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My Pattern Designer 2.5 and
The Complete Pants Designer
by Kaaren Hoback
The new MPD 2.5 upgrade produces pants patterns that will make
better fitting pants than ever before. The upgrade also comes
with a sampler of the new Complete Pants Designer tool,
including new settings, adjustments, waistbands, pockets, and
much, much more. This article will provide a brief overview of
what is included in this incredible new tool. Our next
newsletter will go into more detail about how to use the new
settings (such as the Grainline Adjust and waistband darting)
and accessories (such as the Slenderizer Pocket™ and Contoured Waistband) to
get better fit and a slimmer look than you have ever had before.
The Complete Pants Designer allows you to select all of your pants options, elements, and adjustments within
this one comprehensive tool. The menus will adjust
according to your selections. The pattern will draft to the far
right of your screen so you may instantly view the results of your selections,
providing all options and settings associated with each choice
you make.
Photos illustrating your choices help
make the meaning of each more apparent. You may choose length,
fit level, leg style, waist height, closures, pockets, waistband
designs, ease and fit levels all from the same tool.
When you click on The Complete Pants Designer under the Designer
Tools tab on the upper toolbar, the screen opens with a
selection of Career pants. This category might also be
considered dress pants or office pants or any other general
classification of nicer pants styles.
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Next, select options for hem treatments,
darts, pockets, waistbands and more to create literally
thousands of one-off pants patterns all in your size.
From the left to right, the styles are arranged in major
functional groups. Click each tab to see the foundation patterns
for Active-Wear Pants, Casual Pants, Career Pants, Jeans,
Shorts, and Work Pants.
Active wear offers 11 named
styles of classic dance, martial arts, ski, sport, yoga and warm
ups. We even included the new fold over waist yoga wear.
Casual Wear offers 12 named styles ranging from
Capri’s and culottes’ to dorm pants, lounge, one seam and
pajamas.
Career pants are amazing - here, you'll find 10
pre-designed pants each available in 4 fit levels fit, 10 leg
styles such as classic, boot cut, straight, wide, pleated, or
princess. You may amend the fit/ease values, number of darts or
pleats, waist placement, closure type, waistband type; add a
back yoke, vents, gussets and all sorts of pockets and extras
such as belt loops. Just click your selection and watch the
pattern display change to include your design options.
Jeans - Create hundreds of variables from these
Real Jeans. We feature classic styling which includes a back
yoke, attached fly, pork chop pockets, Slenderizer pocket, jeans
style back hip pockets, belt loops, contoured or straight
waistbands starting with 7 classic leg styles- all the fit
levels, and adjustable waist placement.
Select from stretch denim to extra heavy weight hardwearing work
jeans- designer to farm and everything in between.
Shorts - We offer 11 pre-built patterns to start
you out from bike and hike to casual or compression, select a
sport from basketball to tennis or a nice pleated Khaki short.
Chose any length you want with any waist level and finish as
well as a large variety of pockets, belt loops, vents and even
gussets.
Work Pants for chefs and carpenters, painters,
medical scrubs and a simple ‘uniform’ type pant that is
presentable but hard working when jeans are too casual. The work
pants designed with enough pockets and extras like hammer loops
to work as hard as you do.
Select your choice then select your fit type from the Fit Menu
and the level of the waist from the Waist Menu.
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Waist Position
Panel:
 Waist levels include High, Natural, Mid-rise, Low and Ultra-Low
levels. The resulting position of the waist, compared to natural
waist, is always displayed in the level adjust box shown in the
picture. You may adjust that waist level up with a
negative number or down with a positive number to the your
preference.
When you request an applied waistband there is an additional
option as to whether the top of the waist band or the bottom of
the waistband should rest at the specified waist position. The
default choice is for the top of the waistband to sit at natural
waist level. The pants pattern has been shortened from crotch to
waist so the top of the band finishes at the natural waistline.
When you click the button ‘Off’, the pants
waist will sit at the natural waistline and the band will sit
above it. The amount of adjustment for a waistband is specified
by the waistband width setting described below in the Pattern
Settings panel. |
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The Options Panel:
Here, you can select each of your design
elements. Some options are simple radio buttons, but others are
in drop-list boxes. Click on the small down-arrow next to those box to
open that
menu and see and select your choice.
The topmost options all relate to waist shape and fit choices,
whether you wish to have darts or a back yoke, for instance.
While each choice comes with typical default settings, you can
change any of those using the entry boxes in the Pattern
Settings panel described below.
The first drop-list is for Waist Treatment - whether you wish a
fold-over elastic or any of the more complicated waistband
types. Choose what type of waistband you wish to apply to
the waist level you selected. You decide where the top of the
waistband rides: either at the natural waist, or at waistband
width above the natural waist by checking the radio button
mentioned above.
There are five general types of waist finishes in MPD at this
time. They are:
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Fold Over Waist
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- Standard NO waistband -
may be with or without darts and sits
on the waistline. You finish the waist edge with a no-rollover
facing, Petersham, Grosgrain, or self-fabric facing. The top of
the pant sits at Natural Waist.
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Fold-over Elastic Waistband, is folded twice to make the
casing, it should sit at the waistline.
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Applied Waistbands: Includes: contoured, square, applied
elastic, and men's waistbands. The pant waistline lowers by the
width of the waistband, once the waistband is applied; the
finished result sits on the waistline. The contoured waist
includes horizontal darts between it and the top of the pants.
The others do not. The waist band darts assist in distributing
the waist to hip darting suppression so even those ladies with a
curvy figure don’t experience all the dart take up in just one
place along the side seam.
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Fold over waists: These involve a lined extension of self or
contrast stretch fabric. The amount you fold over is adjustable
from high to ultra low waistlines. The default setting for the
extension is 6 inches, which is just above true hip for most
people.
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Applied - Back Only waistband: This one has a standard
elastic waist casing in back. Fold twice to make the casing and
it sits at the normal waist. The front lowers by the width of
the front applied waistband. Once you add that applied
waistband, it also sits at the waist level. The front to back
seam length matching takes into account the waistband width. You
may change the waistband width (front) or casing width (back)
independently. This last one does mean that your back pattern
piece will sew up to the front pattern AND the side of the front
waistband.
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To learn more about the My Pattern Designer 2.5
Upgrade, click here. To
see more photos of what you can do with The Complete
Pants Designer Tool
(requires the upgrade to work),
click here. |
Typical fabric stretch values have been set for each fit type -
not the actual maximum amount of stretch your fabric may have.
You should always test the stretch of your knit or stretch
fabrics and adjust the actual fabric stretch appropriately,
using the entry for that purpose in the Fit Settings panel
discussed below.