How to Draft a Trousers Pattern - A Tutorial

Hello my dear readers,
This month I have really had trousers on my mind. A trip to Banana Republic where everything was lovely, expensive, and way too short for my long legs had me thinking, "I can make this! Why would I pay $100 for something that just won't quite fit right?"

I always do this. I call it the seamless loop. I want a garment, but it's expensive and I could make it if only I could make the time, which gets me thinking about how much my time is worth, how busy I am, and that I technically make enough money to treat myself to a lovely thing like that once in a blue moon. But I just can't justify buying it, knowing that I could make a better-fitting one... and it all goes through my mind for long enough that I get sick of it all and before I know it, I'm cranky, frustrated, and without either a purchased or handmade version of what I wanted in the first place. Have you ever done this? It sucks!
So I decided to break the cycle. I am drafting a few patterns to test out the fit, length, waist rise etc. until I have the perfect pair. 

I also decided that I would create a tutorial here in case any of you might like to try trouser drafting for yourselves!
Here's what you'll need:

Paper, long enough for your high waist to floor measurement plus a few inches more, and wide enough for 1/2 your hip measurement plus a few more inches. (a nice, 36" wide roll does nicely!)
Pencil,
Eraser,
Rulers, including yardstick or a tailors' square if you can get one.
A French curve, hip curve or other curve drafting tool.

And of course, you'll need your measurements! This tutorial is adapted from a 1940's/ 1950's trouser so you'll want to pay attention to your vintage sizing.

And now for how it's done!

I. - See illustration above.

A to B - Equals side length measurement.
A to C - Equals 6 3/4” for size 12
              6 7/8” for size 14
              7” for size 16 and up...

C to D - Equals 1/4 of hip measurement plus 3/4” for ease. Square this line across at C.
C to E - Same length as C to D. Extend line D-C to E; then pivoting at D, draw an arc line above E.
A to F - Equals crotch depth measurement plus 1” for ease. Mark point F on line A-B.
G to H - Equals hip line D-E. Draw this line through F, parallel to hip line D-E.
G to I - Square this line up at G through D, making this line 1/2” less than A to F.
H to J - Equals 1/2 of line F to H. Extend line G-H to J.
H to K - Equals 1/2 of line H to J.
K to L - Equals line G-I (center front) plus 2” for center back line. Draw this line from K to L, touching the outer most curve of arc line.
G to M - Equals length from K to J.
G to N - Equals 1 1/2”. Draw a diagonal line; then draw a curved line from D to M through N.
K to O - Equals 1 1/4”. Draw a curved line through O.
G to P - Equals length of F to B. Square a line down at G.
K to Q - Equals length of F to B. Square a line down at K.
P to Q - Connect for lower edge.
P to R - Equals 1/2 of line P to D.
R to S - Square a line across at R for knee line; then draw slightly curved lines from M to R and J to S for inner leg seam.
B to T - Equals 1”.
T to C - Connect.

II. - See illustration above.
Draw waistline slightly curved, from I to A to L. Reduce waistline to fit 1/2 of waist measure. First make part of reduction at sides and center front. Then make a dart in back and a pleat in front at follows:
C to U - Equals 1/2 of C to E.
L to V - Equals 1/2 of back waistline; then draw a V-shaped dart, 6” long.
D to W - Equals 1/2 of D to C.

III. - See illustration above.
For crease lines on front and back, divide the knee and lower lines in half; then draw crease lines from bottom to hip line. For waistband, make a double band 1 1/2” wide, finished and the length of the waist measure plus 3/4” extension for left side opening. To complete pattern, add seam allowances to all pattern pieces and hem allowance to trouser bottoms. Make corresponding notches.

And there you have it! The straight waistband should only be used if you draft your pattern at waist level. If you lower it closer to your hip line, you'll need to draft a curved waistband.

Aaaaand on a completely separate note, I have decided to have a sale this week at Mrs. Depew Vintage! If there is a pattern you've been eying, now is the time to try it. Use coupon code "FLUFFEHKITTEH " in the box at checkout for a 15% discount - good until the 21st of October.

Happy sewing!

Sew in Love... A Vintage Vanity Does Halter Top Video Tutorials!

Hello lovely readers!
Recently I was delighted to find that the very talented Jennifer of A Vintage Vanity on Youtube has done a full video tutorial series on sewing Depew #1006 - one of my vintage pattern reproductions!

The "So Sew Vintage" series of 5 video posts walks you through printing and taping together the pattern, grading the pattern (if necessary) to another size using the included pattern grading instructions, mocking up a muslin and adjusting the fit, interfacing the final pattern pieces and sewing them together, and adding buttons/ buttonholes to the finished blouse.

Jennifer, a self-proclaimed Geek (geeks unite!) chose to make her halter top out of Dr. Who-themed Tardis fabric, which, in my opinion, is unsurpassed in its epic-ness. 

The posts are very in-depth and so entertainingly presented that a complete beginner would have very little trouble sewing this blouse right up!

If you're not interested in sewing this blouse for yourself, you might want to check out the "A Vintage Vanity" Youtube channel anyways for amazing vintage fashion, DIY, makeup and hair tutorials and vlogging!
You can also follow A Vintage Vanity on Facebook.

If you are interested in giving this pattern a try, below is the complete tutorial set!

Happy sewing!

Part 1: Printing and taping together your pattern.




Tip: every printer is different and occasionally marins might be a hair off. If you find while taping the pattern pages together that the lines aren't matching up perfectly, give the perimiter of the pattern piece itself a little snip to free it from the paper around it. This can make it much easier to line up the pattern lines as necessary.

Part 2: Grading the pattern pieces.





Part 3: Mocking up the sewing pattern for a test fit.





Part 4: Interfacing and sewing the pieces together.





Part 5: Adding buttons and buttonholes - and the big reveal!




A huge thanks to Jennifer for taking the time to put together such a fantastic tutorial series! I can't wait to see the next sewing project you take on!

Vintage Sewing Pattern Ladies' 1950s Halter Top Blouse PDF Depew 1006 -INSTANT DOWNLOAD-

The Super-Secret Christmas Robe from 1951

A couple of years ago, I found an amazing vintage Mens' robe pattern on Etsy and fell in love. I snapped it up, ordered some amazing rayon fabric and some ultra-soft micro fleece to line it with. When the pattern arrived  I was so excited... and then somehow I never made it. You know how it is, projects pile up, work gets too busy and then before you know it, it's two years later - no robe.

Vogue 8753

So this year I was determined to sew it for my husband for Christmas, and I was determined that he wouldn't even know I was sewing something for him. In the middle of finals project and a really busy month at Mrs. Depew Vintage I was sewing this robe like a crazy person. And let me tell you, lining rayon with micro fleece is about as easy as getting a puppy to hold still during a cat parade.

I sewed between assignments and studying, before and after work, at midnight while he was working night shifts and every time my husband rode his motorcycle into the driveway I madly dashed to stash everything into my studio closet and delint the threads from my clothes to hide any evidence of my undertaking.

The flat felled seams with the added bulk of a lining fabric, no matter how much I graded, were insanely hard and I ended up hand binding all of my seams inside just to keep everything clean. I was determined to use every skill in my playbook to make this robe the nicest thing my husband ever owned.
2/3 of the sewing was by hand to get everything just right and after about 70 hours of work, it was finished with just one day to spare! I even had time to embroider his initials on the cuff before wrapping it.

The rayon had two beautiful sides to it so I made the cuffs, pockets, sash, carriers and lapels with the lighter, contrasting side.

The black micro fleece lining looks really sharp in contrast to the grey and is so soft and warm that I have to resist stealing the robe for myself every morning when I let the dog out at 6 a.m.

The rayon has just the slightest metallic sheen to it on one side.

Of course it's about 4 sizes too big for Lusty Lulu (love her new name!) but it looks great on the man himself. (I don't make him pose for blog photos, he's shy.)

I also finished the inside with a hilarious "This took Forever" label by Sublime Stitching that makes my day every time I catch a glimpse of it.

And now I'm quite relieved to be done working on this giant project and back to sewing for myself. This week I'm making myself a few bras using this pattern.

How about you? Did you make any of your gifts by hand this year?

Beach Bustier Adventures

Happy weekend to you all, my dear readers! This has been a really busy month for me and I apologise for not posting more often. We had a lot of important events recently in our local military community that kept me busy, as well as pretty much a weekend-long birthday celebration for myself. Not to mention the super fun steroid withdrawals I've been having (Yay! I'm just thrilled to be off the horrid things!) keeping me sickish and therefor lazy. But on the bright side, my chronic pain is better enough that I have a sewing project to share with you!

I had a blast sewing this beach bustier top. It was one of those projects where I got to see my sewing practice start to pay off; you know, when you can finally see that you're a better seamstress than you realized? My top stitching came out straight, my seams all matched perfectly, and this little baby is clean from the inside out!

I made this beauty using my 1950's Style Beach Bustier Digital Pattern with the intention of adding a skirt to make it into a dress. I had originally planned on making it strapless so I boned the side seams for more support. Then after a fitting, realized that if I waned strapless I needed to have used a size smaller. So in went the original halter strap which I really liked better in the long run.

I hadn't added any buttons at this point, waiting for the skirt to be attached so I could work out a smooth button/ zipper combo in the back.

Well, I added the skirt, and in a hurry to get it finished in time for an event, completely botched my closure plans. I kid you not, the whole thing has been sitting in a crumpled pile on my guest-bed now for a month. All I need to do is rip the zipper out and sew it in again with a bit of the dress taken in, but have I gotten around to it yet? No. (hangs head in shame).

Well, there you have it. I'm not perfect, but I sure can make a pretty half-done mess, now can't I?

Are there any UFO's (UN-finished objects) laying around your sewing space, shaming and guilting you as you ignore their cries for closure?

And the winner is...

Hello lovely readers. Today is Monday, and you know what that means. It's time to announce the winner of the giveaway for my new sewing pattern!

And the lucky winner is: JacieKakes! You can email me afewthreadsloose@gmail.com and I'll send you your pattern! Jacie also happens to have started writing a blog recently and I found myself giggling at the clever way she describes things. You should really check it out! Jacie also commented that the next pattern she would like to see from Mrs. Depew Vintage would be a Geisha style robe like the one in this picture:

And I have to say, you're totally right! This is gorgeous and I've been wanting to do a robe pattern for the longest time! Wow, Lana turner... what a babe.

On my last visit home I recently acquired a beautiful cream silk charmeuse robe almost exactly like this. The lovely thing was coming apart at the seams and I spent most of the last two days carefully hand stitching it back together. Now it's soaking in my laundry room sink and I'm hoping some old stains will work their way out (any tips?)

I'm thinking about starting with a pattern from one of my old German pattern magazines and working my way out from there. What do you think of this one? (robe/ nightgown on the left)

Which leads me to a very important question that I would really like your input on. A robe pattern would be a great deal larger to print out as a digital pattern than what I've done thus far. To save paper and ink for the seamstress using it, I could overlap pattern pieces onto the same sheet (much like a Burda pattern sheet, only with one pattern). My question is, if you've already gone to the trouble of printing it out, is too inconvenient to also have to trace a few pattern pieces off? Or is the right pattern worth all the trouble?

And in other news, here's a quick sneak peak at what I'm working on right now:

If you didn't win the bathing suit pattern and would still like a copy, you can download it directly from my Craftsy shop, (yay instant download!) or you can find it in my Artfire shop, and my Etsy shop.

And don't forget to stop by Ohhh Lulu... to enter the giveaway to win her beautiful new Betty High Waist Panties pattern (yay Sarah!). I've already got my pattern and I'm off to the fabric shop (I've nickname the place, 'the mess') tomorrow to get supplies!

How about you? What are you working on this week?

The Much-Anticipated Bathing Suit Pattern Giveaway!

My lovely readers, you have been so patient with me. I put off the main part of my pattern drafting work to do the Pin-Up Sew-Along and now that we've reached a nice lull with that, I have finally had time to finish the much asked-for and anticipated bathing suit pattern!

Many of you are familiar with the famous photograph of Marilyn Monroe in the lovely and clingy white bathing suit and that was my main inspiration for putting the pattern together. I find myself getting a bit curvier than I used to be (isn't that always the case?) and I love the idea of a suit that emphasizes those curves while still providing a bit of modesty for the one's you'd rather not draw attention to.

I also created it in sizes x-small through x-large, in two versions, one strapless and one with halter collar strap for supporting those more endowed like Marilyn than myself.

Before I got started I had fun using an app called Penultimate to create a mood board with bathing suits and patterns that fit into this glamorous Hollywood image that I wanted to recreate, adding sketches and ideas to incorporate into my cover image for later as I progressed.

And of course, as I always do when I release a new pattern, I'm offering a free copy to one lucky winner!

To enter the giveaway you can do one or all of the following, just leave a comment for each entry to get your name in the proverbial hat.

1. Tell me what kind of pattern you'd like me to create next. I'm always open to suggestions!

2. Become a follower of A Few Threads Loose on Twitter, Google, or Bloglovin'.

3. Like A Few Threads Loose on Facebook.

4. Like Mrs. Depew Vintage on Facebook.

5. Mention this giveaway on your blog.

I'll announce the winner this Monday the 9th.
Good luck! 

My Guilty Vintage Pleasure

My favorite old time singer drives my husband up a wall, but guess what? He's out of town, so I have Yma Sumac cranked up as high as it will go.

A genuine Incan Princess (seriously, Kate Middleton, eat your heart out) Yma had a five octave range and her voice could go from vibrating your floor boards to cracking your windows in one breath.

Oh, God, the dress!

And Boy! Did she know how to dress! I swoon at the thought of her closet in the 50's.

Yes, those white pockets ARE all full of shoes.

For your listening pleasure, here are my two favorite songs.









Let me know what you think!