Wir Aendern - Trousers Too Crooked

[Schneiderfrei]

Hi all,

I was very interested in the images that Schneidergott posted in the Bespeakers Forum recently:

"Trousers creasing below the seat."

I have taken the time to translate the first page and post it here in the Beginners Forum. 

Peterle has very kindly read over my effort and he has made a most excellent contribution to what you will see. Without his help I fear it might not have been much good.

It may, for some, read a little bit awkwardly at first but I prefer to always keep a translation as close to the sense of the original language.

I think it is a great contribution to understanding fitting and my intention is to do the same with the rest of the pages.

Too crooked undersides - insufficient iron work

The Origin of the Error

This Error Photo shows waistband trousers with heavy diagonal folds at the undersides below the butt area, the hems ugly swinging away from the shoes backwards.

Image 1: These trousers show excessively large diagonals along the sideseam and to the undersides in the gluteal region; also the pants are ugly at the bottom from the shoe.

This error isn't seen seldomly, but would be avoidable with some care.  It is not possible - even in trousers with wide bottom width - to sew the parts together without any ironwork (formbügeln) ; such carelessness will always takes its toll at the fit. In particular, as in this case, of a figure with protruding calfs.

The following differentiation arises in waistband trousers.

a) the customer prefers a rather or completely wrinkle free fit ("Fall" means something like drape) while standing.  This can be achieved without any special effort by the straighter seat angle.  He must not concern that trousers of this kind will feel tight onto the thighs and knees while walking or climbing stairs and natural wrinkles will form at the crotch and waistband area when sitting.

b) the customer (particularly corpulent men) prefers comfortable trousers that have enough room for movement even in the sitting position. Such pants should have a more crooked seat angle and the undersides have to be lengthened upwards. This kind of trousers will show more or less intensive folds in the butt area, which can not be considered an error but are natural.

In most cases, therefore, one strikes the golden mean.

Our Changes:

The trousers first have to be taken apart at the inside seam, the side seam and at the seatseam.  The seatseam then has to be extended at the waistseam/center back about 2-3 cm, there should be enough inlay available. To maintain the same waist width, this amount must be gradually removed at the side-seam.

The waistseam height of the undersides is shortened about 1 cm at the seatseam.

Image 2: At the undersides the seat seam was extended at the top about 2 – 3 cm, the same amount is removed at the sideseam; the band height is shortened about 1 cm at the back, the crotchpoint is extended about 1 cm.

Image 3:The ironwork to the trousers— especially for lesser leg width — takes place in a diagonal direction; thus giving the cloth a lighter and more durable result.


The crotch point is extended by 1 cm smoothing in to the inseam gradually in these trousers.

With Figure 3 we show a schematic of iron shaping of the trousers. According to experience with bias iron work it is not recommended  to stretch the fabric in warp or weft direction, because here the material only gives insufficiently: Top and undersides should be formed severely in the marked bias direction  to achieve the necessary calf shape for the undersides.

When there is enough inlay, the seams can be let out to 1-1.5 cm at calf height running up and down in a curved shape. When ironing the seams and in finish ironing the trousers this fullness for the calf must always lie towards the side seam at the necessary height. Experienced professional colleagues baste a small vertical fold here that will be opened and ironed smooth after ironing out the pants, so that this fullness for the lateral calf shape lies exactly in the correct place.

Figure 4 illustrates such an iron-formed trousers.  The amount of iron work is determined by the existing body shape and material type.

Image 4: The iron-worked topsides and undersides were brought together and reattached at the sideseam and crotchseam.


Now first the sideseam and then the inseam gets sewn. For control the trouser leg with basted side- and inseam should be put on the table to lie flat, in a form that the side seam forms the fold. Thus it can be judged whether the seams are put together in the right way or whether small diagonal pulls are formed at the inseam, especially upwards, suggesting an incorrect attaching of the seams.

By these alterations of the undersides to the seat seam, the crotch seam and to the band height, the diagonal folds in the gluteal region were eliminated. The newly applied curved side seam creates plenty of room at the calf bulge.

In the direction indicated by the arrow in Figure 4, the pants obtained the correct shape and sufficient length.