Sewing 1940s trousers from a vintage pattern + ADDING POCKETS!

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In this week’s video, you can follow the process of me making a pair of 1940s Ladies’ and Misses’ Slacks from McCall in 1942 (McCall 4803)!

I bought the pattern at a local antique & vintage sale and later discovered that sadly the previous owner had cut & altered the original 1940s pattern and TAPERED the legs… 😩 Who does that!? 😧 😖

This meant I had to try to recreate the original 1940’s leg silhouette. I also wanted to add different pockets to my trousers and as such, I had to do a lot of testing to get the perfect fit & shape for my pants.

📣 PSA: Do never alter original antique & vintage patterns – just make a copy which you can alter as you like!

If you want to learn different ways to trace your vintage patterns Evelyn Wood has a great video here on 5 methods to trace your sewing patterns so that you can keep your originals intact.

Hopefully, you will find this process helpful for when you need to alter your own patterns in the future! 😊

Click here to watch the video, or click on the thumbnail above. If you prefer to read you can read the transcript of the video below…

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Get the supplies:

Further resources to successfully sew your own trousers:

I made a little look book on TikTok with 5 different ways I style my me-made 1940’s trousers. You can check it out below:

@missmatti

Styling my #memade #1940s trousers 5 ways #memadewardrobe #vintagesewing #1940sfashion #diystyle #sewingproject #sewing #outfitinspo #dressupstayhome

♬ Whatever Lola Wants – Abbe Lane

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Let me know in a comment below if you want more detailed tutorials on how to add your own diagonal side pocket to any garment, make and attach your own bias tape, belt loops, attaching an invisible or anything else from the video that you want me to go into in more detail!

Also if you have any good tips on pressing trousers so that the crease line stays intact for longer let me know!

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Transcript:

Follow the process of me making a pair of 1940s trousers from a vintage pattern with diagonal side pockets and beautifully finished seams.

Hi, my name is Matilda and welcome back to Miss Matti the channel where I share all about sewing, knitting, mending and generally how to live an awesome and sustainable life – if that sounds like something for you please hit the subscribe button and hit the notification bell so you will not miss any upcoming videos from me.

And, in today’s video, I’m going to share with you my journey of making my own 1940s pants. So the pattern I used to make these trousers are the McCall pattern from 1942. They’re the 4803 ladies’ and misses’ slacks which I found in a vintage and antique sale a couple of years ago. I was pretty excited to find this pattern because it actually is exactly my size but as you will see in this video the person that had this pattern before had altered it.

PSA: Never alter vintage patterns, people! Just make a copy and then alter as you like because I really wanted this fit. Yeah… that was a really sad discovery but luckily I know how to pattern cut this so I just went with it.

Something else worth mentioning which I will go through much more later on in this video is that I also decided to alter the pockets on these trousers. I wanted more visible pockets and I wanted two pockets on each side. 

In the original pattern there is only one pocket bag and then on the other side is where the zipper is located. I tried for ages to find the perfect tartan fabric for these pants and I finally found the perfect fabric at moodfabrics.com and then I really wanted some fun detailing on the inside of the pants with a fun printed pocket bag so I found the perfect fabric for this – which was an origami print quilting cotton.

And because the tartan fabric has several different colours in it, some dark blue, some wine red, and some grey I was standing between having either a navy thread or like a more burgundy coloured thread. And I was also standing between having a more burgundy coloured zipper or a more dark blue / navy zipper, in the end, I went with a navy dark blue thread and zipper and I think I did pick the right ones for this project.

So this is the first muslin I did and it looks quite… not so great. It’s just a bit tight here at the waist. You can see it drags here. It doesn’t have enough seam allowance here, so that causes that the pocket gets dragged, the tucks get dragged. So that I will need to add extra space here up at the hips and the waist then to get the right 1940s fit the legs need to be wider. 

The previous owner has removed the seam allowances here on this side, and then as you can see here the seam allowances are still here but they also started to remove them here and then tapered the leg inward. If you look here at the pattern envelope you can see that it’s meant to be much more straight here to create those really wide legs, and you can see here on the pictures as well: This is exactly the style of pant I would like to have. Not any more narrow legs. So we’ll need to add extra width here to the legs, a little bit extra length. 

In the original pattern, it’s only one pocket and that’s like a very hidden pocket on the side. So this is the original pocket so that was just one pocket like this on one side. Folded over like this, and then it will be sitting like this on one side. And as you can see here it will be attached on one of the sides, like I think, and then on the other side, it’s the zipper. 

I wanted two pockets and I wanted more visible pockets so that’s why I added these here. 

So I created a folded pocket facing here so you just fold it over to create less bulk. So it will look like this. I’ll show you a bit more later and I’m pretty happy with this size of the pocket. So you can see it’s not that big of a difference in size it’s just a bit wider up here and a little bit less long but not that big of a difference. 

So I will do the alterations that is needed I added extra I think two centimetres around. So like half a centimetre on each side so I added half a centimetre here and half a centimetre on the back and that will then be two centimetres around the whole waist area. 

So now I’m going to show you a little bit better about the pockets so this is a pocket facing. You can of course attach that separately but to create less bulk I made it a fold folded one. Because I thought that could make it much more neat around the hips because this is like one of my widest areas on my body and I don’t want to add any extra bulk if I can avoid it. 

So of course it will be attached under here, the pocket bag, and then we have the upper pocket bag and that will be attached then to this. So like this! So the pocket bag will be made up of this material and of course the pocket facing will be in this tartan fabric that I have for the pants. 

What I forgot to mention is that I actually added quite a bit of length to the pants. I already did add a lot of le.. extra length to the pants when I did my Muslim – but I added a bit of extra as you could see it was a little bit short still. So now I’m going to show you the waistband. So here’s the extra space that I added to my waist so it can be closed properly without pulling. 

I will add belt loops but I don’t ever will use tiny belt loops like this. So we’ll probably make bigger ones once I finish the rest of the pants. So that’s about it what I’ve done to change the design of these pants. 

This is how my second mockup which I made of an old bedsheet looks like. You can see that they fit me much better around the hip area and I can finally close the waistband comfortably, and the tucks do no longer get dragged in the same way as before. The leg length & width are way better as well.

The only thing I need to improve is the pockets. I find that the pocket opening does not lay flat and stands out too much, as well as something is pulling from the inside the pocket bag & facing. I will have to re-do the pocket and assess what when wrong.

Here you can see that I made a curved pocket facing, and I think this may be one of the reasons behind the pulling.

You can also see that my pocket bag pattern is missing 2 cm at the top which could be another factor why this happened.

If you look at my old pattern notes from years ago on diagonal side seam pockets you can see that you preferably should make the pocket facing 1 cm wider at the top and then add that extra 1 cm at the bottom outside of the leg seam. This will give the pocket extra ease.

I will also follow my pattern notes and change the curved seam at the pocket facing to a straight seam.

Now it’s time to make the pattern alterations!

Now you can see that the pocket facing is straight with added ease. If you also want to add pockets to your trousers make sure to mark the fold line correctly and ensure that it will go 1 cm outside the side seam at the bottom of the facing to allow for that extra bit of ease.

You will fold over the facing like this and attach it to the upper pocket bag, then on the other side, you will attach the bottom pocket bag with the pocket facing attached at the top. So these are all the pocket pattern pieces. I will now sew a smaller sample of pocket attached to the top front & top back only.

Here I am modelling the sample to see if I liked how it turned out! *Spoiler alert* I did!
For the best final result, it’s always best to test as much as possible before sewing in the actual fabric that you will use for your project.

You can see now that the pocket opening lays way flatter. and that the weird pulling is no longer happening.

Let’s get into making the real deal!

The first step was to cut out the fabrics and I took great care to cut them on the grain and to pattern match the tartan fabric and as such, I did cut the pattern pieces in a single layer only instead of a double layer as I normally would do.

I made sure to transfer all notches, darts, tucks, and other pattern markings from my pattern. Always follow the principle check twice, cut once when cutting out your pattern pieces!

I know it’s tempting to rush and get into sewing your garment as soon as possible, but if you take your time cutting you will really thank yourself later on.

This is especially true when you do try to pattern match!

Once all my pattern pieces in my tartan fabric were cut out it was time to cut the pocket bags in the origami fabric.

Then it was time to start sewing and I started by sewing the tucks on both front pieces as well as stay stitching the fold line on the pocket facing. I did this because as it’s cut on the bias it can easily stretch and I want to prevent that happening to my pocket facing.

Here you can see how I stay stitched on the pocket fold on the other front piece, and once it’s pressed you will have a neat fold on your pocket.

Then I stayed stitched on the other side and off camera I overlocked the edges of the facings to prevent fraying. When sewing the front tucks I made sure to sew evenly on each side. Then I pressed the tucks on the front as well as on the back on my tailor’s ham.

Then I folded over the pocket facing and pressed once again along the stay stitched fold line.

Then I continued by sewing the darts on the back pieces. A little tip that I have learned when it comes to sewing great darts is to sew from the edge and slowly start to pivot once you come close to the end of the dart. Pivot a bit extra just before the dart ends. DO NOT back stitch – instead, leave long thread tails which you then will tie together a couple of times before snipping off excess threads.

Then press the darts as follows: fold the darts away from the garment on the wrong side and press. Then finish off by pressing the darts in place from the right side on a tailor’s ham. This will create a crisp and neat finish.

Now it’s time to create the pockets!

First, attach the pocket facing that will be attached to the bottom pocket bag by stitching close to the edge around the pocket facing.

Before attaching the upper pocket bag to the folded pocket facing I made sure to stay stitch where I will attach it as well to prevent any stretching.

Then I pinned the upper pocket bag to the facing and sew in place. Then I repeated this process on the other side.

I then pressed the seam open and now it’s time to attach the bottom pocket bag, but before doing so I topstitched the pocket facing on my pocket to make sure it will lay in place. Then I pinned and sew the pocket bags together.

Once I had done that on both sides I finished the edges of my pockets with my serger, and fastened the seams by applying fray check to them.

After attaching the pockets it’s now time to attach the leg seams. Even if I did not follow the original instructions fully I liked looking at them once in a while during this process for reference.

I started with sewing the inner leg seams together, followed by the outer leg seam on the leg on the side that will not have a zipper. On the side that will have a zipper attached I measured how far down my zipper will go and started to stitch from there.

Then before attaching the zipper I did set my stitch length to 5.0 mm and baste stitched along the edge where I will attach the zipper. Then I pressed the seam to create a crisp finish and then unpicked the basting stitches.

Then as I attached an invisible zipper I opened it and pinned it to the side seams. I then unfolded the pressed seam allowance and stitched the zipper in place from the wrong side using my invisible zipper presser foot.

Once that was done it was time to sew the crotch together. I like doing this by pulling one of the legs inside the other and then pin the crotch together before sewing it in place.

In the original instructions of the pattern, they recommend a couple of different ways to finish the seams of the trousers: using overcast stitches, pinking the seams or seam edges turned and stitched.

Once I had ensured that I didn’t need to do any further alterations to the trousers I decided to not go with either method and instead finish off my seam edges by attaching navy bias binding to them.

It was quite a time-consuming process and I think it might be easier to do BEFORE attaching all the side seams and the crotch. Let me know in a comment down below what you think!

Anyway, in the end, it was worth it as it turned out so good! 😍

I used double folded bias binding which I unfolded completely and pinned along the edge of the seam allowance, then I stitched it in place, folded the bias tape over the edge, and pinned it in place. Then I topstitched the bias binding in place.

If you want a more detailed tutorial on how to attach bias binding – let me know in a comment down below!

I then repeated this process on all the raw edges that will be exposed.

I thought I had calculated enough to finish all the seams – but apparently not! Therefore I had to make some of my own, as such I decided to turn some of the origami print which I used for the pocket bags into bias binding for a matching look. I attached this to the edges on the crotch.

If you want to know how to make your own bias tape – let me know in a comment below and I might make a tutorial for you if there is enough interest.

Once all the bias binding was attached it was time to sew the waistband to the trousers. I decided to go for the method where you stitch along one side – in my case, the front – fold along the stitch line and then press.

With the right sides facing each other I attached the sides together and cut off any excess fabric in the corners to prevent a bulky finish.

Then I turned the waistband to the right side and pressed. I pinned the side, where I didn’t create any fold, to the waist of the trousers and stitched it in place. Then I folded the waistband over and topstitched it in place from the right side.

In the original instructions of the trousers, they showed a couple of different ways to finish the hem. I decide to use the bias binding method by sewing one side of the origami bias tape to the bottom of my trousers, then fold over, press & pin in place. I then carefully stitched the hem by hand using a blind hemstitch.

Once that was done I repeated the same process on the other leg’s hem as well. And look how beautiful the seam finishes turned out!

Now it’s time to attach the hook and bar closure to my waistband. I found it best to attach the hook with a double thread for extra strength by stitching three times in each of the holes, then tie and then pull the needle under the closure towards the next corner.

To ensure I placed the bar closure in the right location I inserted it into the hook and held it in place where the closure will be attached.

Holding the bar closure in place and pull the hook away. If you want you can keep on holding it in place or if you prefer mark the location with some tailor’s chalk. Then attach this side as well with double thread stitching three times around each hole in the closure, and create a tie to finish it off.

Once the hook & bar closure were attached the trousers are… almost done! Before we move on to attaching belt loops I just want to take some time to appreciate how beautiful the inside of my trousers is turning out!

I cut a 4.5 cm wide & 35 cm long fabric strip long. I then overlocked one of the long side edges then I pressed a 1.5 cm fold on the unfinished edge and folded over 1.5 cm from the overlocked edge. Making sure to press after each fold to create a crisp finish.

As I didn’t want to have any visible topstitching on top of my belt loops I did sew them in place by hand stitching with an overcast stitch on the back of the belt loops. Once I had done that it was time to cut the belt loops. I measured out 7 cm for each belt loop and marked it with chalk. Then I cut the belt loops with pinking shears to prevent fraying.

Then I marked where on my trousers I wanted the belt loops to go- trying to place them as evenly as possible. I pinned the belt loops in place but then I realized that the best way for me to attach them would have been to attach them under the topstitching at the waistband. Well, well.. we live and we learn! It was just to unpick the part of the topstitching where each belt loop will be attached.

Once that was done I inserted the end of each belt loop in the spots where I just unpicked and then stitched back and forth with my sewing machine. I then marked 1 cm down from the waistband, pinned, and stitched the belt loop securely in place.

Then I folded the belt loops back up towards the waistband and made sure to fold the edge inward and pin in place. At this point, I was running out of battery on my camera so will I hand-stitch the top of the belt loops in place off-camera.

So this is how the belt loops turned out! They are big enough for some of my smaller belts unlike the teeny tiny belt loops in the original pattern.

You can see here how I attached the belt loops off-camera. They feel very sturdy and securely attached and overall I am really pleased with how this project turned out. I love how beautiful they are both inside and out.

Taking some extra time to finish off your garments in a beautiful way even on the inside really helps to make your me-made garments feel extra luxurious and special.

And this is how they look on me! They look great and are really comfy! If you have any tips on pressing trousers so that the crease line stays intact for longer let me know – because clearly, it’s not as visible here as I like it to be.

If you want to see 5 different ways I style these trousers I created a little lookbook on TikTok. If you want to follow me and check the video out my name is missmatti on Tiktok as well.

I really hope you liked the process of me making my 1940s pants and if you did: hit that like button!

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And if you want to support me you can and if you cannot afford it that’s all right too you can just like this video, or share it with someone that you think will appreciate it any little thing like that helps I’m really just grateful for you being here and if you like this video you might also like these videos over here and until next time: Bye!


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