Sewing seat and leg seams #BE01

1. This is required:

The basis are front and back trouser parts in which the fly and any pockets are already in.

Tools and aids:

• back pattern piece out of paper
• Pins and/or clips
• Hand shears
• Tailor’s chalk or marking pen
• Ruler

2. Close the seat seam:

First I close the seat seam. To do this, I lay the back pieces right sides together. As a rule, the seam lines run parallel to the cut edge. In some of our patterns, the seam allowance is wider towards the waistband to make it easier to adjust the waist size later. The width of the seam allowance at the seat seam is 10 mm from the inner leg seam to the next notch. In the pattern you can see how wide the seam allowance is at the waistband edge. I mark the seam line on the wrong side of the fabric with chalk or a marker pen. You can use the pattern as a guide here and transfer the seam pattern. I then pin the pieces and sew them together with a straight stitch.

If you topstitch the seat seam again from the right side with a decorative seam, a simple straight stitch is sufficient. If you don’t want to topstitch from the outside, I recommend topstitching the back seam twice or using a triple straight stitch, for example, so that it is stable enough.

I stretch the seam allowance in the curve by pressing. Caution – the seam itself should not be stretched so much. I finish the cut edge with the overlocker.

I then topstitch the seam with a 2 mm edge distance to the left back trouser part. This means that it is on the same side as the crotch seam on the front trousers. You can of course decide on the width and number of stitchings yourself.

3. Close the inner leg seam:

Now it’s time for the leg seams. First I decide whether I want to topstitch the leg seams on the outer or inner seam. If you want to place a pocket over the outer seam, for example, you must close it first. In my example, I will topstitch the inner leg seam 2 mm wide. I therefore start by closing this seam.

I lay the back trousers right sides together on the matching front trousers and pin them together first at the cross seam of the inner leg seam. This is the point where the crotch and seat seams of the front and back trousers meet.

If I have pants that are longer than knee-length, I first pin the area from the hem to the knee at knee height. From the knee to the cross seam, the seam of the back trousers must be stretched slightly to the length of the front trousers. This stretch is taken into account in the pattern for a better fit.

Now I sew the seam together with a straight stitch. You can measure the width of the seam allowance in the pattern. In the example, this is 15 mm. I overlock both layers together at the inner leg seam. I serge the outer leg sides individually.

Now I topstitch the inner leg seam onto the front trousers with a 2 mm gap. As the outer leg seams are not yet sewn together, I can still carry out this step comfortably, hence the previous considerations regarding the order.

4. Close the outer leg seam:

Now I pin the front and back trousers together at the side seam, right sides facing. I close the seam with a straight stitch. Here you can also see the width of the seam allowance in the pattern.

I press this seam open from the bottom of the trouser pocket to the hem. In the upper area of the pocket bag, I press the seam over towards the back of the trousers.

I will now topstitch the side seam from the top to the end of the front pocket bag. To do this, I mark the end of the pocket bag on the right side of the fabric. Then I topstitch the seam onto the back trousers with a 2mm gap. You can also omit this step if you don’t want the seam to be visible at this point.

Below you will find the link to the next step:

• Sew attached waistband #B03

If you’re not quite ready yet and perhaps want to start at the beginning, you’ll find some links here:

• Preparing the pattern for cutting
• Cutting fabrics and materials
• Sew waist darts of pants #AB01