511 lines
16 KiB
Text
511 lines
16 KiB
Text
---
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title: 'Charlie chinos: Sewing Instructions'
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---
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## Step 1: Close the back dart
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First thing we're going to do is close the waist dart on the back panel.
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To do so, fold the back panel double with _good sides together_ making sure to
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match both sides of the dart on top of each other.
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Now sew the dart close, making sure to use a small stitch length, and to sew
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all the way to the end of the dart, even a couple of stitches off the fabric.
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:::tip
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Your back darts should be of equal length. Make sure to sew them precisely.
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:::
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## Step 2: Construct the back pockets
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Follow [our double welt pocket instructions](/docs/sewing/double-welt-pockets/)
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to create the back welt pockets.
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Since these are chinos, you can/should edgestitch around the welt opening.
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It's not strictly required for welt pockets, and typically not done on classic
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trousers (and thus not shown in the instructions) but it's a very typical
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finish for chinos, and makes it easier to keep everything in place.
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### Attach the back pocket facing to the pocket bag
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Join the back pocket facing to the pocket bag by placing them with _good sides
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together_ and sewing along the longest of the non-curved seams of the facing.
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When you're done, press the seam allowance to the side of the pocket bag.
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### Attach the back pocket bag
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Sew the bottom of the pocket bag to the bottom welt. Press it down when done.
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Now align the top of the pocket bag with the waist and sew it down in the
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waist's seam allowance.
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### Close the pocket back
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Fold the leg panel out of the way so you can close both sides of the pocket
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bag.
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:::tip
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Make sure to also sew the pocket welts down on the pocket bag
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:::
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You should overlock/serge the sides of the pocketbag so they don't ravel.
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:::tip
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If you don't have a _serger_ you can always use a zig-zag stitch instead.
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:::
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## Step 3: Overlock the front and back edges
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Before we go any further, we'll overlock/serge the edges of the front and back
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panels of the legs. Make sure to also catch the top of the pocket bag when
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doing the back panels.
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What we want to to prevent these edges from ravelling after we've completed our
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trousers, and now is the best time to do so.
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## Step 4: Construct the front pocket opening
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The front pockets are a little unusual because they have the appearance of
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classic slanted pockets, but are constructed on the side seam.
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### Attach the front pocket facings to the pocket bags
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We have two front pocket bags, that each have two pieces of facing to attach to
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them.
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Align them with _good sides together_ (\*) and sew the facing in place.
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:::warning
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(\*) With a pocket bag, it's not so obvious what the good side should be.
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Do you want the good side to be what you feel when you put your hand in your
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pocket? Or do you want it to be what you see when your trousers lie on the
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floor with their insides showing.
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There's no right or wrong answer here. You do you.
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(The images in these instructions assume that the good side of the
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fabric is on the inside of the pocket.)
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:::
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### Mark the pocket notch on pocket facing, and front and back leg panels
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There's a notch on both front and back leg panels that indicates up to what
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point the pocket facing should be attached to the side seam.
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Make sure to transfer this notch to both the (edge of the) pocket facing and
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the front trouser leg, since it's important we match them.
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### Pin or base the pocket to the front and back leg panel
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Both on the front and the back leg panel, we're going to sew the pocket facing
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to the side seam.
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However, this needs to be precise, so you really want to make sure you either
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pin or baste it in place.
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:::tip
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Start with the front, since that's the easier seam. Once you've got some
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practice, you can do the back
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:::
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### Sew the front pocket in place
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Sew from the waist down right until the notch that indicates where to stop.
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### Press the front pocket slant
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Now press the slant of the front pocket, both on the back and front panel, so
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that it's a sharp crease.
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## Step 5: Close the outseam
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### Baste the front pockets shut
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I strongly advise you to baste the pocket shut/in place before sewing this seam
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so that you know it's precise.
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Closing the outseam means to place front and back panel with good sides
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together, and sew the outer seam. That's easy enough at the legs, but at the
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top we have our pocket, which complicates things.
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### Sew the top of the outer seam until the top notch of the pocket slant
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Make sure everything is neatly aligned. Then sew from the top of the waist down
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to the top notch (this is just over a cm or half an inch).
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### Sew the bottom of the outer seam from the bottom notch of the pocket slant
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Now move to the bottom notch of the pocket slant, and sew from there all the
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way to the bottom of the legs.
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### Press the outer seam open
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When you're done, make sure to press the seam allowance open along the leg.
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Don't press the pocket, we already did that.
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## Step 6: Finish the front pocket bag
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### Sew pocket bag close inside-out
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With our pocket opening constructed and outer seam closed, we should now finish
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the pocket bag.
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Pull the pocket bag out so that it dangles on the outside of the trouser leg.
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Then place both halves together and either use a serger to finish the edge, or
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sew closely to the edge.
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Make sure you end up at the point where the bottom part of the outer seam
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starts.
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### Finish pocket bag edge
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When you're done, you can flip the pocket bag back to the inside of the trouser
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leg.
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Our pocket bag is now closed, but when we put our hand in it, you can feel the
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raw edge of the seam allowance. To avoid that, topstitch along the edge of the
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pocket bag, locking in the seam allowance.
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:::tip
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If your seam allowance is wide, you might want to trim it back first.
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:::
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## Step 7: Bar-tack the pocket opening
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At the place the leg down with the good side up, making sure the pocket bag
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lies flat and towards the front panel.
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Now at the top and bottom of the pocket opening, place a bar-tack perpendicular
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to the outer seam.
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## Step 8: Close the inseam
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With our front pockets finished, close the inseam of both legs.
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When you're done, press open the inseam.
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## Step 9: Close the crossseam
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:::tip
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Double check that your right and left legs match the pattern markings. The
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right leg's crotch should extend slightly beyond the left. Refer to the pattern
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and cut excess on the left leg if necessary.
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It can be valuable to mark with chalk or thread mark the **Center Front** on
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each leg. This will help you make sure the pieces are in the right place during
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fly construction.
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:::
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Make sure one leg is turned with the good side out, and the other has the good
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side in.
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Now tuck the leg with the good side out inside the leg that has the good side
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in. This way, they have their good sides against each other.
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Align the cross seam, starting at the back waist, pinning both halves together
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as you make your way towards the fly. **Stop at the fly notch** and makes sure
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to back-stitch.
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When you're done. Do it again. Always sew the cross seam twice. It's one of
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those best practices you ignore at your own peril.
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:::tip
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Take extra care to carefully align the seams where both legs have their back
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and front panels joined together. Doing so will ensure your cross seam results
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with a perfectly aligned _cross_ where 4 pattern parts meet each other in a
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single point.
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Getting it just right is one of those things you'll end up cherishing each time
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you wear these.
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:::
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## Step 10: Construct the fly
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### Close the fly extension and serge
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Fold the fly extension on its fold line with good sides together.
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Now sew along the bottom, to close the fly extension.
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Trim back one half of the seam allowance to remove bulk before turning it good
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side out and pressing.
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#### Serge the fly extension and fly facing
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Serge (or zig-zag) along the open side of the fly extension. No need to serge
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the top as that will get caught in our waistband.
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while you're at it, also serge along the entirety of the fly facings J-shaped
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edge.
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### Attach the fly facing
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Sew fly facing to left leg. You will be sewing slightly past the cross seam
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point, so be careful to keep the right leg seam allowance out of the way and
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aim to sew directly on top of the cross seam line.
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### Finish the fly facing
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Trim the fly facing to half of the seam allowance. Tuck in the tip of the fly
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facing and secure it with a few stitches. Edge stitch the fly facing to the
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seam allowance. Press the seam allowance toward the facing and understitch the
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facing for a clean finish. Again, keeping the right leg seam allowance out of
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the way.
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### Edge stitch the zipper to the fly extension
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:::tip Zipper Length
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It's a good idea to ensure your zipper stop ends before the indicated stitch
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line on the pattern. This will ensure you don't sew over your zipper stop and
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reduces tension on the bottom of the fly. If your zipper is too long, you can
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do a 0 length zig zag stitch to create a new stop (on just the zipper itself).
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:::
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Edge stitch along the left edge of the zipper to the serged edge of the fly
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extension to hold it in place.
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### Top stitch the right leg to the zipper
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Start by pressing the right leg seam allowance to the back.
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:::tip
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Remember that the seam allowance starts slightly right of the center front, the
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center front is marked in purple in the image, make sure you don't fold along
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the center front line by mistake.
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:::
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Ensure you place the folded edge of the right leg just left of the zipper teeth
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to prevent fabric from being caught in the zipper.
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Stop sewing at the top 'fly extension' notch, slightly above the cross seam,
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and be sure to backstitch. If you don't do this you won't be able to keep the
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extension out of the way when sewing the J-Seam.
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### Attach the zipper to the fly facing.
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Be careful to align the leg left on the right center front. It can be valuable
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to pin or baste through the facing and right side of the zipper tape. (We need
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to sew the left side of the zipper tape to the left leg). Ensuring everything
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is lined, sew the fly facing to the left side of the zipper. Try to get close
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to the zipper, but not too close.
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### Sew the J-seam of the fly
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:::tip
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Use a piece of paper as a guide to sew the J seam, this can be cut from your
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pattern along the indicated stitch line.
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:::
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Now topstitch the so-called J-seam of the fly. Make sure to keep the fly
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extension out of the way. Since you didn't sew all the way along the fly
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extension, you should be able to pin it out of the way.
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#### Bar tack the bottom of the fly
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Now, bartack the very bottom of the J-seam (the horizontal part) but this time
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make sure to also catch the fly extension. You can choose to add an additional
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bar tack along the J-Seam as well (shown in purple).
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## Step 11: Attach the belt loops
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### Construct the belt loops
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:::note
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For efficiency, we will construct one long strip of belt loop that we'll divide
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into 8 parts.
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:::
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Cut a strip 80cm long (32 inch) and 2.8cm wide (1 1/8 inch).
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Serge (or zigzag) the long edge of the strip on both sides.
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Fold one side inwards, and the other side over it. Then press down with your
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iron. The end result should be a long strip about 1cm wide.
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Now sew along the entire length of the strip, smack in the middle of it.
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Make sure to use a generous stitch length for this.
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Finally, cut your length belt loops strip into 8 equal parts to make 8 belt loops.
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### Attach the belt loops
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We're going to divide our belt loops along the waist:
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- 2 at the center back, each set aside a bit from the center so there's a small
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gap between them.
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- 1 above the back dart on each side
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- 1 on each side more or less where the side seam would hit the waist if it
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went straight up
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- 1 on each side from center front. Not too close to each other so there's no
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room for belt buckles, but not too far either so it doesn't look weird
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Place the belt loop at these places with their good side down (against the good
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side of the fabric of your trousers, and the top aligned with the waist) Sew
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this down in the seam allowance of the waist, making sure that they are
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perpendicular to the waistband.
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## Step 12: Attach the waist band
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### Assemble curved waistband
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If you're making a straight waistband, skip directly to attaching the waistband
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to the outside.
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Place both waistbands with good sides together, and sew along the top of the
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waistband (the shorter edge).
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Trim the seam allowance of the inner waistband, and press all seam allowances
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towards the inner waistband.
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You can now treat your assembled waistband as one piece, and continue as for
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the straight waistband.
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:::tip
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To make sure your inner waistband doesn't peek out, you can _understitch_. Sew
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a line of stitching on the inside waistband, close to the edge, through the
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inner waistband and seam-allowances (but not the outer waistband!).
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:::
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### Attach the waist band to the outside
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Place the waistband with good sides together along the waist. For the straight
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waistband, make sure the side with the standard seam allowance is aligned with
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the waist, and not the side with double seam allowance.
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Also make sure to leave sufficient seam allowance beyond the start and end of
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the waistband.
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Sew along the entirety of the waist, attaching the waist band and sewing down
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the belt loops in one go.
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### Press the waistband seam and fold the waistband
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Press the seam you just sewed, pressing the seam allowance up into the
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waistband.
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Now fold over the waistband at the correct width and press in the crease.
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### Close the start and end of the waistband.
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At the start and end, fold the waistband over so it has its good sides
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together.
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Now sew the end shut by sewing top to bottom to just the point where the
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waistband seam ends.
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Trim back the seam allowance a bit so you can tuck it all into the waistband
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later.
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### Baste the waistband in place
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The waistband has extra seam allowance here, and we're going to use that to our
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advantage.
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Fold the waistband in the fold you pressed. Then on the inside, fold the seam
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allowance inwards, making sure to let it run a few mm beyond the waistband
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seam.
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You want to baste this in place so it stays put as you make your way around the
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waistband.
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At the start and end of the waistband, you'll need to tuck in some more seam
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allowance. Take a moment to get it right.
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### Sew the waistband close
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Now with the good side up, sew exactly in the seam that was sewn before (so
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called _stitch in the ditch_).
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This will catch the back of the waistband which we've made to extend slightly
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further, and lock all the seam allowance inside.
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## Step 13: Finalize the belt loops
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### Sew the belt loops down to make them wider
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It's best to make the belt loops a bit wider than the waistband, to accommodate
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wider belts.
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For this, let the waistband lie flat, and sew it down with a bartack 1.5cm or
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so (half an inch) below the waistband.
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### Fold upwards, down again, and sew down
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Now fold the belt loops upwards (hiding the bartack you just did).
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They'll extend beyond the top of the waistband. So fold the excess down again.
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Don't fold it over/around the waistband, but fold it double on itself.
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Now do a bartack along the top of the waistband to lock the belt loop in place.
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When you're done, carefully twist the back of the beltloop to the front and cut
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off the excess right next to the bartack.
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:::tip
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Be careful not to bartack the front of your trousers to the back.
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Double-check you don't have any extra layers under your needle because
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unpicking a bartack is no joy.
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:::
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## Step 14: Hem the pants
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Fold the hem allowance halfway up, and press.
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Then fold them again, and press again.
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Finalize by hand and blind hem your trousers.
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## Step 15: Button on buttonhole
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Create a buttonhole. Either by hand (it's worth practicing) or with a machine.
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Finally, attach the button.
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Now take a moment to appreciate all the hard work you did.
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We hope you'll get a lot of use out of these.
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