Sewingplums

3 years ago (!) I wrote a post on pant styles for different body shapes.
Which suggested patterns that help with pant fit.
Also one of my most popular posts is on adding wedges to pants patterns.
Since then, I’ve seen two more patterns which deal with different pants fit difficulties.

The fit issues I’ll mention are :
– long or short rise,
– deeply indented waist,
– midriff larger than hips,
– protruding stomach,
– large or flat butt, deep torso, large thighs.

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Fit for Art Eureka pants

Those aren’t 3 different styles, they’re 3 different rear sizes !

Pattern information here, with videos about fit.

The basic pattern has CB or side seam zip and tapered legs. Brief instructions for making other styles.
No instructions for inserting zip. Try this free Craftsy class on zips (not fly zips).

No pockets, so add your choice by copying across from another pattern.

The advantage of this pattern is it offers 3 different back pattern pieces for each size.

Basically, a pattern choice for people with a flat butt, an average butt, or a large butt.
The largest back also helps people like me who have a deep torso, or people with large thighs.

The patterns differ in :
– length of crotch extensions,
– angle of CB seam,
– shape of crotch curve.

This pattern doesn’t claim to be a quick and easy fix. You’re expected to make a test garment (perhaps several) marked with horizontal and vertical reference lines. Then adjust it according the instructions until the reference lines are horizontal and vertical on your body.

This is based on Sarah Veblen’s fitting ideas. She has a pants fitting class with pdfs and videos based on this pattern, at Pattern Review. Or get help from her direct, by video or e-mail and photos, contact information here.

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Sure-Fit Designs Pants kit

Pattern information here

The SFD pattern uses waist, high hip, hip, and crotch length measurements.
Find the dots corresponding to those measurements on the master pattern, and join the dots to trace off your pattern shape.

(Sorry about the quality, this is a screen shot from an on-line video, not the pattern ! I have an earlier version of the pattern.)

Looks complex, but the grid is for finding your crotch length.

There’s DVD support for fitting, and for making a jeans pattern (closer fit).

And many support videos at the SFD Video Library
(scroll to about 2/3 down the page)

Sadly this pattern doesn’t work for me, even as a starting point for fitting tweaks.

My back is several sizes larger than my front.
Well, I could get round that by taking separate front and back measures, and drafting the Sure-Fit front and back to these different measurements.
(See my post on getting to know my sizes.)

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Large or small waist

I also have a deeply indented waist. When such people buy RTW pants to fit our hips, we get spare fabric flapping around at the waist. We need more than minimal darts.

My large high hip pads mean I need 3 back darts for a good fit to the waist. Here is my ‘hip template’, back on left.

Perhaps I can’t complain about the Sure-Fit pattern only having one standard dart. Such an extreme waist-high hip difference is rarely mentioned by anyone. Some writers even rule against having that many darts that wide. I’ve only seen one example of a pattern like mine – one of the people in Lynda Maynard’s CD-book on De-mystifying fit.

In contrast, if your midriff is larger than your hips, the last thing you’re concerned about is adding more darts. In RTW, the best you can hope for is to find a company that designs for rectangle shape people, with waist similar to hips. Rather than for the ‘average’ person with waist smaller than hips.

Sure-Fit Designs do consider whether you’re bigger at mid-riff or hip. She talks about ‘heart’ and ‘diamond’ body shapes, rather than ‘apples’ and ‘pears’.
The master pattern includes both high hip and low hip measures. So if your high hip is larger, that can be represented.

(The only person with this body shape I’ve seen being fitted is in Lynda Maynard’s Sew the Perfect Fit class at Craftsy, though that’s for a skirt not pants.)

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Deep body

The need for more than one waist dart isn’t my only problem with SFD pants.
SFD assumes that, if you have a long crotch measure, the extra length needs to be added to the rise.

While for people like me, with a deep torso because of deep pelvic bones or large butt, or large thighs which cause a similar issue – what we need is longer crotch extensions.



All these lines are the same total length.
Think of them as a simple diagram of a vertical cross section through your lower torso mid-line from front to back. Which is most like you ?

This shows that just knowing the crotch length measure alone is not enough. You also need to know where that length is.
Are you longer or shorter than average from waist to crotch – are RTW pants always too long or too short for you here ?
Or are you longer or shorter than average from front to back :
– Do RTW pants collapse at the back ?
– Or give you big ‘smiles’ – fabric pull lines pointing to the crotch ?
– Or just plain feel uncomfortable and cut into your crotch, especially when you sit down ?
– Or do your pants pull down an inch or more at the back when you sit down ?
Big thighs also mean you need more fabric between your legs.

The Eureka pattern deals with this depth issue directly.

Unlike the Eureka pattern, all SFD patterns have the same crotch curve shape and CB seam angle. And all SFD patterns with the same hip measurement have the same crotch extensions.

However, Sure-Fit pants do solve fitting problems for many other body shapes.

(P.S. Since getting interested in this, I’ve noticed that many commercial patterns have the same length of crotch extensions for all sizes from XS to XL. Surely not ! It seems unlikely that the depth of body stays the same whatever someone’s size.)

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Add princess seams

If your main fit issue is a protruding stomach, start by letting out the CF and side seams. If that doesn’t give a good result, add princess seams to the front pattern piece. They give lots of opportunities for adding extra fabric in this area !

This is supposed to be a horizontal cross section of either your lower front or back, such as the view looking down at your tum.

Shaping seams or main darts are usually best placed about where your body stops being sort-of straight across and starts to bend back to your sides.

Quite easy to add these seams.
– Feel your body to find where the biggest ‘bend’ comes in your shape around.
– Measure how far sideways this is from Centre Front.
– Draw a line down your front pattern piece, this distance from CF and parallel to the grain line.
– Separate the two pattern parts and add seam allowances.

Make up your test pants with wide seam allowances here, so you can try out how much to add. 1 in./2.5 cm on each new seam edge adds 4 in./10 cm to the total width. Like people with large midriff all round, you may need to compromise about how much extra fabric you have to allow over your hips and thighs to deal with the transition from large mid-section to thin legs.

(P.S. here’s a post from Colette Patterns with another method for abdomen adjustments.)

If you have a large rear, you could try adding princess seams to your back pattern. There may be some combination of shaped princess seams and longer crotch extensions which gives you the best result.

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Which pattern for which fit issue ? – summary

If you have difficulties with a long or short rise, you could try the Sure-Fit Designs approach.

While if you have a flat or large butt, deep torso or large thighs, the Eureka pants may help.

Both ? I would start from the Eureka pants, as adding or removing rise is just a matter of lengthening or shortening the pattern between waist and hip. Much easier than changing the crotch extensions and crotch curve shape and angle.

Heavily indented waist : Eureka pants could be best at dealing with this. As the dart positions, numbers and sizes are fitted directly on the body, rather than being supplied by the pattern.

Though it is a bit of a fiddle to do this on yourself. I used a mixed approach, made some guesstimates about dart position by feeling my shape, and about numbers and sizes by comparing my waist and hip measures. Drafted a trial pattern, then improved the details using a test fit.

Midriff larger than hips : Sure-Fit Designs patterns include an explicit measure of the midriff area.

If you have a protruding stomach, try adding front princess seams.

(P.S. 2016 : Sure Fit Designs now has a section of free pant fitting videos which cover many of these issues.)

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Whichever pattern may be best for dealing with your fit issues, SFD is the company to go to for instructions on altering your basic pant pattern to make everything from palazzo pants to jeans, yoga pants, leggings, shorts, capris. . . These instructions apply to any basic pant pattern, not just to patterns produced by their system.

Might either of these patterns help you towards the perfect pant fit which is at the end of the rainbow 😀

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Patterns and links available August 2013

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One thing Gale Grigg Hazen mentions in her book Fantastic fit for every body, which I’ve found very helpful and haven’t seen elsewhere.

I get a better fit if I :

– move front and back bodice pieces sideways relative to each other at shoulder seam.

– move front and back bodice pieces up and down relative to each other at underarm seam.

Of course this isn’t a completely straightforward change, as it requires a bit of adjustment to neckline, armhole and sleeve cap, to get them all to match up properly. Plus a small added strip to one of the pattern pieces.

But as my back is wider and longer than my front, I’ve found this adjustment is surprisingly effective in improving my fit with commercial patterns.

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P.S. Another tip on fit.
I’ve recently discovered the free pdf from Fit for Art Patterns, on how to fit their Tabula Rasa jacket.
Very clear.
Draw similar horizontal and vertical reference lines on your muslin for any pattern and follow the same instructions, to improve the fit of nearly any upper body pattern (though it’s no help with waist fitting or sleeve cap).

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Links available August 2013

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