Trouser Making - Ironwork

Part I - the Topsides

With modern slim cut trousers, a moderate amount of ironwork is unavoidable, especially on
clients with prominent calves.
Overview of Ironwork:

The topsides with a modern hem width of 48-50cm require moderate stretching of the leg and
front seams beneath the knee.

The topside is moderately stretched along the inseam bit by bit from top to bottom:

The side seam is moderately stretched:

Through shrinking, a moderate hollowing out can be seen of the inseam:

The fork must be moderately shrunk (or held short) in order to ensure a clean adjoining of the
right and left panels.
The front corner of the waistband area should be moderately shrunk (Abb 470). Alternatively,
as the waistband is put on, the topside can be sewn short in the shown area. The fork of left
and right is reinforced with lining (Abb 469). It is recommended that the lining here be doubled
over on the bias to sit backwards on the angle of the inseam, before the ironwork commences.
This avoids having to trim the rear corner of the lining, which tends to stand out - particularly
with thin materials.

The pleats must be correctly basted on in order for the finished trousers to have the correct
fall:

The trousers must be correctly basted so that the central and the smaller pleats lay smoothly preferably with a machine.
Part II - the Undersides
The underside of trousers has to also be worked up with the iron, especially when they are slim
cut. With trousers of a hem and knee width of 48-50cm traditional ironwork has to be
undertaken to lend the trousers the proper shape. This need not be too arduous a task. The
ironwork described here, dependent thought it is on the nature of the cloth, contributes
significantly to the fit of the trousers.
Abb. 472: Moderate ironwork at the knee level at the side seam:

Abb. 473: Diagonal ironwork at the calf and moderate shrinking at the inseam:

The iron is moved diagonally to the highest point of the calf, and the width falling onto the side
seam is shrunk in.
Abb 474: Moderate ironwork at the knee level at the leg-seam:

The inseam is stretched moderately at the knee.

Abb. 475: Diagonal ironwork at the calf and moderate shrinking at the side-seam:

The calf is stretched from the inseam inwards with a diagonal movement and the excess width
shrunk in.
Abb. 476: The round of hip at the underside is moderately shrunk short

Abb. 477: The fork is cut so that there is a bit of extra ease for comfort.

The underside is normally cut so that the inseam at the fork is 1-2cm wider than the side seam.
This ease must be brought to the place where it is really needed - the deepest round of the
seat.
Abb. 478: Moderate stretching of the top of the inseam in a diagonal direction.

Abb 479: Forceful stretching with a diagonal movement of the iron in a backwards direction of
the seat seam.

Abb 480: Lay the trousers along the underside panel and repeat the ironwork with the same
diagonal movement

Abb 481: The arrows indicate the form taken after successful ironwork on the underside.

There is moderate length at knee height in the leg and side seams resulting a hollowing just
below the knee. There is more or less pronounced fullness at the calf level. There is sufficient
fullness at hips and seat.
Abb 482: The desired overall shape and ease for added comfort in the seat seam.

Abb 483: The topside and undersides fit effortlessly together.

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The overview of the overall schema for the ironwork of trousers from die Zuschneidenkunst,
published by the now defunct journal Der Schneidermeisterin 1927:

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e = shrink
d = stretch
The final shape imparted to the trousers by the ironwork is as follows:

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There are some subtle differences but overall it is very similar to the Rundschau method shown
above.
The following enormous essay on the correct technique for trouser ironwork comes from die
Zuschneidekunst, 1938 published by der Schneidermeister.
The Working Up of Trousers:
Die Verarbeitung der Hose
The correct fit of trousers cannot be achieved by cutting alone, for this must be achieved for
the most part through ironwork. Many more errors in trousers have their origins in inadequate
ironwork than in the cut. The most important factor in trousers is their width. Different widths
demand a different method of working up with the iron, although difference in posture and
body habitus also influences this. Even the most perfectly calculated cut could never create
well-fitting trousers without the proper ironwork.
First we will study the difference in the ironwork technique demanded by difference in the

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trouser width. The narrower the trouser the more pronounced the curves that the panels will
have, with a hollow at knee and foot, as well as roundness of the calf area. On the other hand,
the wider the trousers are cut, the straighter the form will become until with much wider cuts, it
almost forms completely straight lines. However, in the finished trouser the side and legs
seams must nonetheless always form an almost completely straight line. The rule is therefore
that:
The wider the width at knee and foot relative to the seat width, the less ironwork is required.
The narrower the trousers are at knee and foot, the more ironwork is required.

Abb 550: On narrow cut trousers there forms at k, a large gap between top and undersides at
the knee.

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With a moderately wide cut of trousers in Abb 551 this gap is narrower than before:

With very wide trousers as in Abb 552 hardly any gap is present:

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If follows that the narrower the trouser is cut the more ironwork will be required to get the
seams completely straight. The hollow at knee and roundness of calf are extremely pronounced
on narrow cut trousers. The undersides must therefore be very strongly stretched or shrunk to
get the seams straight in order that they should effortlessly fit together. The hollow of foot
must also be attained through vigorous ironwork on the topsides. With the moderately wide
form, the shape of the seams is already fairly well balanced, so less the ironwork need not be
as vigorous. With the very wide form, the seams are already almost straight so very little
ironwork need be conducted.
The Difference in the Shape between different widths:

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The technique of ironwork will be shown later, but we will examine first the differences in the
final form taken at the completion of the ironwork.
Whether cut narrow or wide, the trouser seams must form an almost perfectly straight line from
the seat to the hollow of foot. With narrow cut trousers this line may, at the very most, form a
gentle curve downwards towards the calf. The straightness of the lines has also been attained
in Abb 553 through a light and even stretching of the top sides in the area of the top side break
from the middle of the upper thigh to the middle of the lower thighs:

Additionally (provided there are no pleats), the topsides can be shrunk in from the letter g to
the middle of the upper thigh at S1, or else the underside can be sewn long while making up something particularly important in subjects with well-developed upper thighs. On wide
trousers or trousers cut with pleats this is no longer necessary, as there is already room enough
there. If you were to shrink the topsides (or sew the underside long) on wide trousers it makes
them too close and uncomfortable to move in at the knee. The shortness at the knee of the
undersides will interfere with the forward stride of the leg with every step. With wide trousers

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the upper thighs are made up quite plain. The exception is with a subject of erect or stooping
stance, as we will explain later.

Abb 554: with moderately wide trousers, moderately vigorous ironwork will achieve an even
run in the seams of topside and underside.

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Abb 555: With very wide trousers, little ironwork is required to get the seams straight.
Compare Abb 553-555, where the letter k shows the hollow of knee. You can also see that
narrow cut trousers need a lot more ironwork to achieve a greater hollow of knee. Even the
hollow of foot is least pronounced in the very wide form of trouser, to the point that it hardly
exists any longer and the seams fall almost straight.
The Working Up of the Topside:
The seams of topside and underside must form of completely straight line if they are to fit
together with ease and without there being excess length on either side. This rule, of course
holds true of the hollow of foot in top and underside.
In order to appreciate the degree of vigour of the ironwork required, especially of the topside, it
is best to lay the topside and underside at the knee and foot side by side so that the gap
between them at the hollow of foot v and at the knee k is the same:

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Abb 556 shows an example with narrow cut trousers, where there is a pronounced hollow
at v and k. This hollow must be evened out through ironwork. After being worked up, the
topside must have the same run as that given by the cut to the underside (although this does
not relate to the roundedness of the calf). A comparison of Abb 556, 557 and 558 shows how
the narrow trousers in Abb 556 have a more pronounced hollow from v to k than on the
medium wide trousers in Abb 557:

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This means that less vigorous ironwork is required for the medium wide trousers.
In Abb 558 you can see that there is very little hollow there in the very wide trousers:

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The topsides need only be stretched a little at the letter v.

Practical Implementation of Ironwork
The ironwork must be carried out with a good hot iron. An insufficiently hot iron makes the work
difficult, and there is the danger that the cloth will be soiled. Delicate cloth forms flecks which
are difficult to get rid of.
Wetting the Cloth:
The area should be well wetted without soaking it. Excessively dry ironing is ineffective.
The Stretching of the Seams:
Once you have judged how wide the hollow between topside and underside is, begin the
ironwork as shown in Abb 559. The iron is placed on the cloth firmly enough that the cloth

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cannot slide underneath the iron when pulled. As the right hand presses firmly on the cloth, the
left hand pulls forwards evenly on the topside seam as shown in Abb 559:

The seam must be pulled forcefully, with a tug that is evening widely distributed, and so that it
is directly on the seam.
The left hand should grasp the seam widely from the seam to topside break and pull it forwards
with a forceful tug. In this way the iron is slowly advanced forward. In order to avoid a distortion
of the shape, and the formation of creases it is best to try to avoid forcefully trying to achieve
the final form in one foul sweep of the iron. The final form should be achieved rather with
repeated after passes of the iron, before each of which the cloth is repeatedly moistened. Only
once the desired flawless form has been achieved should the ironwork be allowed to progress
to the next stage. The partly worked up topside must have the appearance shown in Abb 560:

The worked up seam of the topside must lie completely flat before moving on.
The Second Half of the Topside
Once the inner half of the topside (you can also start with outer half) has the desired form, the
seam lying away from the body is worked up in likewise fashion. How the trouser seam is
grasped is shown in Abb 561:

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This second side of the topside is worked up to be long enough that it lies just as flat as the
opposite seam in Abb 560.
The Follow-Up Work:
Repeat ironwork on the topside is performed on each trouser leg. The trouser leg is folded
down the middle so that the seams look exactly evenly. The trouser corner is pulled forwards
with a forceful tug as shown in Abb 562:

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This ironwork can be conducted with somewhat greater force as the seams tend to spring back
a little to their original form. If the ironwork is conducted with special vigour you will attain the
necessary form straight away without having to shrink the topside at the hollow near the hem.
The Working Up of the Underside:
The Upper Thigh Section of the Side:
Lay the trousers on the ironing table so that the side seam lies towards the body, and the
stretching can be carried out from top to bottom. Once you have determined how much the
thigh area has to be stretched, place the iron at the top of the inseam as shown in Abb 563:

The iron should be placed firmly on the cloth, and the trousers grasped at the knee area so that
the thumb firmly holds onto a large width of cloth. With an evenly forceful pull, the thigh area is
sufficiently stretched so that the side seam becomes completely straight, and the trousers lie
fully flat all the way down to the break. The break line can also be shrunk somewhat short. You
should try to achieve the final form more through stretching than through shrinking. If the
underside is to be made extremely short relative to the topside, as with very erect figures, the
thigh area can be so worked up that it forms a gently curved line. The topside must also be
worked up to fit this line.
With many trouser cutting systems, the side seam is already cut in the thigh area so that it has
more length than the inseam. The inseam is thereby more hollow than side seam above the
line of the knee. With these cuts the side seam should not be stretched as strongly. However,
the inseam, as we will later see, must be stretched significantly more forcefully. The cuts in this
book are drafted so that the side and inseams have the same amount of hollow, so that the
ironwork can be conducted with equal force.
The Hollow of Knee:
Once the thigh to knee area has been imparted the desired form, the work on the hollow of
knee can begin. With a somewhat biased, forceful run, as shown in Abb 564, try to draw out a
more or less pronounced hollow of the side seam at knee level:

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These bias runs of the iron achieve the desired length in the knee quicker and better than
forceful pulling in the direction of the side seam. Once you have pulled the hollow of knee
strongly towards the front, press the calf area well back and shrink the usual length in the
hollow of knee right in up to the back trouser break.
The Shaping of the Calf:
Once the trousers have the desired shape from the top of the inseam down to the knee, begin
with the shaping of the calf area. With all normal trouser cuts in this book the round of calf is
equal on side seam and inseam. Whenever dealing with a patterned cloth, we want the hind
trouser break to run with cloth pattern, and the trousers are to be ironed seam upon seam. In
any case, it is easier to achieve a relatively strong shaping of the calf through ironwork on two
sides than it is through a more forceful working up from the side seam outwards. In many
cases, the round of calf is more desirable more outwardly. In this particular case the reader is
directed to a special cut in is book. Only that ironwork is described here that is conducted
equally from side and inseam. The attainment of the correct round of calf gives many tailors
great difficulties particularly when it concerns hard cloths, and when the cut has an especially
pronounced round of calf. Even when particularly vigorous shrinking is performed some
springing of the cloth back to its original form has to be expected. One should therefore
attempt to attain the shaping of the calf through skilful biased runs of the iron (utilising the
greater stretch ability of the even the toughest cloths in the bias) without having to shrink the
seam too vigorously. How the iron is deployed in the first pass for the calf at knee height, and
the trousers are grasped in the seam corner with left hand is shown in Abb 565:

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The iron is so deployed so that the tip of the iron points in the direction of the hind trouser
break at calf height. The iron is passed in a somewhat angular movement from knee level to
the round of the calf of underside trouser break, with even tension on the cloth.
When one pulls the lower corner of the cloth tautly with the left hand, and advances the iron on
an angle towards the calf, the cloth is stretched in this direction, namely along the bias. The
whole of the calf is pushed over to the underside trouser break without forming too much
length in the side seam.
If the first forceful pass in the direction of the round of calf should prove insufficient, the angled
pass can be repeated, only in a shorter pass. Place the iron at the hollow of knee, grasping the
trouser with the left hand in the break line at the calf level and make one forceful angular pass
from the hollow of knee to the calf. Once one has attained the necessary length in the
underside break at calf level, the remaining round of the side seam is vigorously shrunk in until
one has attained perfect straightness of the side seam up to the lower hollow of leg.
It is advisable to perform the ironwork so forcefully that the side seam at the calf level appears
somewhat hollow, for only then one can be certain that even after a slight spontaneous
reversal of the ironwork, the correct straight seam line will remain. The correct final form of the
side seam is shown in Abb 566:

Note the slight curving in of the side seam at the knee, and directly above the knee.

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Ironwork on the Inseam:

The Layout of the Trouser
Once the outer side of the underside has the desired form, the ironwork on the inseam can
begin. If the first ironwork on the inseam is to be carried out on the same trouser leg on which
the initial ironwork to the side seam was carried out, then the inseam must be laid out away
from the body, because the trouser must be worked up from top to bottom. Many tailors turn
the trouser around carrying out the ironwork on the inseam of the other trouser leg. With this
method, the ironwork on the inseam can be conducted in the same manner that we previously
described for the side seam. Which method one chooses is a matter of preference.
The Thigh Area
If one wishes to work up the side the inseam one after the other without turning the trouser
around, the ironwork is commenced as it is shown in Abb 567:

First you pull the calf area of the inseam evenly on the width of the iron strongly enough that
inseam forms a straight line. The iron is pressed down firmly at the top of inseam and the cloth
pulled strongly with the left hand at knee height.
The Hollow of Knee
This work may begin even when the ironwork has yet to progress so far as to produce the
desired form of the upper parts. The iron is place around the middle of the upper thigh
somewhat on an angle on the trouser break. With a forceful pull, the hollow of knee is drawn
out as shown in Abb 568:

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If this angular pass is carried out with enough force, one can achieve the desired hollow of knee
even on relatively hard cloths without having to shrink in the break line. Additionally, one can
stretch the inseam above the hollow of knee so much with this angled pass that one attains a
completely straight, even slightly curved in inseam.
The Round of Calf in the Inseam:
Commencement of Ironwork
Once the trousers have gotten the desired shape from the top of inseam to the knee the
shaping of the calf can begin. How the iron is to be deployed at the knee level for the first pass
for the shaping of calf is shown in Abb 569:

The iron is so deployed that the tip of the iron points in the direction of the underside trouser
break at the height of the calf. The cloth is pulled tautly with the left hand and advanced
somewhat forwards by the edge of the seam.
Biased Runs
When the iron is passed on the bias towards the calf, the cloth is stretched and the whole form
of the calf is forced out towards the underside trouser break, so that not too much length is

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formed in the side seam itself. If the first forceful pass in the direction of the calf does not
suffice, so that adequate length does not form in the break, and the side of the calf shape does
not get pushed over to the break, the first angular pass can be repeated, only the pass is
shorter. This is as shown in Abb 570. Place the iron on the hollow of knee and grasp the trouser
in the break line at calf height. Forcefully run the iron in a biased motion from the hollow of
knee to the calf.
This realises the greater ability of the cloth to stretch along the bias even with hard cloths that
take to ironwork poorly, thereby winning a pronounced calf shape. This also avoids the need for
any significant shrinking of the seam. Whenever too much shrinking is needed there is always
the danger that it will slip back to its original form, as well as risking shine resulting from
repeated work on the same spot.

Shrinking in of the Inseam:

Once the necessary length has been achieved in the underside trouser break at the calf level,
the usual round of calf in the inseam is so intensely shrunk in that the seam forms a perfectly
straight line all the way down to the hollow of leg. Preferably, the ironwork should be so
forcefully carried out that the inseam even appears a little hollowed out as shown in the
completed trouser form on the next page. Thereby one avoids the danger that the seams will
partially slip back to the original shape and no longer be straight.
Ironwork on the Fork:
Should the fork and inseam be stretched at all? Opinion over whether ironwork should be
conducted at all over the upper inseam and fork is highly divided. Some claim that the inseam
should be stretched strongly and the fork only a little, others argue that the fork should be
stretched more vigorously whereas the inseam only a little. Both views are, in a way, correct.
Differences in the way the seams have been cut demand different ways of working them up.
If the side seam at the upper thigh is fairly straight, and by comparison the inseam is cut very
hollow, then the underside must be very vigorously stretched. However, if the trousers have
been cut straighter so that the upper part of the torso is more crooked, less ironwork is
required. The same principle holds true for the stretching of the fork. The straighter the
undersides are at the top of the inseam, the less ironwork is required at the fork.
The width of trouser leg also plays a roll in judging the vigour of ironwork at the fork. The

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widest trousers should be somewhat stretched at the hollow of fork, especially if it has been
placed relatively straight. Through this stretching the trousers become fitted at the hollow of
leg directly under the closure of the inseam. The narrower a trouser has been cut the more
vigorously it must be worked up. Through the working up of the fork, not only is a hollowing
directly under the closure of the fork attained, but also a hollow that must lie in the break line.
How the ironwork on the fork is carried out is shown in Abb 571:

Note how the iron is place on the fork. With narrow trousers the length that is produced through
the stretching of the fork is pushed out towards the underside trouser break at the level of the
seat. The break line is additionally shrunk in. By comparison, very wide trousers one should let
the length remain in the fork, so that the break line remains straight. With wide trousers the
stretching of the fork should not be extended too high up. Only the fork seam should be
stretched at the hollow, whereas above the hollow around the level of the seat the fork is even
worked short. This shrinking needs to occur particularly when the seam has been cut with a
rounded shape. Where the length of the fork should lie on moderately wide and very wide
trouser is shown in Abb 554 and 555.

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Abb 572: The completed ironwork with fully worked up side and inseams. The shape of the
seams that needs to be attained through ironwork can be seen.
References: 1950s Rundschau book Zuschnitt XII edition.

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