FABRIC:
* 3 yards of 60" fabric OR 4 yards of 45" fabric (add an additional yard for plaids)
Working with plaids "properly" is a considerably more involved process than working with solid-color and striped fabrics, as it involves precise cutting and alignment of the plaid lines. It certainly is ... well, an experience. As Cabrera put it in Classic Tailoring Techniques for Menswear, "Checks tend to be by far the trickiest fabric patterns to work with, as they involve matching garment pieces in both the lengthwise and crosswise directions of the cloth. Very experienced tailors often find the challenge of a complicated check pattern very thrilling, and the final result particularly rewarding."
Furthermore, matching plaids in the cutting process increases the total yardage required.
* 1 yard lining
The "lining" is for the waistband facing, and unless you want an out-of-the-box facing that's different from the rest of the trousers, we generally recommend just using self-fabric, even if it's referred to as "lining."
If you use self-fabric for your "lining"/waistband facings, it is already included in the yardage mentioned above; we're only listing it separately here in case you're wanting to use a different fabric instead.
* ½ yard pocketing
The pocketing is for any pockets you wish to install into your trousers (obviously), although one can use muslin instead since it's inexpensive and more readily available.
* ¼ yard muslin
The muslin is for the "curtains" beneath the waistband facing. Again, we generally recommend muslin because it's inexpensive and very easy to find at nearly any fabric store, but any lightweight cotton fabric will do. You can have some fun if you wish to experiment with this; as you'll see, I (Alex) used a lightweight cotton fabric with a sheet music print for my trousers' curtains, since I'm a composer and wanted to add a personal touch to my trousers.
* 1 yard fusible interfacing
Although Victorian trousers were interfaced as needed with linen/canvas, for our purposes we'll simply be using a fusible interfacing to stabilize the waistband, fly, and area beneath the back pockets. (See our "Tutorial notes.") If you find the notion of fusible interfacing in Victorian trousers appalling, feel free to switch out the fusible for linen/canvas or hair canvas if you prefer!
ACCESSORIES/SUPPLIES/NOTIONS/ETC.:
* Button/buttonhole foot for sewing machine
Ideally, you should be able to make keyhole buttonholes!
If your machine does not make keyhole buttonholes, regular buttonholes are acceptable, or you can make keyhole buttonholes by hand (Jason MacLochlainn demonstrates this process in his book, The Victorian Tailor - see our "Recommended Reading" section).
* Zipper/piping foot for sewing machine
* Walking foot for sewing machine
You'll especially want one of these if you're sewing plaids! It simply wouldn't do to go through all the trouble of properly cutting, matching, pinning, and basting plaids, only for everything to shift ever-so-slightly when sewing the layers together.
* 2 spools of thread (one matching fabric, one matching pocketing)
* 6x ¾" buttons for fly closure
* 6x ¾" buttons for suspenders/braces
* 6x ¼" or ½" backing buttons for suspenders/braces (optional)
* 2x ½" buttons for back pockets (optional)
* 1 trousers-style hook-and-eye closure (for waistbands with overlap)
* 3 yards of stay tape
We've used and recommend two kinds of stay tape: ⅜" cotton twill stay tape, which is commonly used for fine tailoring, and ½" nylon stay tape.
⅜" cotton twill stay tape
½" nylon stay tape
Both are relatively inexpensive; I (Alex) purchased 144 yards of ⅜" cotton twill stay tape from Wawak Sewing Supplies for about $13, and you can likely find the nylon stay tape at your local fabric store for only a few dollars.
Although both are acceptable, for this particular project, we generally recommend the nylon stay tape for two reasons: first, because the bulk it adds is negligible, and second, because most casual cosplayers have no need for 144 yards of stay tape!
NEXT: Tutorial Notes
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