And another pair... with a mini tutorial

I'm in sewing mode around all of the nasty allergies. It's been particularly bad this year between the drought and the wind, and everything seems to have pollen hanging all over the place.

But this weekend I actually had a clear enough head to add another pair of navy trousers to my rotation. It's a linen, and was wonderful to sew and I'm sure will be wonderful to wear. I love linen when it's hot outside.

I used my typical Don McCunn pants draft for the trousers, but with this pair I added in the David Paige Coffin in-seam pocket instead of my usual quarter pockets. A friend mentioned that the instructions in his book were confusing to her, and since they were to me too... and yes, the pockets were completed before I realized I'd not moved them in quite far enough and they would be caught in the seams effectively leaving me with no pockets. As I ripped them out and resewed, I went ahead and wrote up my own mini-tutorial on them.

I don't think I'm stepping on David Paige Coffin's toes with my tutorial. BUT... if you don't have his books, Making Trousers, and Shirtmaking, and you ever sew either, buy them! They're wonderful and give more information than you'll ever find without tons of really extensive research on the web!

Making Trousers:  http://www.amazon.com/Making-Trousers-Men-Women-Multimedia/dp/1589234499/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1405996635&sr=8-1-spell
It's available for Kindle but with the paperback you also get a DVD.

Shirtmaking: http://www.amazon.com/Shirtmaking-Developing-Skills-Fine-Sewing-ebook/dp/B00243GMOO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405996635&sr=8-1&keywords=David+Paige+coffin

I've probably learned almost as much from these two books as the entire rest of my library!

So... long and picture heavy, but here goes:

Inseam pockets ala David Paige Coffin

When cutting your pants, be sure to cut a “pocket outlet piece” that extends 1 1/4” past the normal seam allowance. AKA a strip that is 5/8” past the edge of the pants with a 5/8” seam allowance by about 7 ½” long.

Interface the pocket flap to about ¼” past the pocket opening with fusible tricot or a soft interfacing.

Place pocket piece wrong side to wrong side of pants front with edge of pocket lining up with side seams. Secure in place with pins or hand baste. Mark in 1 ¼” from pocket edge towards center front, and in 5/8” from edge of flap on the pocket piece, making a cross.  

Cut along seam allowances from top and bottom of flap to 5/8” mark and then cut in to the edge of the cross mark. (5/8” inch from the edge of the pants seam allowance.) You can curve if desired as per the first photo, or just cut straight.

Sorry this one is really out of focus! 

Fold in the flap over the cut pieces. Press into place. Be sure to check that it is offset from the edge by a fat 5/8” to avoid catching it in the side seam.

Zig Zag flaps onto pocket bag only, being sure not to catch pants front in stitching.

Turn pocket to inside and press well. Topstitch along pocket edge. Press again to set stitching.

Place remaining pocket piece right side up under front piece matching waist and side seams.Flip pants front up to show pocket bags. I like to press the pocket bags flat at this point. Pin pocket bags together. Don’t worry if seams don’t align exactly.

Stitch pocket bags together. Finish seams with overlock or tight zig zag stitch. Press.

Baste pockets to side seams and waist seam. If desired, bartack pocket at top and bottom to avoid pulling apart. (This is the first time I've done this, and it looks like it to me!) 

Move on to zipper installation and finish those pants!

Hope this is helpful and you also get some amazing pants for your wardrobe plans!

More later!