Pattern Drafting: Custom Pajama Pants Final Mockup

Hello Friends and Welcome Back!

After another few weeks of tweaking my pants pattern, I'm excited to be able to share the results!

As usual, I was a little ambitious in my speculations that I might have a finished pair of pants to share, but I have finally arrived at a mockup that I'm happy with!

If you've been following along, you're already familiar with the steps I've taken so far, but for those who are new, I've shared two earlier posts leading up until now. Check out my pattern drafting and first mockup posts to get caught up!

The Fourth Mockup

Last time, I was focused on lengthening and smoothing out the crotch curve, but now that I'm happy with that shape, my focus is on refining the length and shape of the legs!

I'd noticed earlier that the knee of my pants was sitting above the top of my actual kneecap, so I wanted to add some length to the thigh area.

I stared by taking apart my third mockup so I could work on each of the leg pieces individually and in their flat form. I cut each piece across the leg, about 4" down from the crotch line, and added a 4" wide strip of fabric.

Once that fabric was added, I evened out the inseam and outseam by connecting the crotch line to the knee line.

After repeating that on all four pieces, I reassembled my mockup and here's how it looked:

I'm so much happier with the length now!

I'll admit they are just a touch on the long side, but given how tall I am, pants that are too long are kind of a novelty. I think I'll take just a half inch off the length at the cuff, but that's a very minor change that I don't need another mockup to test.

The only concern I really have with this mockup is the bulk around the waist.

When making pants with an elastic waistband, the waist has to have as much fabric as the widest part of the pattern in order to be able to pull the garment over your body. But looking closer I do have a little bit of extra fabric that could be removed.

When flattened like this, there's about 1½" between the seam and my leg. Multiply that by two for the front and back, then two again for the left and right, and I have an extra 6" of fabric around my widest point.

Of course, this pattern is a loose fitting pajama pant, not a fitted or structured pant, so I don't want to take away too much. at the very least, I want to keep 3" of ease so I can comfortably move my legs.

The Final Mockup

For the final alteration to the pattern, I was just taking a little bit of bulk out of the hip and waist area.

As I've shared before, I carry more of my weight on the back of my body, so I prefer to take a little more width out of the front pattern piece than from the back. I decided to take the outseam in by ½" on the back and 3⁄4" on the front, and I'm thrilled with the final fit of the mockup!

Visually, I doubt there's a lot of difference, especially since I'm still wearing the mockup with the seams on the outside, but fit wise, this is a huge improvement!

I've stood, sat, and cooked in this mockup, and I can confirm that I'm really pleased with the fit and can't wait to make a few new pairs of pajama pants! In fact, I've had a few lengths of flannel waiting around for this pattern to be finished!

Of course, a final mockup is not a final pattern, so the next thing I'll need to do is transfer all of my alterations onto pattern paper!

I'll be drawing up two patterns; the first will be a proper, finished pattern with all the notes and changes from these mockups. The other will be a rougher pattern that I can cut up and make changes to while drafting a more fitted pair of pants!

With all of that done, Friends, I can't wait to make up a few new pairs of pajamas, then continue my pants fitting experiments from there!

As I continue working on my pants pattern, I would love any advice you have to give me! Please share your tips in the comments below!

And as I've been sharing updates on this pattern over the past several weeks, I've continued working on several of my quilting projects as well. I'll be sharing a Project Update next week to get you all caught up on those, or you can visit me on Instagram for a sneak peak before that post comes out!

Until Next Time Friends, Keep Creating!

~VA