All About Tap Pants Patterns and a Free Bonus Pattern

It seems that at least once a week I get an email from a customer asking about vintage tap pants. I’m a bit obsessed with vintage underwear patterns and could go on and on about them, but I get two main questions the most. "Which of your tap pants patterns is best?" And “Which of these has a gusset or crotch seam?”

The first is a hard one to answer because I have so many in my collection, each of which is special and stands out in one way or another.

The second is much easier. The two main considerations in choosing a tap pant pattern are sewing experience level, and your preference for…ahem… to put it delicately, the way a seam may or may not bother certain …bits.

Now I must apologize in advance. There is no part of my brain that allows me to type to word "crotch" a dozen times in a blog post. It's one of those weird words that becomes nails on a chalkboard for some people and since synonyms fall short, from here on out, the above word will be substituted for "fork".

To get the desired fit around the thighs and hips, a tap pants pattern usually has either a plain fork seam between the legs, or a gusset. For our newbies, a gusset in this instance is a roughly triangular pattern piece that sets into a center front and center back seam and sits directly south of the top of one's head. Gussets can be one triangular piece, or two pieces joined with a seam down the middle like the one you see above.

A quick side note. Gussets are not exclusive to underthings. They may also be used in underarm seams, shirt side seams, hats and bags, and for purely ornamental reasons in clothing. They usually allow for room or extra ease of movement at the seams that otherwise might experience more strain.

In simple terms, a gusset is often more comfortable than a plain fork seam. But it can be a bit intimidating for a complete beginner when sewing tap pants. That is why we offer both kinds for both experience levels.

The tap pants pattern featuring a gusset that I recommend most is Depew #2023 - It is available in multisize and has comprehensive illustrated instructions to walk you through sewing your first lingerie gusset. It is also available paired with the brassiere below, or by itself.

This tap pants style works equally well for the 1930s to 1940s.

But wait, there’s more! In all of my years collecting lingerie patterns, I’ve only come across one vintage commercial pattern that had no fork seam or gusset, and it is indeed a rare beauty. It also has some of the most interesting pattern drafting features I’ve ever seen. Just look at those diagonal side seams!  Should you wish to take on #2027, I recommend it to intermediate and above skill levels.

Now you may still be wondering about my draft-at-home patterns for tap pants. And you’re right to wonder. These are definitely great patterns but again, a beginner will have a challenge on their hands because these don’t come with sewing instructions. However, what they lack in instructions, they make up for in unique design and sizing, as they can be drafted to any size.

My favorite of these is #166. Simpler than it might look to sew, and quite frankly, it’s sexy as hell.

To read more about how the draft-at-home patterns work, check out this page.

Lastly, if you are looking to expand your sewing skills, I highly recommend Underwear and Lingerie - a Woman’s Institute sewing e-book that covers the how-to of every aspect of sewing vintage-style lingerie. The section on underwear covers everything you will need to know about making tap pants, including instructions for making the sometimes confusing side placket closure!

But back to that free pattern part... :)

For all of my dear December 2023 Patreon members, the cute little tap pants pattern first pictured, No. 5287 is included in this post for Free! (Download now archived).

Happy sewing!

Anna