Are you always looking for the next thing when it comes to mastering pants fitting?

All month, I’ll be writing about my experiences sewing pants, sharing tips and showing off a few new ones, too! I’ve decided February is “For the Love of Pants” Month! Tag your pants makes on Instagram using #ForTheLoveOfPantsFeb. E-mail me a picture of what you’ve made at yvette@gatherandease.com. I’d love to learn from you.

And now, here are my top sewing resources you need to know to become a master of well-fitting trousers. They are in order from the ones I find okay to the ones I find the most interesting.

Pants for Real People: Fit and Sew for Any Body by Marta Alto and Pati Palmer

This is a book and was a classic resource for a long time. You could buy it and it does come in an e-book edition. I have tried both and don’t suggest the e-book. What I really suggest is seeing if your library has it if it is a book you’re interested in.

This book has actual photos of some different body types illustrating how pants look before and after fit adjustments. However, it is decidedly not body positive but we have to remember it was written a long time ago. While there are some interesting techniques and approaches to try in this book, they are big proponents of tissue fitting and I don’t like this method personally.

Pants Fitting Adjustments: Best Tips for Perfectly Fitting Pants! and Jeans Fitting Adjustments for Your Best Fitting Jeans! by Heather Lou on the Closet Core Blog

If you sign up for the Closet Core Newsletter, you get some cool freebies, including a pants fitting e-book and jeans fitting e-book You can also consult the information on their blog without signing up by clicking the links above.

Both of these are great introductions to traditional pants fitting methods with a positive and encouraging tone. I do get lost in the “reading the lines” method sometimes. These resources rely mostly on drawings of fit problems and how to solve them, with some pictures.

Love Notions Duet Trousers and Sabrina Slims Patterns

These patterns include fitting work books that can help you get a great fit on these specific patterns, but the skills will transfer to other patterns, as well. You can find them by using my affiliate link. I do make a small commission if you use it when you purchase.

I love Love Notions! While these workbooks resemble the Closet Core ones above, I think the pattern specific nature of them makes them really user friendly. It’s a great way to jump into fitting for the first time or any time.

The Top Down, Center Out Method

This method was developed by Ruth Collins . I used The Crooked Hem’s YouTube series to try it out and found the video format so helpful.

This is a departure from the traditional fitting methods above, although I can see some common threads. The most interesting part is the body neutral approach and potential for some plus size sewists to access patterns that are little bit too small. I have only dabbled in this technique and would like to try it out some more. To find out more about my first impressions, you can read my previous blog post here.

One size doesn’t fit all

I don’t think there is one perfect fitting method for pants, or any garment. By trying different patterns, fabrics and techniques we learn what works best for us. Pants fitting might just be the growing pains of becoming a proficient sewist.

Next week, I will share my ideas about what I’d like to try next based on lessons I’ve been learning while doing everything pants this month. I have some new avenues I’m excited to explore.

What fitting techniques and methods have you tried or would you like to try? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.