Pattern Hacks: Wide Leg Trousers

It has taken me too long to find the time to make this hack - I know! While the rest of the world (myself included) moved onto pastures new in terms of leg shape, my patterns stayed firmly in tapered-leg-territory.

It's probably because I don't often get time to sew for myself. However, when I do, I never make tapered trousers. So here is how I hacked The Dan ezp® Jumpsuit sewing pattern to include wide leg trousers.

I ended up making my wide leg jumpsuit in a supple TENCEL jersey from MeetMILK. And let me tell you - it is a dream. Not the most fun to sew with - I must admit that I resorted to finishing it with just my overlocker because I was on a tight time frame and my sewing machine was not working with me that day! I don't have tonnes of experience with sewing knits as I prefer the structure of a woven (I like not wearing a bra but can't really not wear a bra, if you know what I mean!) But this feels like an absolute dream and is so comfy to wear. LOVE!

The pattern runs from a U.K. 6 to a 38 (US 2 to 34, EU 34 to 66). I made a U.K. 10 and (obviously) adjusted the trouser shape but I also adjusted the top quite considerably. I'll write another blog post about this, because I think it could be useful if you want to make a sleeveless version of The Dan ezp® Jumpsuit sewing pattern.

Let's get going then!

How wide do you want your trousers to be?

There are 2 ways of doing this - eyeballing it with a tape measure (to start with) or using a pair of trousers you already own as a 'block'. I really like the shape of these jeans I already own, so I decided to use them as my block (or basic shape).

If I wanted to eyeball it, I would take my tape measure, loop it around my leg and hold it to the width I think I might like. Then, if I wanted any shaping eg a flare, I'd adjust the width at various lengths. Otherwise for a straight leg style, I'd use the same measurement the whole length of the leg, which I have done below.

I started with the front of the jeans - the front and back are different shapes because the front and back of your body are different shapes!

I measured the width of the leg of the jeans at the x-point (the crotch) to make sure there would be enough room for the seat (my bum).

I then measured at the knee point (helpfully very clear because the denim has stretched slightly here) and again at the hem.

I increased this by 2cm (just less than 3/4in) for the seam allowance - so there's 1cm / 3/8in for the seam either side of the pattern piece.

Now we need to repeat this for the back of the trousers. It will be a few centimetres wider.

I find it easier to measure from the front again, but to measure the difference you can see from the front. So it would be the measurements from the front pattern piece PLUS the difference to the seams, as below.

So first, I measure at the X-point (crotch), making sure to include the extra fabric that I can see when they are folded.

So I want to make the back pattern piece 33cm / 13in...

PLUS 2.5cm / 0.9" (35.5cm / 14in)

PLUS 1.5cm / 0.6in (37cm / 14.6in)

PLUS 2cm (just less than 3/4in) seam allowance (1cm / 3/8in each side) - so the total width at the X-point needs to be 39cm / 15.3in.

In the photo below you can see that there's about 1.5cm on the left and 1cm on the right, so I will roughly add 2-3cm to the leg width measurements from the front pattern piece at the knee and hem points of the back trouser pattern piece too.

Adjusting a paper sewing pattern pattern for wide leg trousers

Now that we know how wide we want our trouser legs to be, we're going to transfer those measurements to the paper pattern!

If you can, make these changes to the paper pattern before you cut it, then you only have to cut once!

We're going to start with the back of the trousers.

I have traced my pattern (U.K. size 10) because I'm using my commercial patterns, not the printed pattern piece.

Make sure that you draw the grainline AND the centre-point of the pattern piece, the knee point (roughly around the notch on the pattern!) and any other notches.

Then I calculate the difference between the leg width I have currently and the leg width I want. Don't forget that seam allowance is included in my patterns, but we need to add on seam allowance to the total measurement we want to achieve.

You can see that at the knee the width of the UK size 10 pattern piece is 26.5cm / 10.4in (including seam allowance) and I want it to be 30cm / 11.8in PLUS 2cm / 3/8in seam allowance either side, so 32cm / 12.6in. This gives us a difference of 5.5cm / 2.2in.

Because I want these to be a straight leg style, I want this to be equally divided between both sides of the pattern. So I'll divide the difference of 5.5cm / 2.5in by 2 and add this either side of the centre-point of the pattern. The arrow below shows the centre point.

The centre-point of the pattern is 13.4cm / 5.4in from the edge for this size and I want to increase that to 16cm / 6.2in. I make a dot perpendicular (at 90 degrees) to the grainline, 16cm / 6.2in from the centre-point on either side of the pattern piece.

And the other side of the pattern piece at the knee:

I just add dots on the paper at this stage, I don't draw any lines - I want to make sure that I'm happy with the general shape before I add too many confusing lines.

I'm now going to repeat this process for the width of the leg at the hem:

The centre-point of the pattern piece is the same, of course, so I'll add dots either side of the pattern piece, 16cm / 6.2in from this centre line.

We're ready to move onto the front pattern piece! You go, glen coco!

You Go Glen Coco! – Heads Above The Waves

The front of most pairs of trousers is smaller, with a shorter rise. This is because you (mostly) have more shape at the back of your body. So we want to keep this in mind when adjusting this pattern piece.

However, the principle is the same: increase the width either side of the centre-point (in this case, the grainline)

I want to increase it to 25cm / 9.8in plus 2cm seam allowance - so a total of 27cm / 10.6in. You can see from the photo that this doesn't affect the knee measurement too much but really increases it around the hem.

I have also increased the inside leg measurement, to make the trousers longer, which we'll move onto shortly!

The french curve ruler - a sewing necessity?

I want to take a moment here to discuss equipment and what you should invest in.

If you want to get a really good shape to your garments, smooth curves that replicate (to some extent) your body - or what the fashion industry considers a 'standard' body shape lol - you might want to invest in:

a french curve ruler
a trouser curve ruler - if you are going to be making lots of trousers and skirts...

The french curve is so useful, for most curves you would need to bring to a paper pattern.

While you can use a french curve ruler to draw a hip curve, a trouser curve gives a smoother, longer curve that more accurately replicates how your shape changes around your hip and down your leg. French curve rulers are better (IMO) for bust lines, armholes, sleeve heads... that sort of thing.

Now - of course, these are sometimes not even 'averages' and so of course your body will lie outside of these shapes. You can also make your own ruler that is literally your body shape, in thick card - this can become part of your block collection. Some food for thought, perhaps!

Anyway, we must finish these leg adjustments - so let's continue.

Changing the curve of the trousers

Once again working with your back trouser pattern piece, take your french curve and join the lines, from the existing X-point to the first dot (you can just see it at the bottom of the photo below):

Then join the rest of the lines together:

We will discuss the length in a moment, but then let's repeat this process for the front trouser pattern piece.

You can see below that if we just adjusted the trouser leg with the dots, it would create a weird angle, so we need to smooth that curve.

We can smooth the curve with our french curve ruler again:

How to adjust the inside leg length of your trousers

Next, I'm going to check the inside leg measurement.

The finished inside leg measurement on all sizes of The Dan ezp Jumpsuit sewing pattern is 78cm / 30.7in but the actual pattern piece comes to 84cm / 33in, so that's why the measurements in the photo are slightly different:

However, I have a pair of platform boots that I really want to be able to wear this jumpsuit with, so I want them to be longer than 78cm.

This is where knowing how you like to wear clothes and what you would style your jumpsuit with is super important!

The jeans I'm using as my block are a perfect length - 84cm / 33in on the inside seam. But because I'm using a different fabric - a jersey knit, not a denim - and I am terrified (an exaggeration, but you know what I mean) of my trousers shrinking in the wash, I'd like to add a bit extra. So I'm taking that to 87cm / 34in PLUS 3cm / 1.2in for seam allowance (just in case). This gives me an inside leg measurement of 90cm / 35in.