Trial pair of high waisted, no waistband trousers

[NigelW]

I have nearly completed my latest pair of trousers (the fourth wearable pair I have made).  Intended as a trial run before starting my three piece suit project, I used some lightweight worsted from a remnants shop.  The draft is an old-fashioned one with quite a close leg (centre of leg is 1/6 of the half seat measure from the fork, before the dress is taken out on one side), no pleats and no waistband.  I have tried ironwork to shape the legs but the cloth is not as forgiving as I had expected.  They are very comfortable to walk in but less comfortable to sit or lounge about in.

I made several mistakes in the the construction, but none so bad that they can't be worn.  Buttonholes and pockets too leave quite a bit to be desired in terms of neatness of finish.   I used the method of making up described in The Art of Garment Making, which involves a lot more hand sewing than modern methods.  The top buttonhole on the fly button catch was the wrong way round for a start!

[Dunc]

Your image seems to be broken.

[NigelW]

Your image seems to be broken.

I have changed the link - does this work now?

[Henry Hall]

It does work now. Shame about the buttonhole being the wrong way around. I applaud you for going the major hand-sewing route. I do this for trousers I make for myself, but it means I am much slower.

What do you think makes them not comfortable for sitting? The seat, lack of room at the thigh/hips when sitting?

[NigelW]

What do you think makes them not comfortable for sitting? The seat, lack of room at the thigh/hips when sitting?

I think it is the relatively closed leg.  When setting out the fronts modern drafts seem to place the centre line of the leg about 1/4 of the half seat measure from the fork whereas in this pair it is 1/6.  This gives a smarter appearance but less room for sitting down.

[NigelW]

This is my attempt to shape the leg.  I cut the backs about 1/2" longer from the knee to the bottom and the tops about 1/2" longer above the kneel and fulled them on, then used the iron to stretch the calfs and front thighs and shrink the opposite sides.  I haven't entirely managed to get rid of the wrinkles.

[Henry Hall]

With them being cut longer and fulled on AND stretched you've ended up with even more excess from the stretching now pushing into the fulled areas. dropping the back knee notches just a 1/4" would probably be better if you're doing that.

[NigelW]

Thanks for that.  I agree that the 1/2 inch was probably too much.  I had previously used this much on a pair of woollen cavalry twill trousers, based on a recommendation in an old article I found on this site on how to cope with prominent calves and thighs (mine are fairly, but not extremely prominent).  The twill was much more responsive to the iron than the worsted used here.

The cloth for the suit I want to make is a wool flannel with an overcheck so there will be no scope for messing about with different lengths between the front and back trouser seams; the lines will have to match!

[Dunc]

Well, that's not messing around! Good luck with the check. 

[Schneiderfrei]

Good luck NigelW,

I have not tried check cloth yet.

G