Text a bit dry for you? I try to make videos available as part of the pattern documentation.
In this particular case, there's a lot of video material available, but it was originally recorded for a previous version of this pattern. Still, good stuff.
First thing to do is to baste over the pleat line of your trouser legs. Do it on both front and back pieces for both legs.
### Step 2: Close the back darts and press
### Close the back darts
Fold piece 1 (back) double so that the notches of the dart on the waistband are aligned, and a sharp crease runs to the notch at the dart end. Feel free to briefly iron the crease, this will make it easier to sew the dart accurately.
Close the dart by sewing from the waistband down to the end of the dart.
Use a small stitch length, and let your stitch run completely to the end (and of) the dart, then backtrack making sure to veer into the seam allowance.
#### Press back darts to the side
Press your back darts flat, folding the seam allowance to the side of your trousers.
### Step 3: Construct the back pockets
Construct the double welt pockets at the back of your trousers, including the pocket bag.
That is why I have branched it off into its own documentation page.
There's both written documentation and a video series that shows you how to do it, so even if you've never made welt pockets before, you'll be fine.
[To the welt pockets documentation](/docs/sewing/double-welt-pockets)
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### Step 4: Optional: Trim your lining with pinking shears
If you are going to line your trousers (it's optional), you'll need to finish the edge of your lining. To do so, trim the edge of the lining with pinking shears.
Note that you only need to do this for those edges of your lining that are not caught in a seam. In other words, only the bottom edge of your lining.
If you don't have pinking shears, you can apply another finish like a zig-zag stitch, or use a serger. However, pinking shears are best for this scenario because they don't add any bulk, which is important because we want to avoid the edge of the lining making a bump in your trousers.
The lining is trimmed a bit shorter so that when it is folded back, it does not show. But it's really not all that important to get it exactly 0.5 cm shorter.
To prevent your pockets from bagging out, you can place a piece of non-stretching ribbon in between the fold. When stitching, you will also catch this ribbon, preventing the pocket to bag out.
This will prevent it from shifting around while we continue to work on our trousers.
### Step 13: Finish the side edges
Before we are going to sew the side seams, finish the side edges by serging or running a zig-zag stitch along the sides of your front and back pieces, making sure to stay within the foreseen seam allowance.
If your lining has any stretch in it at all, try to stretch it out a bit while you sew the curve. This will make it easier to get the lining to lie flat without wrinkles later on.
Before pressing down your fly piece, make sure to roll the seam a little bit so that your trouser lining fabric sits a bit further, and the lining starts only about 2mm from the edge. This will prevent the lining from peeking out at the edge.
- The end of your zip should sit at the top of your trousers where your waistband will start. However, make sure to remember that there is seam allowance there, so don't align it with the top of the front piece, but subtract 1cm seam allowance.
- Align the zip with the crotch seam. Do not mind the edge of the zip, as they come in different widths. Instead, make sure that you can sew next to the teeth of the zip within the seam allowance of the front piece.
If you're unsure about the placement of your zip, put it as close to the edge as possible. Doing so will only mean your zip is tucked away a bit further under the fly, so that it certainly is not on show.
Take the fly shield/fly piece that you assembled in step 16 & 17, and place it with the fabric facing downward, and the lining upward.
Flip aside the top lining layer, and align the slightly curved edge of the fabric (where it is not sewn to the lining) with the edge of the fabric of your front piece.
Pin this layer in place with a few pins perpendicular to your zip (as shown in red). Make sure you catch all layers underneath, including the zip. This way, you can remove your pins from the step before (shown in green) when done.
If you're comfortable holding all this in place, you can let the lining fall back and pin everything together as shown in the next step. That's somewhat faster, but more prone to errors as things can shift around easier.
When you're done, fold back the fly so that it extends from the front piece, and give it a thorough press from the back. And a gentle press from the front.
### Step 24: Apply bias tape to second fly piece and press
Apply bias tape to the edge with the large curve of your second fly piece.
Place the left leg with the good side up. Place the second fly piece on top with the good side down, aligning the unfinished seam with the crotch seam.
Pin the fly piece in place, then sew it in place along the crotch seam.
### Step 26: Roll the fly piece to the back, and press the seam
Fold the fly piece to the back. Before you press, make sure to roll the seam a bit backwards so that the front of the trousers sits a little further than the fly piece.
This way, the seam or fly piece will not show from the front.
I find it's easier to pin the zip through all layers, and then when it's secure in place add extra pins that pin it to the fly piece only. When that's done, you can remove the pins that go through all layers.
Place both fronts with the good sides up. They are now joined by the fly.
Make sure the fly is neatly tucked under, and pin together both fronts at the bottom of the fly, where you bar-tacked earlier. Make sure the pin is aligned to the fold of your front.
Fold the fronts with the good sides together, and pin them together along the crotch.
You'll need to get the fly shields out of the way, so if you've pinned through all layers before, remove that pin now, making sure to replace it with a horizontal pin. This will tell you how far to sew.
Sew the crotch seam, starting at the cross-seam point, and going up to your horizontal pin.
I find this step hard to explain, and hard to illustrate. I hope it will make sense when you're looking at your fly. If not, check the video instructions.
Close the fly, and pin the fronts together making sure the fly is neatly tucked away.
We will be topstitching the fly curve next, and it's a good idea to baste it first.
You should start a bit above your earlier bar tack, and make sure you catch only the fly shield of the left leg.
Curve upwards toward the edge of the fly shield, and then proceed in parallel with the zip.
### Step 32: Topstitch the fly curve
Now topstitch your fly curve, using your basting as a guide.
When doing so, you will be locking your front, fly piece, pocket bag and lining all together.
### Step 33: Pin together the inner leg seam
Close the legs with the good sides together, and pin together the inner leg seam. Start at the cross seam point and work your way to the bottom of the legs.
Make sure to do this for both legs.
### Step 34: Sew the inner leg seams
On both legs, sew the inner leg seams that you just pinned. Make sure to respect the seam allowance.
### Step 35: Press open seam allowance of the inner leg seam
Place your leg inside-out on your ironing board, and press open the seam allowance of the inner leg seam.
### Step 36: Close the cross-seam
We are now going to close the cross-seam, from the bottom of your fly between your legs, up your bum to the center back of where you'll add the waistband later.
To do so, turn on of the legs inside out, so that that good side of the fabric is turned inside, and the bad side and lining sits on the outside.
The other leg should not be turned inside-out, but should just have its good side on the outside.
Now, put the leg that has the good side out (the normal leg) into the leg that has the bad side out (the inside-out leg).
This way, the good sides of both legs will sit against each other, and this is how you should sew the cross seam.
Be careful that your leg is not twisted inside the other leg. When in doubt, turn the inside-out leg outside-out again after you've pinned the cross-seam to make sure it's all ok.
Pin the cross-seam in place, and then sew it close, starting at the side of the fly, and making sure to respect the seam allowance.
When done, press the seam allowance open.
### Step 37: Press the leg crease in place
Turn your trousers good side out, and carefully place one leg on your ironing board so that it lies flat and folds exactly on the crease line your basted earlier.
When it's looking good, press the crease lines in your leg, front a back. Repeat for the other leg.
Give it a firm press because you want the pleats to still be there after you wash your trousers (so you can see where to press them again).
In the industry, chemicals are applied along the crease line before it is pressed together. Some tailors use some sort of wooden hammer and anvil to bang the fibers in a permanent crease.
Depending on your fabric, your crease might last longer, but ultimately, you can't expect to have a crease that can withstand a few washes without being reapplied.
We are going to sew along the edge of the interfacing, but we will sew about 3mm or 1/8 inch from the actual interfacing edge. This will prevent the lining from being visible from the front later.
On one side of the waistband, end with a curve and then go down vertically along the edge of the waistband interfacing. Check the illustration to make sure you do it on the correct side.
### Step 41: Roll fabric around interfacing edge and press waistband
Before pressing the waistband, make sure to roll over the fabric around the edge of the interfacing.
Remember that in the previous step your sewed 3mm from the interfacing edge? You need to make the fold around the edge of the interfacing so that the actual seam sits 3mm more inwards.
This will make sure that our lining fabric is never on display from the front of your trousers.
### Step 42: Pin waistband to trousers
Pin the edge of your waistband (the side you did not sew the lining to) to the top of your trousers, good sides together.
Tuck the edge of your fly into the end of the waistband with the curved corner. On the other end of the waistband, it will be longer. In other words, your waistband will overlap here.
Be careful to match the vertical alignment of the waistband at the zip. With the zip closed, both sides of the waistband should sit at an equal height. This is easy to miss if you don't check it.
Now that the waistband is pinned to top of your trousers, sew it in place.
On the side with the curved corner, get as close to the edge as possible. On the other side, stop when you reach the edge of your fly.
### Step 44: Press waistband
Give your newly sewn seam a good press. Do not press the seam open, instead press it towards the top (put both trousers and waistband seam allowance in the waistband).
### Step 45: Prepare the belt loops
The belt loops are a part of your trousers where you can let your creativity run free. There's load of different ways to make and shape belt loops, not to mention that where you place them is also up to you.
That being said, here's what to do to make a standard belt loop:
Find the belt loop pattern part, a small rectangular piece of fabric. There should be 8 of them, and these will become your belt loops. For each of them, take these steps:
While the width of your belt loops is not all that important, it does matter to make sure they are all the same width.
To make it easier to have a consistent width, you can fold your belt loops around a strip of cardboard, thick paper, or plastic of the desired belt loop width.
This strip can also help you with the hand sewing. Keep it in your belt loop and it will prevent your needle from piercing through all layers and your thread won't show at the front.
It is important to get the waistband lining out of the way while doing this. Make sure to attach the belt loops only to your trousers, and not to the waistband lining.
You have 8 belt loops, so you need to distribute them around your waistband. Have a look at an existing pair if you are uncertain how to do this.
The waistband lining will be sewn from the front of the trousers on top of the seam that joins the waistband to the trousers (so called _stitch in the ditch_).
Doing so will catch the lining and secure it in place. However, since we'll be sewing this from the good side, the lining will lie beneath all other layers, and we won't see what we're doing.
That is why, to make sure it all lies clean and flat, we will first press and baste the lining.
The lining will extend downward from the top, and it needs to be folded back up under itself, so that it will get caught by the seam when we sew it in place later.
To make sure things look pretty, the distance between the top of our waistband and the (folded back) bottom edge of our lining should be constant. You can mark an even distance from the top of your trousers, and then pin back the lining at this line. Last but not least, press that fold in your lining.
When you're happy with how it looks, baste the lining in place just next to the seam joining the waistband and trousers.
It's best to baste next to the seam, and not actually in the seam. This will make it a lot easier to remove your basting when after we've sewn in the last step.
Don't sew through the top of the belt loops. You'll have to work the foot of your sewing machine under the belt loop so you only sew the piece that is folded back.
The hem ribbon is a ribbon that sits on the inside of your trouser hem. At the place your hem folds back, the fabric has to take a lot of abuse from bumping into shoes and other things.
Mark the hemline on your trousers (good side out).
Place the ribbon as shown in the illustration making sure that it extends a few mm above the hemline. Sew it in place all the way around the leg, making sure to sew close but not on the hemline.
### Step 54: Press the hem
Fold back the trouser legs at the hemline, and press the hem.
Hemming is done by hand because it's important that the stitches don't show on the front. So when hand-sewing the hem, don't push your needle through the fabric, but just catch a few threads so your stitches don't show on the front
While there are machine alternatives, they aren't as neat (blind hem stitch) or probably not accessible to the home-sewer (industrial blind hem machine).
