How to make custom cotton pants

Cotton pants can be something you wear at home or something that spice up your whole casual outfit. If you are bored of having a common pair of pants and looking for something unique, check out this guide and explore how to make custom pants.

All about pants: structure & types

Pants are common pieces of clothing that are specifically designed for the lower part of the body. This type of garment is frequently found in the long-form, covering from the waist to the feet. Thanks to their versatility and flexibility, pants are popular with people of all ages, genders, and styles. 

However, not everyone finds the ready-to-wear pants sold in stores satisfying, thus making the demand for custom cotton pants increase significantly. If you are also looking for something one of a kind but have no understanding of this garment, the first thing is to learn more about its structure, production procedure, and materials. 

Basic elements of pants

Before making a pair of cotton pants yourself or finding someone to manufacture, it is important to understand the basic structure and design elements that make up a complete pair of pants. Generally, pants have three main parts, including two cylinder-shaped legs and one joint part at the top. 

However, there are actually more detailed, additional, and omitted components, depending on the purposes and styles. Here are some of the main design elements that apply to the majority of regular pants. 

1. Waistband & belt loops: This is the strip of cloth that surrounds and forms the waistline of pants. It can appear in different types, such as straight, facing, stretchy, drawstring, or wrap-around. Together with the waistband, belt loops are vertically scattered around the waistline to insert belts. However, unlike waistband which is essential for all pants, belt loops can be omitted in certain pants, normally casual and activewear.

2. Pockets: These are the additional parts that are often sewn at the buttocks, two sides of front waist areas, and sometimes on leg sides. They serve as accessories and can contain small personal belongings like keys or cell phones. Although they are necessary and found on most pants, pockets are not compulsory or primary elements.

3. Buttons & zippers: These elements are indispensable for certain types of cotton pants, but not all. Basically, they act as closures and are normally presented in non-elastic, formal pants, or those without stretchy waistbands. Buttons and zippers often go together, like on jeans. However, some special or fashionable types of cotton pants may only have either. 

4. Legs: These are probably the main and essential parts of pants. Without two legs, a piece of clothing could not be defined as pants. These legs are not fixed, but instead varying in forms, length, width, sizes, and more depending on the types of pants.

5. Seams: these are the joint parts where cut fabrics are sewn together to make up the whole pants. There are several seams in a pair of pants, basically, inseam and outseam. Their main function is to connect, but outseam may also serve the aesthetic purpose.

Some common types of cotton pants

During the long development history of the fashion industry, several types of cotton pants have appeared and disappeared. However, there are certain kinds that are standard, basic and could remain their position for centuries. 

Activewear pants 

Together with the development of sports, the demands for activewear have been increasing stably. There are multiple types of activewear pants that are designed to serve all purposes, like recreational activities, daily exercises, or professional athletes. Here are some of the most common activewear pants.

Casual & fashion wear pants

Above any clothing type, casual and fashion wear garments probably account for an enormous part of everyone’s wardrobe. Pants are the main piece of clothing for daily and stylish wear, as they can meet both comfort and aesthetics purposes. Below are some of the most common pants under the category of casual & fashion.

Why do you need custom cotton pants?

Such popularity makes pants widely available and easy to purchase. However, it is difficult to find a pleasing one if you have special sizes, requirements, or tastes. Therefore, people would normally start looking for a custom clothing manufacturer if they want a custom fit, materials, purposes or patterns.

Custom fit

Fitting is the most important factor when buying any piece of clothing. However, it is not easy to find perfectly fitted pants, especially form-fitting and tight-fitting types, or if your sizes are not standard. Therefore, it is better to sew or adjust the size of the pants by yourself. However, you can also work with a manufacturer if you do not have a clever hand, or in case you want a bulky quantity for business. 

Custom materials & using purposes

If you have special requirements of materials or purposes, but could not find any satisfying piece on the market, you may consider getting a custom clothing manufacturer. Moreover, you can also seek the manufacturer’s assistance if you have clear expectations, but have no understanding of materials blending, features, and the like. Your custom clothing manufacturer may have experts to help you with all processes from advice, suggestions to completing the pants.

Custom printing & patterns

In case you have a great idea of graphics but cannot draw or turn it into reality, custom clothing manufacturers are here to help you. It is better if you could sketch your ideas basically on paper or digital files. However, it is totally fine if you can not, as the manufacturer may also have experts to assist you with this process. 

How to make custom pants? 

When making any pair of pants, the first step is to decide what type you want. Besides, it is better to have a clear image of your ideal pants. Based on these expectations, you can start design your custom pants, starting from sketching to polishing the design. 

After finishing the sketch, you have to convert your design into digital graphic design (tech pack), which may contain the necessary information to sew the pants, such as multi-dimensional view, materials, trims, as well as other details and specifications. You may want to do it yourself for all these above steps, so that the design and tech pack may appear to be exactly close to your imagination. However, if you are not good at sketching for graphic designing, you can also consult with professionals, or ask your custom clothing manufacturer for their assistance.

When the design and tech pack are completed, it is time to leave the rest to your manufacturer and wait for the sample. You had better check the tech pack carefully and work closely with your manufacturer, as sometimes it may cost an extra fee for resampling if the first sample could not fulfill your demands. Once you find the sample satisfying, your custom manufacturer will take charge of the rest procedures and you are free to work on your own business. 

Find a custom manufacturer

With the above understanding of making pants, you can either choose to customize your own pants or find a manufacturer to do it for you. If you are interested in handmade custom pants, there are multiple tutorials and even sewing courses available online for you to learn. However, looking for a clothing manufacturer is a great idea if you are aiming at custom pants for business. You can find further guides and explanations on getting a custom garment manufacturer by checking out the below content.

Factors to consider when finding pants manufacturer

As the demands for custom clothing are increasing, there are several manufacturers providing such services. Therefore, it is difficult to figure out the best manufacturer that is most close to your expectations. If you are having confusion about that, you may want to consider the following factors and criteria.

1. Manufacturer’s portfolio: Checking manufacturer’s portfolio provides an insight into their experiences, sewing styles, and techniques, thus helping you decide if the manufacturer fits your needs. The portfolio also gives details of their customers, partners, past samples, or completed projects for your further consideration.
2. Budget & quality: These are the decisive factors that you must concern especially if you are looking for a manufacturer for business purposes. It is important to check whether the price is suitable for your budget or pants’ quality and if there exist any additional costs and fees that are not listed in the contract. 
3. Certificates, profession & technology: Sometimes, it is important to know if the product quality is good enough to guarantee your business’s long-lasting use and reliability. You can get such information about that by using the manufacturer’s certificates and technologies as references. These details also allow you to understand more about their sewing styles, capacity, and company scale.

How to find custom pants manufacturers?

When it comes to finding custom clothing manufacturers, the two most common ways are via online and offline channels.

Online 

In this 4.0 era, it is effortless and economical to search for manufacturers on the internet. You can utilize multiple tools and platforms such as search engines, SNS, e-commerce, marketplaces, forums, or manufacturers’ websites. All the related details, contact, portfolio, and more are also available online, but it is essential to double-check the authentication of information before continuing to the next step. 

Offline

If you prefer a traditional and physical method, you may want to participate in different activities like trade fairs, business or industry meetups. Information about these events is available on different media channels or from your connections. These activities offer you a good chance to network and learn besides finding a manufacturer.