Arthur Pants: Your Questions Answered

Oh the Arthur Pants. They are BIG pants that bring BIG drama with an exaggerated barrel leg silhouette, a drop crotch fit, and an elastic or flat front option. 

And because they are unlike any pants, they have naturally brought a lot of questions. Should you size down, should you size up? What is the rise supposed to be? Well, fear not, I have you covered! 

So…should you size down?

Usually, no. Arthur doesn’t run large, it was intentionally created with generous design ease for its signature silhouette. Some sewists decide to size down for a less dramatic look, but doing so changes more than just the width. Before you decide, let us explain! 

Wearing Ease and Design Ease

Wearing ease is the minimum amount of ease required for the wearer to be able to comfortably move, sit, stand, walk, bend over, etc in a garment. This will vary a little person to person, but in general the minimum wearing ease for woven garments is at least 1” around the waist, 1.5” around the hips, and 1-1.5” in the crotch curve. You need at least this much, in general, to be able to put a woven garment on.

Knits are a different story, because they stretch, and so can have negative ease. But here, for the Arthur Pants, we are talking about positive ease. 

Now let’s talk about design ease. Design ease is the amount of ease included in the pattern, by the designer. If you want your pants to look like the photos on our site, then you should choose the size that most closely corresponds with your body measurements. Let’s take a look. 

For example, I have a 27” waist and 35” hip measurement. So I chose to make a size 4. That is true to size for me, for the Arthur Pants. 

Technically I was between 2 and 4 in the hip, but went with my waist measurement to guide me, because although I made the fully elastic waist view, and could theoretically adjust that, I prefer being able to have a tiny bit more ease and wiggle room in my waist. 

The size 4 gives me 25” of ease in the hips. That may sound like SO MUCH if you are comparing Arthur to jeans. But for loose, pull-on pants, with dramatic volume that is the intended amount of design ease. AND they have more than enough wearing ease to be comfortable for moving, sitting, standing, etc. 

So, really, should you size down? 

The short answer is no. The reason you can size it down is because the dropped crotch gives you more room to change the proportions than a traditional pant would. Arthur doesn’t run big, it’s designed with enough design ease that some sewists choose to size it down to customize the silhouette. 

We do not recommend sizing down more than 1 size. When you size down, you’re not just removing width, you are changing rise, proportions, silhouette and the barrel shape. It can have unintended consequences, for the fit in the waist, the crotch curve, the length. 

Instead of sizing down, if you don’t want the dropped crotch, you can adjust the curve and the rise. Be careful not to take it up too much! Keep in mind the minimum amount of wearing ease, as well as your personal preference. For me, I like a little more than minimum ease in the curve and the hip. 

For help making rise and other pant fitting adjustments we have a free Pants Fitting Guide. You can find rise adjustments on page 9.

Fabric Can Make a Difference

You can make Arthur in a fairly wide range of fabrics from linen to canvas. But you will get different results.

A linen or linen blend, like the brussels washer linen I used for my green pair has much more drape than Ashley’s orange canvas pair, or even Meg’s black cotton pair. The barrel shape is there, but it’s not as prominent because of how the fabric falls. It also makes the dropped crotch less noticeable.

I wear mine with the waistband just at my belly button. Meg wears hers slightly lower. 

Arthur, Madrone, Chanterelle

If you are feeling unsure about the drop crotch or like maybe the Arthur is just more ease overall than you prefer, rather than making major changes, we have two other pants patterns that you might prefer. 

The Chanterelle Pants have a normal crotch curve, a slightly wider waist band, and a less dramatic barrel leg option (as well as a wide leg and shorts option) created with a pleat at the ankle cuff. There is also a zipper front expansion pack available for Chanterelle if you like that version Arthur. 

The Madrone Pants have a normal crotch curve, mid-high rise waist with a drawstring for easy adjustment, and a dramatic barrel leg silhouette created with a pieced curved leg.

Here is a quick comparison between the three patterns: 

In Conclusion 

If you love Arthur exactly as shown, start with your size according to the size chart.

If you’re hoping for a slightly less dramatic silhouette, sizing down one size can work well for many sewists but remember that you’re changing the overall proportions of the design, not simply removing fullness. You might want to consider trying the Chanterelle or Madrone Pants instead. 

Give Arthur a try! Lean into the drama. They are fun pants and you are a fun person. You can pull them off, because the secret to pulling off any outfit is confidence, and nothing gives you more confidence than making your own pants.