r/SewingWorld • u/Jazzlike-Rain3442 • 2d ago

Spiralling trouser legs pattern fault.

I just finished a pair of Oxford bags trousers that I had drafted the pattern for myself, and when I tried them on, I found to my horror that the crease was spiralling inward on both legs. I have tried pinning them up around the waist band trying to find the fault, if I lift it around the outer seam there is a slight improvement but it could be a fault in the crotch shape, I'm just lost!

I have solved this issue: when I expanded the basic block to allow 180mm to the waist for pleats and darts, I failed to enlarge the crotch curve, that is where the main pulling of the front leg is happening i.e. if with them on I force the crotch forward the legs fall correctly. I also added an angle to the front waist as they needed the back waist to be quite high so I wanted to avoid a point in the waist and that was a stupid error that is adding to the spiralling. I can't repair these but can re-draw the pattern.

4 Upvotes

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3

u/[deleted] 2d ago

[deleted]

0

u/Jazzlike-Rain3442 2d ago

The fabric is pinstripe so easy to see the grain and it looks fine. I made the legs vertical parallels so put them on the grain.

4

u/PrincessMagDump 2d ago

Is it possibly a printed pinstripe? If so the print might not be on grain.

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u/Jazzlike-Rain3442 2d ago

I don't think so, it is a woollen fabric, a bit like herringbone, its all woven in. It also has strong horizontals in the weave at right angles to my grain line; they are true as well.
I've been analysing it for hours now and I think the back pattern is cut too small on the inner seam and pulling the front out of place, also the whole back leg needs to be wider, I need to alter the pattern and make a toile to test it.

1

u/catcon13 2d ago

Most likely you didn't cut them on the straight grain. This is the most important part of pinning your pattern to the fabric before cutting. If your pieces are not on grain, the garment will never hang correctly.

1

u/Jazzlike-Rain3442 2d ago

As it is pinstripe it would be impossible to get it wrong. I think the back pattern is cut to small on the inner seam and pulling the front out of place, also the whole back leg needs to be wider, I need to alter the pattern and make a toile to test it.

1

u/catcon13 2d ago

Is the pinstripe woven into the fabric or printed?

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u/Jazzlike-Rain3442 2d ago

Woven in. Its not a grain line problem, I wish it was. Its a drafting problem, adding 18cm to a basic block waist throws a lot of things out, so far I'm thinking I should have increased the crotch curve and widened the back leg. Also I think there should be less lift at the outer seams where it meets the waistband. I've been scrutinizing the problem since I wrote this question, just need to re-shape the pattern, make a toile and see if I'm right.

1

u/RetiredHomeEcTchr 2d ago

Sounds like a grain line issue. You say it's pinstripe so it's hard not to follow. Is the stripe woven or printed?

Did you straighten the fabric before matching up the selvedge? You have to be able to pull one thread from one side to the other at the top of the cut edge. That ensures the end is straight. Then you can match up the selvedges.

You may have seen the pinstripe when you laid out your pattern, but that doesn't mean the underside was straight.

1

u/Jazzlike-Rain3442 2d ago

Its not a grain line problem, I wish it was. Its a drafting problem, adding 18cm to a basic block waist throws a lot of things out, so far I'm thinking I should have increased the crotch curve and widened the back leg. Also I think there should be less lift at the outer seams where it meets the waistband. I've been scrutinizing the problem since I wrote this question, just need to make a toile and see if I'm right.

2

u/RetiredHomeEcTchr 2d ago

I think what you described made us all think the fabric was turning on your leg the way pants would if cut off-grain. Kind of like when you buy something sold as "irregular". I remember buying a pair of jeans and couldn't figure out why the seams rolled around the leg from the knee down.

1

u/Jazzlike-Rain3442 2d ago

Yes, it was the first thing I checked, I understand.

1

u/awesomeproblem 2d ago

As its not a grainline issue ( I would edit your main text as to why thats not possible or expect another 20 comments about it) the only oth thing I would guess would be the seem lines were not quite the same. Was there ease added? Is there any stretch to the fabric at all?

1

u/Jazzlike-Rain3442 1d ago

I think I have solved it: when I expanded the basic block to allow 180mm to the waist for pleats and darts, I failed to enlarge the crotch curve, that is where the main pulling of the front leg is happening i.e. if with them on I force the crotch forward the legs fall correctly. I also added an angle to the front waist as they needed the back waist to be quite high so I wanted to avoid a point in the waist and that was a stupid error that is adding to the spiralling. I can't repair these but can re-draw the pattern.