I have not forgotten my Quest for the Perfect Trousers.  I have been thinking and talking and reading.  Apparently there are lots of ways to draft a trouser block.  Who knew? Which method to choose?

I have an old drafting book from the early nineties called Creative Cutting by Diana Hawkins which promises easy ways to design and make stylish clothes. I was just going to draft up something from that.  But then I started looking at the internet and became ensnared for a whole evening in the maelstrom of drafting methodologies.

I then had a chat to a mum at the primary school during the Bunting Bonanza who was a pattern maker in her former life.  She confirmed my initial conclusions: trouser drafting is contentious and tricky.  Even if you draft from your measurements, getting the rise right is a difficult thing.  The rise is the distance between crotch and waist in a pair of trousers.  Her suggestion was make a pattern from a pair of trousers that fit really well already and use this as a block from which to draft.  Apparently, the fashion industry copies garments to redraft all the time.  I am not sure if I have a pair which fits really well already.

Another friend and dear reader who is an extraordinary home seamstress swears by New Look 6713 – a perfect trouser pattern apparently.  They certainly look very flattering and elegant on her.   But will they on me?  I am not sure.  My friend is tall and curvy. I am short and could do with some curve in the rear end department.  I am tempted though…the perfect trouser pattern!  I have my interfacing ready to trace the pattern and cut out a toile.

I am beginning to get the sense that I might end up with quite a few blocks/patterns/garments on this Quest.  But that sounds just right for a Quest of such ambitious proportions.