't be taking that measurement. However, with some reasonable estimates and experimentation, you can approximate this area fairly accurately. In this case, I could tell that the best way to fix my fit problem is to add a gusset to the upper back leg.
And actually this won't take that big of a piece. There's only one problem left. Since I'm working with a limited amount of fabric - not sure of the fabric source for these pants - that little gusset piece, if I add it to the pattern, would cause the
back to take up an enormous amount of space, space that I probably don't have.
So that if my fabric is the thin-lined rectangle, the pants will fall off of the side, and I probably would need another 3/4 of a yard to get the front piece out of the fabric. Even turning the pieces wouldn't work because that back piece is so
large. The reason for this is simple. My hip measurements aren't 45" (the width of the fabric) - although sometimes I feel that way, they
are closer to 38". So why would a 38" hip pant take up more fabric?
As this diagram shows, the pants pattern actually fits not only the hip, but also the inside of the leg at the hip height, so it fits the inside leg plus the outside hip measurement. That's what is taking up that extra width in the pattern. But there is a solution to this, and that's adding that gusset in the back of the pants. This creates another seam at the top of the inseam, but if
someone is that critical, they need a life. IOW, it won't be seen most of the time.
For me, cutting out the pants with that gusset is a lot more economical with the fabric, and gives me exactly the same look.
So this is what that looks like. The new crotch seam is hard to see, so I outlined it in red, and you can see that it's much wider where it needs to be, and fits a lot better, BUT it hangs like an absolute dream.
The real test is how this
looks on the body. And it's really amazing once you get a pair of pants that works, it goes with everything because the pants look great.
Course this top - it's not really a blouse - makes everything look great. This fabric was on sale at Marcy Tilton (sorry they are sold out), but it makes every thing I put it with look great. And my new Armani-esque pants are no exception.
So I had another piece from Vogue Fabrics that I thought could look really good. It was so slippery, I've actually had to chase it across my studio just to get it made up, but oh wow! It's heavier than I thought it would be, but very draping - like a
very limber chiffon, only it's opaque and heavier. You want to talk about something that turned out wow with this new Armani-esque pant, well here it is.
Here's this top again that makes everything look great, and with a great pair of black very casual clunky shoes.
I'm growing to really like this top/blouse look (it's out of print, but you can search for New Look 6598, and it's not too
hard to find). I've added some really stiff interfacing to this, and the collar stays right where I love it. I may even try some pad-stitching with some silk organza to see what that looks like.
This is a jacket pattern that I've used a lot. I probably have 6 or 7 different variations of this jacket.
Just for fun I tried my longer ponte jacket with this, and looks really fine. (NOTE TO SELF: Make this jacket in black. It will go with everything!)
This was a huge surprise. A top I haven't worn in a long time and it looks stunning. There's nothing like black and white to look really classic. I kind of dressed it up with an Hermes scarf and some pearls, but this is going to be a definite
outfit in my future. The pants are a black ground with a very light woven gold and white stripe. It's very subtle, so you can see that
it's a stripe but just barely.
These are the Tessa Pants, and I will be honest. I worked three whole days to get these pants just right - mostly because I overestimated my size and was working with a size that was probably three sizes too big. When you cut down from that, you're messing with the line and style of the
original pattern, and this pant has some pretty good lines, so I tried to stay with those lines as much as I good. I also added that gusset and it makes a huge difference in the hang of these pants. If you're a little plus-sized in the fanny, hips, and that gets into the top-of-the-inseam area, think seriously about a gusset. Mine was about 2" on top (plus 1¼" seam - ⅝" each side) and about 3" long (with ⅝" added at the top of the gusset).
It really hangs beautifully at the top of the inseam. As I was trying them on, a friend dropped by and we sat and chatted for the longest time. I was totally comfortable in the pants which was a little surprising. Woven pants only have the
comfort that is provided by the ease. Hopefully people will begin to think differently about ease - like Armani did up to the day he died.
The SewingArtistry Resource Library is designed to contain information to not only make your sewing better, but to aid in you fitting and flattering your shape, size and style. Check it out.
I'm taking a break from teaching right now, but I am able to do Zoom demos or talks for your sewing group. Contact me for details.
|
This is a sad day - the loss of a classic tradition. Armani held the line
to fashion style that ...
Tracking a fashion trend isn't all that hard after seeing a few of them.
Living from Mid-Century Modern through Twiggy...
It's worth the time to look at these styles, particularly today as
there is a group of that wants to look....
This is the way fashion used to be -- pretty, flattering and I can't wait to make some of...
NOTE: There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky. I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else. If you don't get anything
from me, it's probably because the support@sewingartistry.com email is blocked, and even a private message can't get through. In that case, I'm on Instagram often, and you can always PM me at @sewingartistry.
As a precaution,
please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox. I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.
To view in browser along with past emails, click here. We respect your email privacy. |
Tracking a fashion trend isn't all that hard after seeing a few of them.
Living from Mid-Century Modern through Twiggy...
It's worth the time to look at these styles, particularly today as
there is a group of that wants to look....
This is the way fashion used to be -- pretty, flattering and I can't wait to make some of...
NOTE: There are some folks who can't get my email, or it's sporadic, or something is hinky. I will always respond to any of you who send a private message, whether it's about the topic of the week or something else. If you don't get anything
from me, it's probably because the support@sewingartistry.com email is blocked, and even a private message can't get through. In that case, I'm on Instagram often, and you can always PM me at @sewingartistry.
As a precaution,
please ensure I'm in your email Address Book and check your spam, junk, and trash folders. Some email clients get extra excited when they see emails coming into the Inbox that go to many other receivers. They automatically think it's trash or spam, and it never makes it to the Inbox. I must constantly check my spam and junk folders to ensure I'm getting the emails I subscribe to.
To view in browser along with past emails, click here. We respect your email privacy. |
|
|
