Let's explore The New Magic-Fit Master Pattern for Pants (a 1984 vintage pants template)

Summary

One of my sweet friends sent me a boxed set of the American Fashion Institute's "New Magic-Fit Master Pattern for Pants" — originally 1974, this copy a 1984 remake — and I could not open it fast enough. The best part isn't even the pattern. It's Margaret, the previous owner, who left her handwritten ease notes, her full measurements, and a genuinely beautiful little sketch of pants tucked inside the box. Hi, Margaret. You had lovely handwriting.

We go through the whole thing: the master pattern, the manual, the French curve, the templates for pockets and waistbands and facings, and the instructions for actually sewing the pants — which turn out to be about three steps dressed up in a whole lot of fancy words.

• The grading system is the good part. It accounts for the fact that bodies don't just get bigger — the shapes change. Sizes run 28" to 60".
• "Press a crease in the center front pant leg" = fold it in half like a hot dog and iron it. That's it. That's the step.
• Sew with long stitches so you can unpick them easily if the fit needs adjusting.
• Stretch the inseam slightly as you sew toward the crotch — it gives you tension in the stress area.
• The manual says "irregardless." Babies, that's not a word.
• Bonus DIY pressing tool: cover a cloth core board in foil (shiny side out) and then terry cloth.

Transcript

Okay, so this is the new magic fit AFI master pattern for pants for perfect fit for any design for all adult sizes. If you change your size, so does your master pattern. Ideal for creating your own designs, using as a basic pattern to adjust and fit your commercial patterns. It contains magic fit masterpants pattern, an instruction manual, a 15 foot pattern paper, and one French styling curve. And one of my sweet friends sent this to me, and I am very excited to see what this 1974 Oh, and then 1984, so a remake. [snorts] I'm excited to see what 1984 was doing with pants. Oh, it's attached. Okay, so let's get into this box, shall we? This says ease living ease bust, waist, hip. Oh, it's her little So, someone asked me about ease the other day. This is what the previous owner did for Ease. Two inches in the bust, an inch in the waist, three inches in the hips, and then a breakdown of the measurements. Put tape on shoulder where tape falls off. This is an app. Dart should be one inch back from the point of app. Vellum paper for tracing. Measure high on back. Oh, and here's her little drawing of pants. First ple will go into pleat cut online. She's got her Bermuda length, her cool lot length. She also just has really beautiful handwriting. Who is this diva? Here she's showing shoulder darts. This isn't even like this isn't even part of this. It's just in here. So, I just wanted to share that.

And then we have designing with Ducen perhaps Dooen at home sewing dreams come true. The easiest way to perfect fit and up to the minute fashion styling. Okay, we'll go through this in a little more detail. And we've got all of this paper to go through together. We've got the fancy measury boy. Uh, she's never used this pants front and back crotch curve with your seam allowance. And it tells you like where to line everything up. Yo, that's sick. Well, look at that together. Is this two? All right, we have two of these. This one's pants. And this one, Margaret, is who this belonged to. Oh, this has all of your measurements. I didn't even have to do all that stuff for you guys. It was already in here. Yeah. Oh, man. She put a Okay, so I got bonuses. Then we've got templates for pockets for waistbands for facing a basic straight leg pant and all of its and faux and another one the back. How fun. Okay, let's look at these a little deeper. Let's see what we have here. [clears throat] Well, since I was expecting pants, we'll start with pants. That's the tops. There's the pants.

Every woman who sews dreams of finding a pants pattern that will fit her own individual figure perfectly without endless alterations. Students who have come to the American Fashion Institute have been learning how to draw their own pants patterns exactly to their individual measurements. Their unfailing results gave birth to the Magic Fit Master Pattern, which now includes every measurement from 28 in to 60 in. We invite you to enjoy this unique adventure enjoying them through the simple instructions found in this manual. Furthermore, as soon as you have satisfied your sizing needs, imagine the excitement of becoming your own designer. Our goal at the American Fashion Institute is to assist each of you to create the perfect styles most becoming to you. You'll learn simple rules that the greatest designers know by following our fascinating new method. What a freaking mouthful. Okay, we're not going to be reading this all word for word. Here is a cute little diagram of taking your measurements. And then we have many years of research that led to this pants pattern. Now, listen, I'm not going to brag, but like I make pants that fit a 22 in waist to a 60in waist. you just make them stretchy or have ties, but okay.

So, here it explains to you to lay your pattern out, place the see-through paper over it, and then trace it. You start with the back and then it includes grading scales to help you figure out where the slope versus your shape is and like your size. I'm not going to try and use technical terms cuz I'm just going to sound stupid. But basically, just because you get bigger this way, everything like everything doesn't stay the same. The shapes change. Shapes change. whatever. So, I like that they include that because I know a big complaint for people of more powerful sizes is that like when people make the clothes bigger, they don't take their actual form into consideration. Um, okay. Then we have showing how to draw back curves. Give you some visuals. I guess you could pause and like look at this. And then talking slopes, connecting markings, constructing and assembling pants. Oh, I'm excited to see how they say to assemble them cuz I try a few different ways and I don't really have a favorite.

Um, let's see. Checkm length or past that. Don't cut the master pattern. Okay. Press a crease in the center front pant leg from bottom of crotch curve. Fold the pants and legs in half at hem, letting the crease follow the grain line of the fabric. Press crease 4 in above crotch curve. Okay, that's a lot of fancy freaking words to say. Fold in half like a hot dog and then iron it. I mean, heck, come on. Sew together the outside leg seams front to back. If you're if it's the outside seams, wouldn't it be top to bottom? Not front to back from stitching. Oh, okay. From stitching from hem to waist. So, they want you to start at the bottom, go up the outside leg, press seam flat, then open. Sew seams with long stitches for easy removal later if needed. Okay. So, um use a long straight stitch. Go from bottom to top. So, your inseams together. Sew seam from hem up to the midpoint of leg and then stretch the seam as you sew up to crotch ending point. The stretching gives tension in area of stress. Press in seams flat then open. Slipping a sleeve roll inside leg seam. Note a cloth core board covered with aluminum foil shiny side out then covered with terry cloth makes a terrific pressing tool.

Okay, this is only three steps and I felt like it was so hard. So, we're zipping the outside leg after we press. We sew it together. We press it. Then, we're also using long stitches to take them out if we want for the inseam. So, the inside of the leg, you sew bottom to top. You stretch this area while you're sewing so that it can accommodate your legs, I guess. And then you press them flat. And then you open What? Do you open the pants? I guess. And it wants you to put a sleeve roll inside the leg seam so that you can press along the curve is what I think it's saying. And then if you take a cloth core board, whatever that is, cloth core board, cover it with foil, and cover that with terry cloth, you can make a pressing tool.

Okay. So, your crotch seams. We finally made it to sewing the crotch seams. And they put one leg inside of the other. Right sides facing. So cute sides kissing. So to midway and then from front to back it says so from front to back. Ireardless. I [ __ ] you not. It says my dirty nails and everything. Irregardless. That's not a word, babies. And to be clear, they're not dirty. They're green from my hair. and it makes them look really disgusting. And I was never self-conscious about it until the internet made me feel this way. Okay, so we're putting our legs in. They've got a lot of pinning and sewing happening here. And then they put an elastic waist in in the end. Here's this part. Here's this part. I guess I could have held it there if you wanted to like take a screenshot, whoever you are. And then it talks about if you have small waists and large hips to make sure to give yourself enough room for the hips. They show this cute little opening so it can slip over your hip. That's nice. What if you have a large waist and small hips? You're not going to give any advice for that. Easy elastic waistband. They show cut the elastic to size and then use a zigzag stitch. Here's this little like slip on pocket stitch they got going. If you put a button there, I could be reading this.

Oh, pants with variations. Behold the variations. Life front inseam pocket. So many variations. Ooh, but these look good. I like these. Sorry for all the noise. I guess I am the noise. Pajama leg or palazo. You can widen them into pajama legs by marking a larger measurement than your hip at the hem grading lines. You measure 36 in the hip. Mark the hem for 45. Draw a line from the widened hem into the thigh level. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. Got it. So grading is just blending curves and that's what it's saying. So let's now enough of that. Let's look at what we've got here in a little more detail. So this is the like primary template for Oh, nice. a patch pocket for dresses, skirts, and pants. An inseam pocket for dresses, skirts, and pants. But you you could put it in other stuff. You could put it in a bag if you wanted. And then these are front fly seven inch zipper eight and 9 in. This is front closing waistband. A back closing waistband. That's nice. Okay.

And then here, so this is the basic straight leg pant. And that's what this says. It is too. I wonder if there's a difference. Oh, yeah. That's right. One was the back and one was the front. We knew that. Okay. So, here we have indeed it is a single leg pattern. And then it has some little added guys. So you'll see as we move to the top, you would mark where your waist is. You would mark your crotch height for darts. My cat is bumping into everything. And then you would just mark each measurement as you go down. and then blend it all together to get the perfect pants for you. And that's the front side. And then you do it again on the back. That camera angle might have made you see sick. So then you can see up close on the back side. Like these are your grading lines based on your measurements. And then like plain hem, finished pants length, cut here for cuffs. And it gives you again like all the different measurements for each little part so that you can make them exactly your size. I feel like we have extra papers here. I guess not. Here's another little closeup of like the back. Have fun. What did I skipped? I'm definitely going to make some stuff now. I'm going to make some pants. I need to make I need to make a present for my husband. What should I make him? Also, if you got bananas last time, try that code on the website and see what happens. Thanks for wasting your time with me. Waste more time by liking and subscribing and watching another video. Thanks.