How I made my first pair of trousers that actually fit!

Making causal trouser that actually fit might seem like a daunting challenge but I decided to give it a go! Find out how I got on…

For some reason I’ve always had troubles finding trouser that fit. For this reason I have generally become the sort of person that pretty much only wears skirts and dresses. I have made some trousers before, including my ginger jeans but I was never happy with the fit. However, over the past few months I have realised that my wardrobe really is missing some trousers – so i decided to start easy with a loose fitting pair from the Fashion with Fabric book* from the great British Sewing Bee. The pattern is actually for a jumpsuit but there is a suggested hack in the book of how to sew them into trousers.

As trouser fitting is not really my thing – I didn’t know where to start or what I was really looking for to help me fit as I sew so I decided to make a toile. I traced off the size 10 cut out my fabric and basted together the trousers and tried them on.

The fit wasn’t actually that terrible but I knew it could be better. So I set to work on figuring out what I could change.

I found a cool ebook on trouser fitting from Closet Case Patterns which was really useful. There were pictures of diagnostics for common fitting issues and how to fix them. I decided to only make small tweaks and so only added or took away a 1/4 inch in each case.

Trouser fitting adjustments

In the end the changes I made to my pattern pieces were many:

I scooped out the front crotch curve by 1/4inch (round pubis adjustment), I added a1/4 inch to the abdomen area and let of the front inseam by 1/4 inch (full tummy adjustment) and I added a quarter inch to the back seat curve (full seat adjustment).

I think for a tighter fitting trouser I would also need to deal with a gaping back but as these trousers have an elasticated waist I felt I could let that one slide for now!

The details:

Pattern: Jumpsuit Trousers Hack from Fashion with Fabric*

Fabric: lightweight cotton (possibly rayon?) from the man outside Sainsburys

Notions: Drawstring cord

Alterations: Size 10, round pubis adjustment, full tummy adjustmentfull seat adjustment.

I am so pleased to finally have a pair of me-made trousers that fit well! The fabric is really comfy and over the summer with all the hot weather we have been having they have been fantastic!

If you liked this overview of my project why not keep up to date with my current makes over on Instagram

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(Link has a * next to it? That’s an affiliate or referral link. Full disclosure: I get a small commission if you buy via this link but I will only send you to products I truly think are worth it!).