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First attempt at sewing a pair of trousers - please help!!!!
shalloon Beginner UNITED KINGDOM Member since 7/25/12 Posts: 11	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 7/27/12 6:33 AM OK, this is my first attempt at sewing a pair of trousers, and please forgive me, I want to scream. Really loudly. My first attempt was with a simple drawstring trousers from New Look. I gave up in frustration after two tries, because the pattern would have required extensive alterations I really don’t want to make (I’m just a beginner). Current attempt is with a simple drawstring trousers from a Mc Calls pattern. No darts, no closure to speak of, 4 pieces only. I’m sewing this (well, attempting to) in black cotton muslin (no right and wrong side, which I thought would make things easier). So I folded my fabric, cut out my pieces. Patterns instructions: 1. sew the back to the front at inner leg join. OK, done. 2. Stich crotch seam. So I laid my two pieces (the joined up front to back) on top of one another, front against front and back againt back, so that the curves matched, and started sewing. Then I realised that both pieces had the seam facing towards me (as opoposed to both seams being outside), so I painstainkingly unpicked what I had done. Then I tried to lay the pieces so that both seans are inside facing (ie wrong side out/ right side in). But when I do that, that means that the curves don’t match any more. The only way to have the curves matching is to lay it out the way I did originally. Surely this can’t be right? Could somebody explain to me what is happening, what I did wrong, and what I should have done to avoid this? I don’t suppose it’s fixable? Thanks in advance for your help!
misschris AUSTRALIA Member since 2/3/06 Posts: 1324	Login to reply to this post In reply to shalloon << 2 members like this. Date: 7/27/12 6:44 AM Even though your fabric may not have a right or wrong side, it's important to make sure you keep the 4 pieces (in this case) facing the correct way when you sew them. You need a right and left of both front and back, and it sounds like you may have sewn one pair wrong sides together, giving you 2 legs the same ( two left or two right). It's a good idea on fabric like this to mark the wrong sides when you cut them out. Some chalk or a piece of tape will suffice. ETA you can fix this by ripping out the seams on one piece, reversing the pieces and restitching. -- Edited on 7/27/12 6:47 AM -- ------ chris Melbourne
BeeBeeSew Advanced Beginner MD USA Member since 12/13/07 Posts: 825	Login to reply to this post 1 member likes this. Date: 7/27/12 8:02 AM To sew the crotch seam, after assembling both legs you put one leg inside the other so that their right sides are together. You should end up seeing the wrong side of one leg and the other leg is now inside that leg and if you take a peek inside the tube you should see the wrong side of that one. Wrong side means you see the seam allowances. And sew up the crotch from one side of the U to the other. Like misscriss said, even if both sides of your fabric look alike there is still a right/wrong side for making the garment come together. It actually may have been easier to pick a fabric with a very distinct wrong side. Also black is really hard to see your stitches to unpick. Hang in there, we've all done this. And at much more experienced levels than a raw beginner. It may help you to visualize if you grab a pair of pants you own and play around with how the pieces actually fit together. Try making the tube I described above by turning them inside out and shoving one leg inside the other. You should get a nice visual of the U crotch. This works on either drawstring or zip slacks.
QuiltSewSewSue Intermediate AUSTRALIA Member since 4/28/08 Posts: 2769	Login to reply to this post In reply to misschris << Like this post Date: 7/27/12 8:40 AM I am with Misschris on this one. Basically you have sewn two right legs or two left legs when you need one of each. They need to be a mirror image of each other. Follow Misschris's advice and you will be right... best of luck with it... ------ Sue (Toowoomba Qld) Love to sew.... http://quiltsewsewsue.blogspot.com/
Marie367   Intermediate OH USA Member since 5/28/11 Posts: 1347	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 7/27/12 10:44 AM On no! It sounds like something is sewn wrong. Modern directions can be confusing. The way I learned to sew pants (and the way I still sew most pants this way) is that I sew center back and center front seams first, then side seams, then you can lay the pants down and see how to sew the inseam. It is harder to adjust the crotch seam doing it this way but it is much easier for a beginner sewer. You can at least see what you are sewing. Sew up and both the side seam and the inseam from the bottom up.
shalloon Beginner UNITED KINGDOM Member since 7/25/12 Posts: 11	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 7/27/12 4:05 PM Ah, thank you all so much for the help and encouragement! I needed that! I guess I'll be extra careful next time...for this one, I just couldn't bear unpicking a whole leg seam (not on that fabric! way too fiddly!!! and, yes, it probably would have been easier to pick up a fabric with a definite right and wrong side - lesson learned!), so I just went ahead, and finished the trousers (which are pretty much The Ugliest Pair OF Pants Ever, but never mind), and I'll just pretend that having the seam on the outside is a, you know, design feature. Ahem. Will try the leg inside one another trick too - but I tried that on the New Look one I attempted before this one, and I ended up with half of the trousers being shorter at the waist than the other one (the waistline at the back on those is much higher than the waistline at the front), but know I'm thinking I might have done the same thing again and sewn two right (or left) legs. Oh well. Lots of lessons learned, hopefully. Thanks again! :-)
Silk Challis Advanced UNITED KINGDOM Member since 10/15/08 Posts: 129	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 7/27/12 4:15 PM I agree with misschris and QuiltSewSewSue: it sounds like you have sewn two right legs or two left legs. This can and does happen to anyone, no matter how expert they are. If you accept my advice, choose a fabric which is not of a dark color. It makes easier to see your stitches in case you have to undo them. And as suggested above mark the right and wrong side so you do not end up with two pieces of the same side.
shalloon Beginner UNITED KINGDOM Member since 7/25/12 Posts: 11	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 7/27/12 4:27 PM Ah, but, see, I only wear dark colours....and I only want to sew what I'll want to wear... :) But yeah, marking the fabric some way, so that there is a right and wrong side, even when there isn't, that's definitely something I should do.
Silk Challis Advanced UNITED KINGDOM Member since 10/15/08 Posts: 129	Login to reply to this post In reply to shalloon << Like this post Date: 7/27/12 4:36 PM Quote: shalloon I only want to sew what I'll want to wear... :) I couldn't agree more!
Silk Challis Advanced UNITED KINGDOM Member since 10/15/08 Posts: 129	Login to reply to this post In reply to shalloon << 1 member likes this. Date: 7/27/12 4:43 PM Quote: shalloon and I'll just pretend that having the seam on the outside is a, you know, design feature. Ahem. If you can take at least 1 cm (3/8") in per seam, you can transform that seam into a french seam and restore the look of the right side of the trousers. Do not forget to take in the other leg too. If you cannot, you can always do something pretty with that inside-out seam. You are the designer there. A nice finish of the seam allowance or an applied contrasting band or lace or even sequins... my creative side is going into overdrive now!

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