To make a curved waistband larger, I'd recommend adding the extra circumference in multiple locations along the waistband, rather than just at the front. By adding extra length in multiple places along the entire length of the waistband, you can maintain the curvature a bit better over the whole pattern piece. So for the Morgan jeans waistband, I'd take the largest waistband size, and cut it roughly into 3 equal pieces. Then you can take these pieces and tape them to a new sheet of paper, spreading them out so that you create about a 0.5 to 1 inch gap at the cut lines when you tape them down (the exact amount that you spread the pieces apart will depend on how much extra circumference you need, but I would not add more than 1 inch at each location -- if you need more length, try cutting the waistband into 4 pieces instead of 3). You can also add a little extra at the center back if you need more circumference. Once you've taped everything down, you may need to take a curved ruler and smooth out the top and bottom edge of the waistband piece. Curved waistbands can take a little more time and effort to get the fit just right, so you may need to make a few iterations of this waistband to really dial in your fit preferences. Hope this helps!

Good question. Yes, you would still add extra fabric to the side seam in this case. The fact that all of the sizes align at the side seam is just a quirk of how the designer nested the pieces -- an alternative nesting could have been for the designer to align all of the crotch points together, so that the side seams were staggered. Adding extra fabric to the side gives you the flexibility to play with the circumference of the pants, especially if you decide once the toile is on your body that you want a little extra ease in the pants. For a pattern like this with a straight side seam, if you decide to change the circumference of the toile during fitting -- whether adding or removing fabric along the side seam -- you'd want to add that fabric equally all along the side of the pants. So for example, if you need more room in the hip, you could add 1/2 inch of fabric evenly from waist to hem in order to keep the side seam straight. Hope that helps!

@@thecrookedhem omigosh, thank you so much for your timely answer! 😊 I just finished the half toile tonight and am excited to begin fitting in earnest tomorrow.

This method is intended for use with commercial patterns where you start with the multi-sized, nested pattern pieces. Commercial patterns typically have been through some sort of testing process already, so they will theoretically need fewer adjustments than those that haven't been tested (although of course there is a huge degree of variation here). However, there's no reason why you couldn't apply this fitting workflow to a self-drafted pattern, and I know many people have done that. The difference will be that you may need to do more work if/when you decide that you want to tweak some aspect of the fit. For example, if you need to change the crotch/inseam size to give yourself more or less body space in the seat of the pants, then you will have to redraft the pattern rather than just selecting the next size in the envelope.

Contoured waistbands are a popular design element in many indie pattern trousers. Check out the Protea Pants by Paradise Patterns, Coe Trousers by Daughter Judy, or the Peppermint Wide Leg Pants by In the Folds (a free pattern from Peppermint Magazine) for good examples of a contoured waistband. To choose your size for a contoured waistband, take your waist measurement and choose the size that corresponds to that number based on the size charts. You can add ~1" of fabric to each short end to give yourself a little extra room to experiment with the circumference, but if you need more fabric than that to get to your preferred waistband circumference and torso position, size up to the next size so that you can maintain smooth and even curvature throughout the band. If you are looking for a flat front/curved back waistband, check out the Shop Pants by Open Studio Patterns. The waistband for that patten is a hybrid -- it's a straight waistband in front, but has curvature in the back. As for how to do this without buying a bunch of patterns, that's the million dollar question! 😊 Learning how to adjust a contoured waistband is like any other aspect of fitting -- it will require some patience, curiosity, and experimentation to figure out what combination of adjustments work for you. You could start with one pattern (say, the free one from Peppermint magazine) and then experiment with making a couple of different sizes, changing the curvature, or combining just the back part of the curve with a straight waistband. The best way to learn is just to dive in!

​@@thecrookedhem A hybrid waistband! Thank you for putting a name to the waistband in the pattern I'm working on. Id never seen one like it before and was so confused by it.

Hello! Yes, it is possible to apply the principles of Top Down Center Out to a custom draft like the joggers from Apostrophe Patterns, but it would not be my recommendation as an entry point to learning how to fit patterns. There are a few reasons for this. First, it's unclear how or whether these custom-generated patterns are tested, and therefore the quality of the drafting is a big unknown. In general, multi-sized patterns that have been tested on lots of bodies by an experienced designer tend to be higher quality than those that haven't, meaning that they will need fewer fit adjustments to fit most people well. Second, having a nested multi-sized pattern is a huge advantage when learning how to fit bc making the pattern larger or smaller will be much easier. For example, if the maker determines that the body needs more space in the crotch seam, it's straightforward to trace the next size up when using a multi-sized pattern. If there is no "next size up", then one would need to know how to grade the pattern up to the next size while also maintaining the balance, proportion, and overall design of the original. This is a whole different skillset apart from fitting, and learning how to grade while also learning how to fit can get complicated. So if you are just starting out with Top Down Center Out fitting, then I'd recommend starting with a nested, multi-sized pattern like the Shop Pants from Open Studio Patterns, the Protea Pants from Paradise Patterns, or the Peppermint Wide Leg pants from In the Folds/Peppermint magazine (free!). I've you've been practicing Top Down Center Out with other patterns and feel comfortable applying the method to different types of designs, then tackling the Apostrophe joggers could be a good challenge to stretch your skills. Hope that helps!

Thank you so much for your thoughtful reply🙂. Can the method be used on knit pants (not just knit waistband, the whole pant is knit)?

@@leandrikos1659 Yes, you can use TDCO with a knit pants pattern. In that case, you will construct a full toile (two legs) and fit on both sides of the body. The reason for the two legged toile is because a knit pattern will have negative ease, and with a one-legged toile, the center front and center back of the knit will pull away from your center, making it difficult to gauge the fit. With a two legged toile, you can keep the center line of the pants in line with your center. Then you will follow the method the same as you would with any other pattern -- fitting waistband first, then crotch seam, then sides. Do your best to make equal modifications to both side seams, if there are small inconsistencies from left to right side, then you can take the average of the two.

Awesome! I'm so glad this is helpful! Enjoy using the method, it's been a total game changer for me and many others who want to feel more empowered during the fitting process.

Glad to hear it!

Yes, I put my toile on inside out so that the seam allowances are easily accessible, however most people find it is easier to put the toile on right side out with seam allowances on the inside. Right side out will give you a better visual and it is easier to see what the final garment will look like, wrong side out gives you slightly easier access to the side seam allowances for pinning, so it's really up to you. And yes, you are correct. The toile will be on the other leg when you flip it inside out, but for the most part, it does not matter what side of the body one chooses to fit. I usually end up putting the toile on wrong side out first to fit, then once I've basted my changes and flipped it to right side out, I try it on again. So I see the toile on both sides of the body during the course of one fitting. Minor anatomical differences between left and right sides can be averaged, although if the maker has a significant anatomical difference from left to right side, then one may want to be more intentional about which side of the body to focus on for fitting.

@@thecrookedhem thank you 🙏

Good question! When you are making your half toile, you will omit the zipper since you can just step in to your half pant. However, you can draw the placement of the zipper on the toile so that you can visualize where it will be in the final garment -- there should be dots or other pattern markings indicating zipper placement. If you are using a pattern with a fly front, then you may also need to determine where the center front line is on the front pattern piece, so that you can use this line during fitting to align with your center front. Most well-drafted patterns will indicate where the center front line is with a notch at the waistline, otherwise you may need to read the pattern instructions carefully to determine where the center front is (it's usually aligned with the zipper teeth, so you will need to determine where the zipper is placed and what seam allowances are used). If you REALLY get stuck and have a hard time figuring out where center front is on your pattern, you can always construct a full toile (with a zipper closure), and use that for fitting instead. The drawback of a full toile is that you will not be able to visualize the ease in the crotch seam as easily, and you will have to make adjustments to both sides of the pattern as equally as you can, which some folks find to be a little more challenging. So it's up to you what works better with your fitting process.

@@thecrookedhem Thank you so much! I am getting ready to give this a try so this was very timely. I appreciate you taking the time to answer my question and so thoroughly. I am trying the Peppermint wide leg pants pattern and I had assumed the fly edge was flush with the center front. I will have to check this out more closely. Thanks again!!

Either can work-general advice is to go with the size associated with the waist because it is the spacing of the dart along the waistline between center front and side seam that is key.

@_dollypocket I agree with what Ruth said. I usually go with the darts that correspond to the waist size. You can also reposition the darts during fitting if you find that you want a different spacing.

These are good questions, and the answers to most of them will be a matter of personal preference. If you opt for just a fabric waistband (no elastic), this will likely feel softer and more comfortable on the body, however keep in mind that the fabric will need to have a good amount of recovery to stay in place all day long as the body moves. A more stable waistband (with elastic) may be preferable if the fabric you are using is heavy -- palazzo pants tend to have a lot of volume, which means a lot of fabric, so going for a more stable foundation at the waist might be a good idea. To stabilize the fabric in the waistband, I'd recommend a fusible tricot interfacing. As for whether to make the waistband out of the same fabric as the pants, that's a personal preference, but I would definitely recommend making your toile waistband out of the same fabric that you plan on using for your final garment. Also, if you are using Top Down Center Out to fit a stretch pattern, then you will need to adapt the method for this type of garment. I would recommend making a full toile instead of a half toile. Stretch patterns are usually designed with zero or negative ease, so if you make a one-legged toile, then the center line of the toile will pull away from the center of the body and it will be difficult to interpret the fit this way. A full (two-legged) toile allows you to align the center front and back of the pants with the center of the body. Everything else about the method will remain the same -- you will add additional fabric to the top and sides of the pattern, and you will fit the toile using the same steps as outlined in these videos. The only difference will be that you will make the same adjustments on both sides of the toile as you fit.

Good question. Yes, this method can work for pants with stretch/negative ease, but you will need to adapt certain elements of the fitting process. To work with a pattern that has negative ease (or no ease), you will need to use a two-legged toile instead of a one-legged one. Other than that, you can follow the method in the same order as your normally would. The reason for using a two-legged toile for patterns with negative ease is so that you can keep the center front/back of the toile aligned with your center front/back. If you tried to fit a stretch pattern with a one-legged toile, you would see that the center front and back of the toile would pull away from your centers as the fabric stretches, and it would be difficult to keep things aligned. With a full two-legged toile, you can align the center front/back of the toile with your center front/back and gauge how much stretch or tension you want in the fabric by increasing or decreasing the fabric at the side seams. It also goes without saying, but I will also mention that for stretch patterns, it's super important to toile in a fabric that has the same amount of stretch as your final fabric. Hope that helps!

@@thecrookedhem Thank you! I figured it wouldn't work with only one leg. But I so appreciate all you've done to break down this process. I'm totally doing my pants fitting this way now. Seems so much less stressful - and less wasteful of fabric!

Good question! The reason why we generally don't go straight from toile fabric to final fabric is that your fabric can shift and warp as you are fitting. Unlike paper pattern pieces which are very stable, your toile fabric pieces may stretch out or distort as you are manipulating the toile -- especially along any seam or cut edge that is on the bias or close to it (like the crotch curve, the hip curve, or even the waistline). So the best way to make sure that you are cutting accurately is to transfer your changes from toile fabric back to the paper pattern, then from altered paper pattern to your final fabric.

I'm so glad that these videos are speaking to you! I have a very similar story to yours -- I could never buy clothes off the rack bc of my waist to hip ratio, and I encountered similar fit issues with sewing patterns. TDCO was the only fitting method where I actually felt empowered by the end of the process, rather than bewildered, defeated, or frustrated like with every other fitting method I've tried. I hope you enjoy trying the method for yourself!

Thank you so much for the kind words! I used to be an instructional designer too, in a previous career. 😊

Yes, you can definitely use this method for fitting if your hip size is smaller than what's on the pattern. However, you will need to perform an extra first step, which is grading the crotch curve and inseam of the smallest size down to your desired size. There are a variety of ways to grade patterns, and there are many resources online to help learn how to grade. I would love do a video in the future about a "quick and dirty" way to grade the crotch and inseam for use with TDCO, but in the meantime I recommend having a quick browse online to see what resources speak to you. Once you have a pattern that's graded down to your size, you can absolutely use the TDCO workflow to fit your toile.

@@thecrookedhem thank you so much - I will try to find something online but I’ve been grading patterns down for awhile and find it challenging to drop down that much from the smallest size available which is why I went on the search to draft my own pattern and then came across your videos. I really like the idea of keeping the pattern designer’s design integrity with this TDCO method. I will try to grade just the crotch and inseam next so I can use TDCO. Thanks again and would absolutely love to see a video on that grading!

I cover that example in the next video in the series, Part 6. If you watch Part 6 at the 4m19s mark, I walk through an example. But the short answer is that you can also choose your size based on your waist circumference, then decide how much to remove from the hips during the fitting stage.

Another way to think about this is that if one chooses by waist in this example, one has to be prepared to size down in the crotch curve. If one chooses by hip size, then one will size up in the waist area (which may be blended down the entire outseam). Often people find it easier to size up in the crotch curve rather than the other way around.

I'm glad you've found this series interesting! The question about the shape of the crotch curve is a really good one. It’s a DEEP topic, with many different layers and points of view. TDCO takes a different approach to crotch curves than the conventional drafting/fitting techniques that you may be used to. I will try to summarize here. Conventional fitting advice treats the crotch seam as a shape. It’s a void that must be carved out of the paper pattern to mimic the body’s shape. It makes a lot of sense if you think about a paper pattern piece fitting up snuggly against the body. But this is a misrepresentation of how crotch seams work. There is another way to understand the crotch curve. TDCO treats the crotch seam as a line, not a shape. Imagine you are wearing your favorite pair of pants, and you take a pair of scissors to the garment. You cut off everything except for the waistband and the crotch seam that hangs from it. This crotch seam may have originally had a specific 2-dimensional shape when it was cut out of fabric, but it is free to move, bend, and sometimes stretch with the body once it’s sewn in denim or wool or whatever fabric you chose. I’d be willing to bet that on your body, that crotch seam is no longer the exact same shape it was when it was a 2-dimensional piece of paper. One of the reasons why the crotch seam is so flexible is because part of it is on bias. The curviest part of the crotch curve, where the seam transitions from being more vertical to being more horizontal, falls along the bias of your fabric. Seams along the bias have some flex - they allow the fabric to bend underneath the body smoothly, and they allow the pants to move with you as you squat, sit, run, etc. So the important variable here is how much of the seam is on the bias -- designs with an “L” shape have a less bias, designs with a “J” shape have more. Whether to draft less vs more bias in a crotch seam has to do with the style and intended function of the pants. For example, close-fitting jeans need more flex in the crotch to be comfortable, so they will usually have a J shape. So if we view the crotch seam as a flexible line, then the idea that the curved shape of the pattern piece has to match our body shape no longer applies. If we think of the entire crotch seam as resembling a “U” when sewn up into a 3D garment, the important variables to optimize are the vertical length from top to bottom (aka length from waistband to crotch level), and the horizontal cross-body depth (aka distance between center front and center back across the “saddle”). As long as vertical and horizontal dimensions have been optimized (and assuming you are working with a well-drafted pattern), the inherent flexibility in the crotch seam will accommodate any unique curves of your body - whether you are a bracket shape [>] or a parentheses [)]. So to get back to your question: adjusting vertical length is fairly straightforward with TDCO. Adjusting the horizontal cross-body depth may take some tinkering - you may need to go up one or two sizes in the crotch and inseam if you have more cross-body depth than the pattern assumes for your hip size. You can experiment with going up a size or two just in the back crotch seam or in both front and back. Finally, it’s important to note that TDCO doesn’t take sides in the debate of whether an individual maker should redraw the crotch curve on a pair of pants. If that’s what works for you, then by all means do it. TDCO takes the stance that good design will accommodate a wide variety of body shapes, and by tweaking the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the crotch seam, one can get into a zone of good fit regardless of body shape or size. Hope that helps!

Thanks! Top Down Center Out is designed to be used with any commercial, multi-sized pattern. I know some people have tried the method with self-drafted patterns, and it can work, but having multiple nested sizes is a huge advantage.

It's really up to you! I personally like my elastic waistbands to sit fairly high on my body, with the bottom edge at my natural waist or just slightly below (so the middle of the elastic sits at my natural waist). I have a very curvy torso, and often elastic waistbands placed any lower down toward my hips want migrate up toward my narrowest point after a few minutes of wear, which can be an issue because that migration raises the crotch seam, too! I find the "right" place for a waistband is highly personal. It really depends on your body, sensory preferences, and even the type of waistband (how tall is the elastic? how soft is it? how tight?). I'd recommend making a few prototype waistbands, then wear them around the house for a little while to see what feels most comfortable to you. If you still aren't sure, make your best guess and then move forward with your project. Sometimes one needs to live in the final garment for a few days or weeks to really learn your preferences and what works with your body and lifestyle.

Yep, that's correct! After you've put on your waistband, pull on the one-legged toile and experiment with where you want the crotch seam to be. Sometimes you may need to adjust the length of the crotch in front and back differently -- so adding or removing more in front and less in back or vice versa. Many folks like to tuck the toile fabric underneath the waistband as they are fitting, which can help to keep things a bit more stable as you are pinning, but you can experiment with what works best for you. The important thing is that you follow the top down center out workflow -- adjusting the crotch length first in the center front and back, and then moving out to adjust the sides. When you are satisfied, mark your fabric. It's also a good idea to baste your changes in place, take out all the pins, and try on the toile one final time before you move on to cutting your final fabric.

@@thecrookedhem thank you so much, cant wait to crack on with it. Its so interesting. I made one time jumpsuit and that ripped when i bend down. Out of fear i never made anything. Last yr i maxe sew over it culottes and the crotch was midway of my upper thigh 😑🤦‍♀️. This hopefully will solve my crotch problem.

Sorry one more question I done the waistband and didny realised tht the zip and all that will be there. The waistband out the pattern was so loose i had to take in alot do i do the zip fly or facing whatever is on tht side. I just double check the facing need to be on it too.. Plus waistband. That will be loose on me.. Without thw zipper facing it was so loose

To fit the toile, you do not need to construct the fly guard or the fly facing. On the center front leg piece, there is a notch along the waistline that indicates the center front line -- on the Protea pattern it is indicated as "CF" but all well-drafted patterns with a front zip fly should have the center front marked. This notch tells you where the zipper will be on the final garment. Using the CF notch, mark the center front on your toile fabric and use this line when aligning the half toile to your center front. When it comes time to construct the final garment, you will need to do some careful observation of the pattern to make sure that your waistband has enough overlap at the front to meet the left and right sides of the pants -- the fly guard on the left side will add extra length to this side of the waistline. There are many ways to do this, so do whatever is most intuitive to you, but here's what I do: I pin the waistband on myself and mark the center front on the right and left side of the waistband (when the waistband is pinned closed, these marks will directly overlap). Then I look at the pattern pieces and measure the extra distance that the fly guard adds on the left side, starting from the center front line and measuring to the edge of the fly guard (remember to subtract seam allowances!!). Then I make sure that my waistband has enough length on the left side to cover the fly guard. I also usually add at least 1/2" on either end of the waistband just to give myself a little extra fabric as I'm constructing the pants -- this gets trimmed off before I close the waistband if I don't need it. Good luck!

Yes, this type of waistband is also possible to fit using TDCO.

@@thecrookedhem do i create the waistband with elastic then? Thanks x

For waistbands with elastic, whether it's fully elastic or only elastic in the back, you have a choice about how to fit them: One option is to use a straight waistband (no elastic) when you toile. This waistband is essentially a placeholder. As you fit, you will gather up the fabric along the waistline of the toile and tuck it underneath the straight waistband. Some folks prefer this option because a straight waistband will be more stable on the body than an elastic one, and it may make the fitting process easier. Once you have made your fit adjustments, you switch back to the elastic waistband + casing for your final garment. The second option is to construct a waistband with elastic in a casing for your toile. If your waistband only has elastic in the back, then you will construct a waistband that is straight in front and elastic+casing in the back. As you fit, you will tuck the toile fabric underneath this waistband, smoothing the toile along the front of the body where you have the straight waistband, and gathering the toile fabric in the back where you have the elastic. Working with elastic while you are fitting can take some practice to manipulate, so don't be afraid to experiment to see what works best for you.

With a zip fly, you will need to take a careful look at your pattern and the instructions. Most well-drafted patterns will have a notch indicating the center front (or will indicate where the center front is somehow on the pattern pieces). Use this information to mark the center front line on your toile and proceed as usual with Top Down Center Out. Keep in mind that some zip front patterns will also have you overlap the two fronts slightly when constructing the zipper, and if so, this should also be indicated the instructions. You will need to take this overlap into account while you are fitting. The other way to handle this is to make a full two-legged toile where you construct the full zipper closure as a part of the toile. The downside to this approach is that you will lose some visibility into how the crotch seam if fitting the body.