Choose the linen
Use medium-weight 100% linen, roughly 5–7 oz/yd², for a first everyday pair.
Before cutting: wash and dry the fabric the way you plan to care for the finished pants.
Open-source clothing
Clothing humans can make.
A small wardrobe made from one ancient material: linen. Simple cuts, natural fibers, visible repair, local sewing, and patterns anyone can copy or improve.
Download Pattern 001 PDF
Make the first pair
See the men's work robe
Repair linen stronger
Buy the materials
Why linen?
100% linen fabric
linen thread
linen drawstring
no elastic
no plastic hardware
Pattern 001
Everyday drawstring pants
Start with the easiest useful garment: relaxed pants with a linen drawstring and a simple casing. The first version deliberately uses a pair of loose pants you already like as the pattern.
Trace a pair that fits
Fold a loose pair of pants in half. Trace the front and back leg shapes onto paper or directly onto folded linen.
Add about 5/8 in (1.5 cm) around sewn edges and extra height at the waist for the drawstring casing.
Sew the legs
Sew each front to its matching back along the outer and inner leg seams. Finish raw edges with a flat-felled, French, or turned-and-stitched seam.
Join the rise
Turn one leg right-side out, place it inside the other leg, match the crotch curve, and sew the full rise as one continuous seam.
Build the linen casing
Fold the waist edge inward twice to create a casing wide enough for the drawstring. Leave a small opening at the front.
For an all-fiber version, hand-stitch the opening like a buttonhole instead of adding a metal eyelet.
Make the drawstring
Cut a long linen strip, fold the raw edges inward, fold again, and stitch it into a narrow cord. Feed it through the casing and knot the ends.
First-pair kit
Buy only what you need.
The garment itself needs only linen cloth and linen thread. The drawstring is cut from the same cloth. For a first adult prototype, about 3 yards of 52–58-inch-wide fabric is a useful starting estimate, but trace and measure your pieces before ordering when possible.
Natural medium-weight linen
100% pure linen twill, 5.83 oz/yd² and 52 inches wide. Choose the Natural (light) color for an undyed-looking first pair.
100% linen sewing thread
Fine 20x3 natural linen thread in a 100 m spool, suitable for hand and machine sewing of medium-coarse fabric.
Use the same fabric
No elastic, cord, toggle, or purchased hardware is required. Cut a long strip from your linen, fold the raw edges inward, stitch, and knot the ends.
Nothing else to buy.
These are example sources, not affiliate links. Stock, pricing, finishes, and shipping can change; verify that the listing still says 100% linen before ordering.
The system
Less fashion. More human infrastructure.
Natural first
Prefer linen and other simple natural materials over complex blends and hidden synthetics.
Repair forever
Construction should be understandable enough that the owner can patch, resew, resize, or reuse the cloth.
Open patterns
Patterns are instructions, not secrets. Copy them, adapt them, teach them, and improve them.
Local skill
A garment can be made at home, by a neighborhood tailor, or by a small local sewing circle.
Few good pieces
Build a small wardrobe where the same pieces work at home, at work, outdoors, and while traveling.
Designed to evolve
Every repair and modification can become knowledge for the next version of the pattern.
Roadmap
The tiny linen wardrobe
001Drawstring pantsStart here
002Relaxed shirtNext
003Drawstring shortsPlanned
004Overshirt / work jacketPlanned
005Men's work robeDesigning
006Kids' basicsPlanned
Grow fiber. Weave cloth. Share patterns. Sew locally. Repair what breaks.