Welcome back for the last day of the
Lander sewalong. I am so excited to finish these up and see all of your versions. Let's get started.
Step 20 - First thing we are going to do is baste the side seams and check for fit. To create a basting stitch, all you need to do is lengthen your stitch length as far as it goes so that it's easy to unpick if need be.
Flip the back pant around so that the right side of the back and right side of the front are touching. Line up the side seams and pin.
Baste at a
1” seam allowance. The 1" seam allowance gives you lots of wiggle room in case you need to let it out a bit around the hip etc...
Try the pants on, and adjust as necessary. Make sure that you pin the fly closed when you try them on to get an accurate idea of fit once the buttons are on. You may also want to try them on inside out so that you can easily pin the areas you want to adjust. (The seam allowance at the waist must stay at 1” so that the waistband will match up correctly, but you can tweak around the hips to get a perfect fit.) If you find that you need more room in the waist you will need to cut a new waistband. If you want to take it in at the waist you can make due, although your notches will not match up and you will need to trim some off of center front.
Return your stitch length to normal. Stitch each outside side seam. If necessary, unpick any visible basting stitches.
Trim the seam allowances down to 1/2”. Finish the seam allowances together in your desired manner ( I'm serging) and press towards the back pant or short. Turn the whole garment right side out.
Step 21 - Fold the long edges of the belt loop piece together, right sides touching. Sew along the long edge at 1/2” seam allowance.
Trim the seam allowance to 1/8”.
Using a loop turner or safety pin, turn the tube right side out. Press the tube flat so that the seam is along the center back.
Edgestitch at 1/8” along both sides. Cut the tube into 5 equal 3 1/2" sections. Discard any extra.
Step 22 - With the right side of the belt loop touching the right side of your pant or short, pin one raw edge flush against the top edge.
One should be centered over the center back seam, the next two centered over the side seams, and the last two flush with the inside edge of the front pockets. Baste the belt loops to hold them in place.
Step 23 - Press the unnotched long edge of the waistband up by 3/8”, wrong sides touching.
With 1/2” hanging off of the center front edges and right sides touching, pin the notched side of the waistband to the top of the pant / short. The notches on the waistband will match up with the notches on the front pant / short, the sideseams, and center back.
Step 24 - Starting at the left center front edge, stitch around the whole waistband, ending at the right center front edge. If you get a little pinch in your fabric like I did below, unpick that area and then ease it back in. This can easily happen since the waistband is stabilized with interfacing and the pant which isn't may grow a bit with sewing.
Grade the seams to reduce bulk. To do this, trim the pant seam allowance to 1/4" and the waistband seam allowance to 3/8".
Step 25 - Press the whole waistband up and away from the main pant, and over the seam allowance.
Step 26 - Take the folded edge of the waistband and pull it down (right sides touching) towards the waistband seam along the right center front so that it overlaps it by about 1/16”. Pin.
Stitch at 1/2” seam allowance so that it is flush with the fly. Repeat for left side and clip corners.
Step 27 - Flip the waistband right side out. On the inside waistband, make sure that folded edge covers the seam by about 1/16” and pin in place. Press the whole waistband so that you get a nice squared edge at each center front corner.
Step 28 - On the front of the pant, stitch in the ditch in the seam between the main pant / short and the waistband, catching the edge of the folded waistband on the inside of the garment. The goal is that this stitching is virtually invisible since it is hidden in the joining of at seam. If you don't catch the inside waistband for small amounts, don't worry as you will be edgestitching in the next step which will catch it.
outside
inside
Step 29 - Starting at center back, edgestitch at 1/8” around the entire perimeter of the waistband, pivoting at each corner.
Step 30 - Stitch on top of each belt loop 1/4” below the waistband seam. You want this stitching to be secure so stitch back and forth a few times.
Press the belt loop upwards.
Fold the top down by about 1/2” so that it is flush with the top of the waistband. Press and pin.
Stitch back and forth a few times, about 1/8” from the top, to secure.
Step 31 - Sew the buttonhole on the waistband according to the marking on your waistband pattern piece. If you have some, use fray check at this time to reinforce your buttonholes.
Open all four of your buttonholes. If you don't have a buttonhole opener you may have a hard time opening them since there are so many layers. You might want to consider getting one in the future if you think you will be sewing a lot of pants or jeans. It makes life so much easier. Although I have also heard that razor blade and a steady hand do wonders in a pinch.
Step 32 - With your fly lined up, use a disappearing pen or similar tool to mark your buttonhole placement through your cut buttonholes. The marking should be on the inside (closest to center front) edge of your buttonhole.
Attach your buttons to the right fly and right waistband accordingly. If you are using jeans buttons and this is your first time, don't fret. It's easier than you think. Use a sharp object like an awl to poke a hole.
Put the male end of the button through the back of the hole and then place the female part on top of that.
Turn it upside down onto a hard surface and use a hammer to hit the back of the button so that it secures it in to the front section. You can kind pull on the button to make sure that it is attached, but you can usually feel it securing.
Step 33 - Fold the bottom raw edge of the pant or short up by 1/4”, wrong sides touching, and press.
For the shorts, fold up by another 1”. For the pants, fold up by another 3”. Because there is such a wide hem, this is a good place to try on the pants and adjust the length a bit. Pin and press.
Topstitch at 7/8” for the shorts and 2 7/8” for the pants.
That's it, you are finished! Give the whole thing a final press and wear them proudly. I will take photos of mine and post them on the blog next week. Please tag me if you post yours so I see them. You can use the tags #landerpant #landershort and #truebias.
If you have any questions or comments, please comment below or send me an email. Thank you for sewing along!
