Pant Drafting Part 5

Good Morning and an apology for not getting this post out yesterday. My day completely got away from me. So without further delay, here we go!

Adding Darts and Shaping the Pant Leg
Before we add seam allowances and do our first fitting, we need to add darts and slim the legs. My approach to adding the darts is maybe a little unorthodox as I like to have some fit when I do my first fitting, but then I make adjustments once I have the pants in muslin.
The first step we will take is to slim the pant leg. What we do to the front will also be done to the back. At this point, you may separate the front from the back if you feel the lines will become confusing. For our tutorial, I am using only the front pant leg for the demonstration.
On the front pant;
1. Divide J to L in half and mark as 1.

2. Measure up 2" from 1 and mark as 2. This will be the knee point.

3. Square a line across and mark as 3 and 4.

4. Measure in at 3 and 4, 3/8". If your legs are a little thicker, measure in 1/4". Mark as 5 and 6.

5. Using a curved ruler, connect E to 5. Connect 5 to M with a straight line.

6.Connect P to 6 with a straight line and 6 to N with a straight line. *Remember, the point at P should be curved as we don't want a point at our hip, but this can be adjusted during fitting.

Use the same measurements and points to slim the back leg.

Darts
On the front pant leg, measure down 3" on the center line. On the back pant leg, measure down 5".

We allowed 2" for the darts, so divide this on either side of the center line.

For some, 1 dart will be fine and depending on the roundness of the tummy, you may need a second dart. We will talk about this in the next post when we begin the fitting process. And if you would like, the darts can be pinched in during the fitting. I will show you how I do this in our next fitting post.

I was asked about the bodice drafting that I started back in January. Sadly,I have allowed that to linger, but I do need to get back to it as it is part of the Master Sewing and Design Certification program that I am working on. I have decided to make Tuesdays our drafting day. We will continue on with the pants and I will also add in the bodice. Once the bodice is complete, we will move on to the sleeve and the skirt. I think you'll enjoy it. I hope so anyway :)
So your homework assignment is to finish up your drafting, and slim the legs. Add seam allowance. I like to add a 1" seam allowance for fitting purposes. Be sure that your seams match. Next Tuesday we will begin the fitting process.

You can find all the pant drafting posts here, http://rhondabuss.blogspot.com/search/label/pant%20drafting