Sewing Pattern Instructions – Pleated Trousers

April 29, 2025

Today we’re going to learn how to draft a Pleated Trousers Pattern. I’ll show you how to draft it from scratch, so let’s get into it.

Before drafting this pattern you need to have the Trouser Foundation ready. If that’s not the case, click on the image on the right and do that first. And remember it’s very important to fix all the fitting issues before modifying the pattern.

For this pattern I used the trouser foundation but you can use any other foundation if you prefer it! I think this one is the best because of the low crotch and ease around the hips. But you decide!

This design might look more advanced, but I think it’s fairly easy to draft and to sew. Don’t get too scared with the images and just take it one step at a time. So, are you ready to learn how to draft a pleated trousers pattern?

TROUSERS

Step 1 - The Leg-lines

Step number one is to change the shape of the trousers leg-line. For this design I went for a straight leg-line but feel free to leave it tapered if that’s the look you’re looking for.

To create the straight leg-line, draw a perpendicular line from the side hip down to the hem, for both front and back pattern pieces.

Step 2 - The Waistband

The next step is drawing the waistband.

Before drawing the waistband, I lowered the waistline 3cm (grey area in the drawing)
Mark your waistband, in this case 4cm (red area in the drawing)
Separate the pieces from the front and back and put them together to get rid of the dart space
Smooth the curves

This design has an invisible zipper on the side, so I’m going to have the front and back waistbands separate

Step 3 - The Pockets

This design only has front side pockets

The pocket opening is 4.5cm wide and 16.5cm deep
The pocket is 30cm deep at the side and 10cm deep at centre front. Follow the shape in the picture
For the facing, draw a parallel line to the pocket opening 3.75cm away from that line

The pocket has 4 pieces: the bottom lining, the top lining, the backing and the facing. It’s like a puzzle, look at the pictures to see which is which.

Step 4 - The Pleats

This design has 2 pleats. First, let’s locate them:

First pleat: On the crease line
Second pleat: 4cm away from the crease line to the left. Draw a parallel line from the crease line until 17cm above the knee. Then, connect the end of that line to the left side of the knee

These are the lines where we’re going to add the pleat volume. To do that, cut through the lines all the way but not through the end. This is because we want to add volume to the top of the pattern and not to the bottom.

The first pleat is 5cm wide
The second pleat is 2.5cm wide. If your pattern has darts, just add the width of the darts as the pleat width

Step 5 - The Seam Allowances

Once the main pattern is drafted, it’s time to add all the finishes:

Add 1cm seal allowances everywhere except for the CF, CB of the waistbands and the hem of the trousers
The waistbands are cut on the fold which means that no seam allowances are needed at CF and CB
The hem of the trousers is 4cm but make it as wide as you want

And just like that, you learnt how to draft a pleated trousers pattern! I hope you found it easy to follow and if you have any questions, please leave a comment.

If you liked these instructions and are looking for more foundations and ways to modify them, you can check out my ebook on how to draft trousers.

There you have ALL the information you need to draft any trousers designs you’ve ever dreamed of.

The ebook breaks down a pattern into:

The foundation: how to take measurements, draft them and fix any fitting issues
The Waistline: Instructions on how to change the waistline and how to add waistbands
The Length: I show you the modify the length to most typical ones
The Leg-line: Learn how to create leg-line designs like slim, tapered, straight or flared
The Details: Here you’ll find any design detail like yokes, pleats, turn ups, openings and many pocket designs
The Finishes: Finally, learn how to finish up the pattern, add seam allowances, hems and all the important information