pant alterations

Hi,

I was wondering if any of you experienced sewers out there could give me a hand....

I'm having some trouble getting my pants to fit. I'm quite slim (flat tummy) and tall, but have wide hips and a larger behind that I can never get to fit into pants. I measure waist (68), hips (98), waist to hips ~23, body rise ~28.5. Most pattern alterations advice I come across is for heavier people with mature figures, which isn't really my case.

All my pants (RTW or my own) pull across the hips/crotch, have extra gaping material at the front crotch, and sit too low at the back waist.

Any advice on the type of alterations I need to make?

Thanks!

Reply to
theworldforsar
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Start with a fitting shell pattern like this: >

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a friend to help you make a full set of measurements (there's a How To and printable chart on my web site in The Learning Zone), and then alter the pattern to fit those measurements... I suggest tracing off the size closest to your HIP size and starting from there: that way you will always have the original pattern to go back to should you have a disaster.

Make the fitting shell up in a regular checked gingham, as on the pattern envelope: that way you'll see where you need to alter it to get a proper fit. Be prepared to cut and make it up several times! :)

Once you have a good fit, transfer all the changes back to your copy of the paper pattern (you can glue bits on if you need to!), then make a fair copy of the pattern and a set of notes of all the alterations. Mark on the fair copy all the things like crotch line, high hip line, knee line, etc. Once you have done this, every time you make a pair of trousers, you know what alterations you need to make to the pattern before you start. :) And you have your block pattern to compare with the pattern out of the packet. :)

An alternative (though inititially more expensive) way forward is to invest in pattern drafting softwear.

Reply to
Kate XXXXXX

Dear theworldfor,

I agree with Kate. Patternmaking software is the way to go for perfect fit. You can get a Click and Sew pattern for pants for about $20 (I don't know what the Euro equivalent is). You can use it over and over. If you like the results, you can go back and get an entire set of basic patterns that can be altered or re-designed.

Teri

Reply to
gjones2938

Ah ha! I'm not so experienced, but my measurements are not too different to yours, and I was successfully coached through pants alterations by Kate via email! So if I can do it, you can do it.

OK - everything that Kate & Bev said stands.

Big hips and rear need more material - both in width and LENGTH (which may surprise you - it did me!). With a large behind, the length of curve from top to bottom is longer than your average pattern, and hence you need extra length in the rear of your trousers only (not the front).

A true story - I bought a RTW pair of pants that fitted in the hip, length but were huge in the waist. I thought "I'll just take the waistband off, put some darts in, put the waistband back on and I'll have a fine new pair of well fitting trousers". So that's what I did - I didn't get a good fit - because now that the trousers fitted round the waist, they pulled everything upwards, so the crotch was tighter - if I'd been a boy I'd have been signing soprano!.

I'll make an alternative suggestion - mock up your actual pants pattern in some cheap material - gingham or a check is handy as all those straight lines will show the fitting problems better - but anything will do, with extra seam allowances - and importantly extra length at the waist - about 5 - 10cm on the seams and about 15cm on the waist. This allows you to let out seams / add length to the rear crotch as you adjust the fit.

Make up your test trousers - minus waistband. Try them on, using a pieie of elastic round the waist to hold them up. Crouch down, letting the fabric pull down out of the elastic at the back. Mark the point at which the elastic now crosses the waistband at the back, front and sides. Play around with pinning / hand tacking in darts / pleats in your trousers to take the fullness in at the waist. Re-check position of marked waistband at front, sides, back and rear in adjusted trousers - mark well. Take trousers off. Join up your marks and true up the waistline. Add seam allowances, and bingo, you have a new trouser pattern.

I ended up adding 1 to 2 inches to the rear crotch seam of my trousers - this is then faded out to the side seam.

You may need to add the extra length in the rear crotch seam at hip level rather than waist level - it works better there for me, but have an experiment. You can always slash you test trousers and add a piece of fabric in.

HTH

Sarah

Reply to
Sarah Dale

Thanks everyone for all your help...

I ended up drafting a basic trouser pattern from Winifred Aldrich's book. I have tried this pattern before in the past, but hadn't got it to work. Where I went wrong was with drawing in the crotch curve. I found a suggestion on the net to make a 'crotch mold' out of a roll of alfoil. I was quite surprised how different my curve was to standard patterns. It is quite a deep curve and very flat at the base, unlike commercial patterns which are much more sloped. Once I drew this curve in to my pattern, the pants worked first go! I was amazed, after so many failed attempts.

Thanks Sarah for some great advise on getting the waist curve marked in properly. It worked really well. I loved the idea of using a piece of elastic to hold the pants up. I did this at high hip height (where I like to wear my pants) and traced round the elastic to get the curve on the top of the pants for a straight waistband. I've never been able to quite work out how to do that before. And yeah, I have about 4cm of extra material at the rear back that curves into the side seam.

All the best everyone,

Sar.

Reply to
theworldforsar

Thanks everyone for all your help...

I ended up drafting a basic trouser pattern from Winifred Aldrich's book. I have tried this pattern before in the past, but hadn't got it to work. Where I went wrong was with drawing in the crotch curve. I found a suggestion on the net to make a 'crotch mold' out of a roll of alfoil. I was quite surprised how different my curve was to standard patterns. It is quite a deep curve and very flat at the base, unlike commercial patterns which are much more sloped. Once I drew this curve in to my pattern, the pants worked first go! I was amazed, after so many failed attempts.

Thanks Sarah for some great advise on getting the waist curve marked in properly. It worked really well. I loved the idea of using a piece of elastic to hold the pants up. I did this at high hip height (where I like to wear my pants) and traced round the elastic to get the curve on the top of the pants for a straight waistband. I've never been able to quite work out how to do that before. And yeah, I have about 4cm of extra material at the rear back that curves into the side seam.

All the best everyone,

Sarah

Reply to
theworldforsar

Thanks everyone for all your help...

I ended up drafting a basic trouser pattern from Winifred Aldrich's book. I have tried this pattern before in the past, but hadn't got it to work. Where I went wrong was with drawing in the crotch curve. I found a suggestion on the net to make a 'crotch mold' out of a roll of alfoil. I was quite surprised how different my curve was to standard patterns. It is quite a deep curve and very flat at the base, unlike commercial patterns which are much more sloped. Once I drew this curve in to my pattern, the pants worked first go! I was amazed, after so many failed attempts.

Thanks Sarah for some great advise on getting the waist curve marked in properly. It worked really well. I loved the idea of using a piece of elastic to hold the pants up. I did this at high hip height (where I like to wear my pants) and traced round the elastic to get the curve on the top of the pants for a straight waistband. I've never been able to quite work out how to do that before. And yeah, I have about 4cm of extra material at the rear back that curves into the side seam.

All the best everyone,

Sarah

Reply to
theworldforsar

Would you please tell me how to go about making a "crotch mold"? I always mess up when trying to fit pants there. Thanks.

Reply to
Dottie

My pleasure. One word of warning - the extra 4cm you found you needed in the rear crotch seam may be better placed at crotch level rather than at waist level (see trouser fitting story below). However, as you have modelled your crotch, and added that into the pattern, it may not matter.

Having made pair of trousers #1, I wasn't pleased with the fit, and Kate was kind enough to diagnose the problem for me, and tell me how to alter the pattern for a better fit. I added 1" length to my rear crotch seam at crotch level - and made pair of trousers #2 which fitted well. I went back to trousers #1, and picked off the waistband and added a rear yoke in a sort of \/ shape to get an extra 1" length in, and put the waistband back on. They fit better than they did in the first place, but the extra length is not in the right place.

Glad to hear you got your trousers fitting well, and the waistband level sorted.

Sarah

Reply to
Sarah Dale

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