Vintage men's trousers-- I love them with their straight lines and colorful patterns. Problem: they are not cut for women. Loose crotch, wide legs, and snug in the hips. There are some simple things you (both men and women) can do to alterate them to fit you if you have the right pair of pants. For example, I got this 70's men's plaid trousers that fit me on the waist and hips but had a huge crotch and were wide in the legs and at dork length (showing way too much shoe.)
So here's how I improvised. You will need a sewing machine and basic sewing skills.
Get the pants inside out and rip the stitches of the hem (look at pixs if needed) with a seam ripper.
Figure out how much inches you need to lose from your crotch and legs (inseam = the inner seam from leg to crotch to leg). I suggest you pin or baste (loose stitching) to find your preferred fit. Draw a tracing line from the pins or basting.
If you don't want to pin or baste, start sewing 1/4" to 1/2" next to the original inseam and increase in small increments if needed. It's like cutting hair. You dont want to chop and find out you have cut too much after its too late.
Once you're ready to committ, sew with machine. Try on to see how it fits.
If crotch is still loose or pant legs are still too wide, sew new inseam again until you reach your desired fit.
Cut off the unnecessary fabric and lock the new seam edges with a zig-zag stitch (to prevent fraying).
Now it's time for hemming. It always comes last. Since the hem stitches have already been ripped, it will give you extra piece of fabric. In my case it gave me 1 1/2" of extra fabric. I zigzag stitched to prevent fraying and I re-hemmed at 1/2", giving me an extra inch in length which made the pants look so much better on me.
I'm posting pictures, so my techincal mumbo-jumbo will make a little more sense. I'm trying my best to be clear!!! Sorry, there are no before pictures, only after. Click on the pictures to see bigger images.
