Woes of Drafty Pants...

Does anyone here have good experience with drafting pants patterns that turn out crisp? Pants and shorts have been the bane of my sewing existence only because I have never been able to understand how the crotch and inseam measurements work together. Even when I do have a pattern that is close, I'm at a loss at how to alter those two measurements so they don't bunch/have too much fabric and poof out.

 

This is a major factor why I don't even sew pants for myself, but Tamayuki (my DDM boy I'm getting soon) would not be pleased being stuck in dresses all the time because of my laziness. His clothing style will probably range from Regency through Edwardian, all of which have crisply fitted trousers.

 

Checking through my pattern drafting book for full sized clothing was a bit frustrating. There are a lot of seemingly arbitrary measurements that the author has you add, with no explanation on where the measurement came from. For example steps 1 & 2 for pants: #1 Draw length of outside leg measurement. #2 Add 7 inches... That's all fine and dandy, but where did she get that calculation? Why 7 in and not 5 in or even 9 in?

 

I'll gladly give more info if anyone has an answer for me.

 

Help!

 

~Sister Kyoya

For anyone who cares, I figured it out! I eventually realized that the 'arbitrary' measurements were based on average adult body measurements. So to make everything work to draft custom patterns those measurements just need to be divided. Tamayuki (MDD) is 1/4 scale, so I just divide the set measurements (in the book, not his own) by 4. I haven't done Yuriko's (DD) measurements yet but I'm assuming she's 1/3 scale so everything would be divided by 3. And then by further extension Tamayuki's dolly (EB Mini) might be 1/6 or 1/8 scale so I can get properly fitted pants for him eventually too! YAY!

 

I'm so happy that this works! I drafted Tamayuki's preliminary pants pattern yesterday and they went on with no problems the first time! I have a few more steps to go to have them fitted, just narrowing the waist and lower legs, and figuring out how I want to do an opening in the waist so they are removable. But I did it! Excuse my excitement, this is the first pattern I have drafted in this way and actually tested out, and it is the piece of clothing that I hate the most for altering patterns.

 

For those who have bought premade pants for their DD, how are the pants open at the waist? I would examine ours but we only bought a shirt with Velcro down the back, or an underwear set that either has elastic, or a hook & eye (for the bra), and sites like Volks don't like to photograph the 'ugly' side of the clothes. Do they have a working zipper like normal pants, or is it more like barbie pants where there is Velcro in the back, or is it normal looking in the front with an elastic waist at the back? I'm just really wondering what is the standard way that it is done for DD. And if you feel like putting up a pic of the pants closure, it would make me very happy.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Glad to hear the pants are working for you now.

 

I do have some DD pants from Volks and from Chun that I can take pics of if you want to see how they look. I'm not exactly sure what angles you want pics taken from tho so can you explain that a bit better?

 

 

Billy

All the Volks and Azone pants and shorts I have close with a zipper and snap, pretty much just like full scale pants. Some have a second snap in place of the zipper. No cheating on the back with extra Velcro closures or anything.

My apologies for the American Girl clothes pics, it's the only thing I had for a reference at the moment.

 

 

These are some pants I made that have a fake front, meaning that they look like normal jeans in the front, but they don't actually open at the zipper. Lack of a button on the waistband should make that obvious. Woops! Then there is the casing at the back for the elastic to help the pants fit better, but I didn't use it on this specific pair because the fabric was too thick and would have made it nearly useless.

 

 

Basically the elastic is only in the back making them easier to remove and put back on, even though AGs don't really have hips.

 

 

This skirt has the same fake front and the back has a bit of Velcro and a zipper instead of the elastic. Man, I think my boys are going to hate me, I keep sticking them in skirts. Ron just happened to be wearing the pants and it was easiest to just stick the skirt on him.

 

All I'm trying to figure out is how it is normally done on DD clothes, because their hips are much wider than their waists (like normal people) to not have an opening at the waist of skirts, pants, etc. Usually for doll clothes they can't have a working zipper in the front of jeans because the scale of it would be out of proportion, making the pants look weird. So usually the functional but frequently bulky opening at the waist is hidden in the back, making it the ugly side when it comes to taking photos.

 

So in short, pictures like the ones above of snugly fitting clothes would be very helpful!

 

All the Volks and Azone pants and shorts I have close with a zipper and snap, pretty much just like full scale pants. Some have a second snap in place of the zipper. No cheating on the back with extra Velcro closures or anything.

 

Could I have a pic, especially of the really small zippers? Also, does the top of the pants reach the bellybutton, or where does it fall? I was having trouble guessing where the waist measurement was on the DD and MDD because if I measured the smallest part like you are supposed to, Tamayuki would have a-line pants!

 

~Sister Kyoya

Well, hope this pics answer your questions! Aya is wearing the jeans from Yuki's casual wear coat and jeans set.

 

013 by galvatim, on Flickr

 

007 by galvatim, on Flickr

 

006 by galvatim, on Flickr

 

005 by galvatim, on Flickr

 

I have a couple more on my Flickr too.

Ah yes, this helps a lot, thank you Galvatim and Aya!

 

Now I need to locate where to find tiny zippers... I might actually have a catalog that sells them, but I'll have to double check what size they are. One of the reasons I'm trying to figure out the types of closures that the doll clothes use, is because I know that Velcro is the most common, but I really hate it because it attacks the clothes it is sewn onto. Even the overcast seams on the inside of Tamayuki's shirt have been pulled on a few times already from the Velcro going down the back.

 

~Sister Kyoya

You can buy tiny zippers from Volks USA.

 

http://www.volksusa.com/tools---materials-notions.html

You can buy tiny zippers from Volks USA.

 

http://www.volksusa.com/tools---materials-notions.html

Thank you! I totally forgot about that section.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Here's my Yuki Nagato modeling Puppy52 pants, which have a zipper. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of the zipper.

 

P1010501 by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

P1010503 by PrettyCranium, on Flickr

 

I'm sure you can email Chun (Puppy52) and ask about her sources, she's really friendly and helpful.

You might find this tutorial on DoA useful as well. I haven't tried it myself.

 

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?231385-Anyone-Can-Sew-Jeans-Tutorial-(All-sizes-Pattern-Free)

Here's my Yuki Nagato modeling Puppy52 pants, which have a zipper. Unfortunately, I don't have a pic of the zipper.

 

I'm sure you can email Chun (Puppy52) and ask about her sources, she's really friendly and helpful.

Even without the zipper pic, it's still helpful. Thank you, and I'll see about contacting her as well.

 

You might find this tutorial on DoA useful as well. I haven't tried it myself.

 

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/showthread.php?231385-Anyone-Can-Sew-Jeans-Tutorial-(All-sizes-Pattern-Free)

I really would like to see the tutorial, but I'm not a member of DOA so it won't let me.

 

~Sister Kyoya

Can you sign up on DoA? It's free. I tried copying and saving it for you, but it doesn't seem to want to do it.

Gina! The pants I made don't have a zipper XD I find that it adds bulk so the pants are closed together by a pair of snaps

Gina! The pants I made don't have a zipper XD I find that it adds bulk so the pants are closed together by a pair of snaps

 

D'Oh! I haven't changed Suzume out of the jeans in so long that I forgot how they were fastened. I can't help it, she looks so good in them.

Can you sign up on DoA? It's free. I tried copying and saving it for you, but it doesn't seem to want to do it.

This is a very belated reply, but at the moment DOA membership is by invite only. I know there is a thread around here having to do with that, but I get sidetracked every time I attempt to hunt it down.

 

Gina! The pants I made don't have a zipper XD I find that it adds bulk so the pants are closed together by a pair of snaps

Thank you for this clarification, it helps a lot. For doll clothes there are so many possible ways to go about some things that it can get confusing trying to decide on the best route.

 

~Sister Kyoya

I know I shouldn't be posting in a thread so old, but I'm so relieved that I have to tell someone. Ralph is now standing in a pinned, but properly draped pants draft. The lines on the fabric aren't going in directions they aren't supposed to and the side seams aren't twisted either. There is one small issue that I have to still fix but now I can finally be proud that I understand how to draft a pants pattern that isn't wonky.

 

I've been beating my head up against the wall for more than a week trying to accomplish this task, having to follow instructions and tutorials that make so many assumptions about the base level of knowledge and if you don't have any that you are using a commercial pattern, that you will be drafting them for a human, or that they are being made for a female. I couldn't even find a single pants draping video tutorial on how to get the crotch to fit properly if you weren't working from a commercial pattern. If the crotch is wrong, nothing else you do will turn out no matter how you fight with it.

 

Finally all the bits and bobs shifted into the correct compartment in my brain to figure out what exactly to do and what I needed so I could just start with a ruler, paper, and a pencil. It finally makes sense now on how the weird curves and everything fit together, and I didn't have to use someone else's formula that just won't work with anime proportions. The fly, pockets, and even the back yolk will seem like a breeze now. I can't believe I've had to battle with this for so many years...

 

~Sister Kyoya