Easy Fitting the Palmer/Pletsch Way: Pants

Class Preview

Learn a quick, simple system for fitting pants patterns to complement your body beautifully. Note: Pattern not included.

Introduction to Tissue Fitting

Meet the founder of the Palmer/Pletsch fitting system, Pati Palmer, and her daughter, Melissa Watson, an accomplished fashion designer herself. Together they teach the system that allows any sewer to get a great fit without having to make a muslin. You’ll get started with choosing the correct size and reinforcing a tissue pattern (not included).

Fitting Yourself

Melissa shows how you can fit the tissue pattern to yourself when you don’t have a fitting buddy handy. Learn how to align the pattern pieces with your waistband and recognize areas that will need adjustment. You’ll see how to make alterations such as adding fullness to the front thighs, taking in fullness at the back and lengthening the rise for a higher waistband.

Pati’s Fitting

With Pati as the fitting model, Melissa demonstrates how one pattern adjustment can affect other areas. Learn how to shorten the crotch seam on your pants, adjust for a full tummy and take in for a flat derrière. A second fitting helps you refine your adjustments and get the exact look you want for your pants.

Jan’s Fitting

If you find yourself making the same difficult adjustments on every pattern, it might be time to try a different size. Melissa shows how going up a size can put critical pattern features where you want them, leaving you with easier alterations. You’ll see how to adjust for a flatter tummy and derrière, with tucks that keep the side seam in the right place, and an altered waistband seam to remove excess fabric.

Jamie’s Fitting

If you have a fuller figure, you might have struggled with finding pants that fit well both front and back, as well as in length. Melissa shows how to make alterations when your body’s curves don’t conform to one size all the way around a pattern, so you can get the look you want without sacrificing comfort.

Fabric Fittings

Check out the fabric fitting for the assortment of pants altered in earlier lessons and see how easy it is to go from tissue fitting straight to a nearly-finished garment. Melissa shares some ways you can tweak your fit depending on the fabric you’re using, and Patti offers a terrific technique for attaching your waistband evenly.

Finished Pants & Final Tips

Your pants are finished! How do they look? Pati and Melissa offer some final tips on fitting and evaluate the pants made after fitting models in the class. Follow their advice, and you’ll soon have some perfectly fitting and great-looking trousers of your own!