What is the extra piece of fabric in new trousers for?

[coatandthai]

New trousers seem to come with tape for the cuffs and a small piece of fabric. Is the fabric for making an extra belt loop?

 

[bengal-stripe]

Yes, you can make some belt loops from the spare fabric, should you desire more belt loops. Or pull a few threads for invisible mending, should that be needed. Or use it for some other small repair.

Chances are, you'll never need it. But keep it...........just in case.

 

[Roger]

What I'd do with the extra fabric is use some of it to have what might be termed a "belt-buckle stabilizer" made and sewn on to the waistband. I'm not sure of the accepted term for what I'm suggesting, but it is a small, half-size belt loop placed right at the longitude of the fly on the waistband, and is used to run the buckle prong through when cinching up the belt. It functions to keep the buckle--and hence the belt--precisely centered on the waistband, preventing it from "migrating" up or down (or, for that matter, from side to side), something that can look lousy in a dressy outfit. I've had my tailor make these for me with the cuttings at the cuff when having new trousers hemmed, and they really help in keeping the buckle precisely centered. Of course, it will only work with standard dress-type belt buckles with central prong.

Great idea, Bengal-stripe about keeping the fabric for invisible mending later if needed.

 

[Vintage Gent]

Originally Posted by bengal-stripe

Or pull a few threads for invisible mending, should that be needed. Or use it for some other small repair.

I'm curious about that. True, I keep that spare bit of fabric on hand should the need for reweaving arise. But wouldn't the wear and tear on the pants, plus a drycleaning from time to time, eventually cause the fabric swatch to be a slightly different shade than the pants? Or is the difference too insubstantial to worry over?

 

[xarope]

There's a thread over at AAAC about this too, it seems the tape can be sewn either slightly past the cuff (if matched nicely in colour to be considered invisible) which will then protect the cuff from wear and tear. My su misura pants have this tape, but about 1/2 cm above the cuff, so I thought it was to have substance on the cuff when hanging from them, so I shall have to speak to my fitter about getting this corrected if appropriate.