Front to back zip pants

This flexibility allows you to accommodate the various sizes of available zippers, if you cannot get one exactly the length of your side seam and you do not wish to shorten a zipper. Pin right sides together along top edge of back of pants, matching center fold to center seam.

Stitch serging is optional. You may need to trim some of the excess seam allowance to make it fit neatly. Pin in place and stitch close to finished edge, from side seam to side seam, careful not to stitch into zipper teeth. Pin right sides together along top edge of front of pants, matching center fold to center seam. Pin in place and stitch close to finished edge. Important : Stop stitching and backstitch on either side of the zipper teeth; you will leave a gap so the movement of the zipper will not be obstructed.

Stitch through one end of the elastic, casing, and pants back, close to the zipper teeth. Adjust fit of elastic and stitch the other end closed. Trim elastic ends. Important : The elastic will end before the zipper teeth; it should not extend all the way to the end of the casing. Stitch through one end of the elastic, casing, and pants front, close to the zipper teeth. This helped me understand some general principles, which I used to write some code in python to do a similar process.

I decided to represent the pattern as a set of x,y points. I took the original pattern and traced it on to graph paper. I outlined the pattern with points, and collected the x,y locations of those points.

Then put those data points into a txt file. Now I have each pattern front piece and back piece defined by a set of x,y points and broken into the following segments; waist, crotch, inseam, pantscuff, and outseam.

I want to be able to expand the pattern size by giving a new waist, crotch, and outseam size. The first step is knowing how much to extend each piece of the patterns. For instance, to get to the new waist size, I have to grow the waist section of each pattern by the following:. To grow a section for example, the waist I find the number of points in the pattern representing the waist. I divide the length by the the points to find the distance each point needs to move, then move each point.

For the waist, the general direction of growth is in Y, so I keep all the X locations the same and just move the point in Y. Now, once I've expanded a section, I need to move all the other sections to realign with it.

Using the example of the waist, Once I've expanded it, I need to move all the crotch points uniformly in Y. The outseam does not move when expanding the waist. The inseam moves uniformly up in Y just like the crotch points. Finally, the pantscuff needs to grow by expanding it with the same technique as expanding the waist.

Every point in the pantscuff is expanded in Y by the waist expansion difference using the same method as how the waist was expanded. It expands both in X and in Y. The bulk of the stretching occurs in the X direction.

The curve does not expand, it merely translates in X. Then the top of the curve where it is straight again expands in Y. The dataset of X,Y points has a flag for those points in the crotch that are part of the curve and should not expand. To extend the length of the outseam, all the points of the inseam and the outseam grow in the X direction uniformly. The waist and crotch points do not move, but the pantscuff points must all translate by the same amount in X.

Once the front and back patterns have been completed adjusted for a new waist, crotch, and outseam size, the casing pattern can be constructed. That would combine the worst of the 70s hip-huggers with the worst of the 80s the pants the Hessian chicks wore that had a zipper go all the way from front to back, allowing friends to share a leg of each other's jeans. Update that, and you will have me screaming that fashion has finally gone too far! Their most famous product was a pair of zip-around jeans.

They also had tie-up jeans and button-up jeans. But, oh yeah, those zip-arounds. Painted-on-tight jeans that fastened via a zipper that went from the top of the back of the pants all the way around under the crotch to the front? Ohgoodgod those jeans tormented my pubescent mind and fueled more than one lurid adolescent fantasy.

Those jeans were a menace I tell you. I used to sit in Freshman English and just drool on my desk at the sight of my friend Rebecca wrapped tight in those jeans.

They were a menace to her too. These hip belts sit directly over the same area where most people wear the belt band of their pants. When you can avoid a belt altogether through the use of elastic or fitted pants, do so! Otherwise here are a couple tips to keep your belt comfy and prevent soreness or blisters:. In hiking pants there are two schools of thought.

Lots of pockets, or minimal pockets. Hiking pants are made for just that — hiking. Hikers spend most of their time walking, often at a decent pace. Toss a load of bulky keys, a large phone, a pocket knife, and a few other hiking items in your pockets. Personally I only carry flat, lightweight items in my pockets when hiking.

If you want pockets, though you might consider cargo pockets or other pockets located on the side of the leg. Unlike front pockets, side pockets tend to create less pressure against the leg and are usually more comfortable for carrying goodies on a hike.

A great and comfortable alternative to bulky pockets and items on hiking pants is hip belt pockets on your hiking backpack. Waterproofing concerns on hiking gear is always worth considering. When it comes to hiking pants, however, waterproof is usually not an option.

Of course waterproof pants for hiking are a totally different story. Nylon hiking pants are often inherently quite water resistant. Some nylon pants can be made to nearly waterproof specifications while still allowing some breathability. Nylon hiking pants are durable, usually windproof, water resistant and can be improved with something called DWR.

Durable Water Repellent is a coating that usually used to keep waterproof shells from soaking through. For most hiking pants factors such as durability, fit, and features are more important than weight anyways. Only when extreme activities demand the lightest fabrics do we really need to worry about weight. If weight truly is a concern then an extremely lightweight pair of nylon windproof pants can be added to a layering system. Using a layering system such as this for ultralight backpacking is more versatile and effective than pinching ounces on hiking pants by far.

All things being equal, try to go for the lighter pants. Simply put, it means the cut of the knee is at an angle so they are not straight. If you can get a pair with an articulated knee, do so, you will thank me. Hiking pants with a gusset is usually diamond shaped patch of fabric that is seen in the inner thigh of the pants.

Similar in function to articulated knees, they improve the comfort of the pants by giving them an increased range of motion. This is especially important over long hikes. You will only find this feature in higher end pants like the prAna Zion or the OR Cirque pants because of the extra stitching involved in creating the gusset. Finding the best pair of hiking pants is mostly a matter of opinion.

Everyone prefers slightly different features and styles so be sure to go with your instinct. By now you should have some idea of what features to look for and which to avoid. To come up with the top hiking pants for women we researched a variety of sources for reviews such as REI, Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas and Backcountry along with our own personal experience. We also consulted online magazines for product research and reviews to get as much unbiased information as we could. To help weed out fake reviews we used Fakespot.

With so much quality gear available, we had to narrow it down based on what we felt were the best options for the price. The author, Casey Fiedler has been leading backpacking trips for over a decade in his native state of Michigan. To help narrow down the selection he used his personal experience along with recommendations from fellow guides and outfitters. After extensive research, we came up with our list to help you choose the right one for you.

Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Dicks Sporting Goods. Bass Pro Shops. Outside Magazine. Keen Footwear.