Adapting and Drawing the Pants Front Waist/Crotch Grid for a Thick Waist and a Relatively Short Front Crotch Length

If you have a fairly short front crotch length measurement and you have a relatively thick waist, when drawing the pants pattern, you may find that your numbers 'fall off the Master Pattern Grid lines'.  This situation may occur when you are establishing the intersecting point for your waist measurement and front crotch length measurement on the Pants Front Waist/Crotch Grid.  In other words, the grid lines stop before your two numbers of waist measurement and front crotch length measurement have a chance to intersect.  These photos show and example of the type of body shape where this may occur.

 If this occurs, simply extend your appropriate grid lines straight down.  The waist measurement line (attached to your waist measurement number) will be drawn straight down.  The front crotch length measurement number will be extended downward but continuing on in its current angle and slope.

See the example diagram below where the person's waist measurement is 46" (116.6cm) and the front crotch length is 11 1/2" (29.2 cm).  Note how these lines have been extended and shown in continuous RED lines.  The BLUE dot represents where the two lines intersect.  This is where you would mark your placement dot for your CF waist measurement.  This dot, of course, would then connect (in either a straight or curved line) to your front side waist measurement dot.  And you would then continue to proceed to mark in your Dart tip and then your Front Crotch Pt. #1 and Pt. #2.  These steps are found in your Pants Kit instruction book, page 9, steps 9 and 10.

 Fine Tuning Your Pattern's Crotch Lengths - if Necessary

Once you have drawn your Back and Front Crotch lengths, also make sure you measure the finished lengths.  Since you are measuring a curve, remember to stand the tape measure on edge and walk the tape around the stitching line to ensure accurate length measurements.  The instructions and illustrations for this step are found in your Pants Kit instruction book on page 10, #13 - Fine Tuning Crotch Lengths.

Glenda...the Good Stitch!

SFD Introductory How-To DVD-on sale for a limited time

The most up-to-date introductory DVD on how to draw off your Sure-Fit Designs patterns is now on sale.  If you don't yet have the latest SFD How-To DVD (new as of 2015), now is your opportunity.

It's regularly $29.95.  Currently it's on Sale for 20% off.  Sale price is $23.95 (+ S&H) and will be until Aug. 23, 2015.

Click Here to order.

What you'll get:

• 2 DVD's ~ 4 hr. of video instruction

• How to take accurate measurements for pants, bodice, skirt, the uni-sex Shirt Kit, Children's patterns & Men's Pants.

• Filmed in HD for clarity

• Close-ups for detail

• See how to design for dresses/blouses/skirts/pants & shirts

• Beginner to advanced will benefit with this DVD tutorial

Save 20% - Click Here to order.

For a brief video overview of this How-To DVD, watch this short overview.

Enjoy!
Glenda...the Good Stitch

 

Removing Horizontal Fold Under the Tummy

Some women experience horizontal fullness or bagging directly beneath their tummy and just before the crotch curve begins.  Once you've sewn your test muslin for your pants, if this is occurring, you will find one suggestion for a minor tune-up on page 12 (#1) of the Pants Kit Instruction Book.  This may be a satisfactory refinement for you.

Another alternative is to remove this fold of fabric at CF. Follow these directions:
1.  To determine how much you need to remove, pinch out the fabric in a tiny fold.  If you pinch out 1/4" (.6cm), this will mean that you will be totally removing 1/2" (1.3cm).

Close-Up of dart/tuck wedge from CF going to nothing at the side seams.

2.  Mark this level location of CF of the crotch seam.  Draw a perpendicular line (to the grainline) over to the side seam.  Mark point A and B.

3.  Cut from CF to side seam, leaving a small hinge of paper at the side seam. This will act as a pivot point.  Secure the pivot point with plastic tape.

4.  Overlap the CF seam the amount you require, thereby crating a small horizontal dart or tuck which begins at CF and goes to nothing at the side seam.

5.  True the CF crotch seam.

6.  The more you overlap at CF, the more the waist edge tilts down and angles the CF seam.  To maintain the original orientation of the upper CF seam, when you true the crotch seam, you will be crating a narrow wedge as indicated by the green arrow.  (The blue line indicates where CF at the waist edge originated).

7.  Cut/remove this narrow wedge and tape it back in place at the side seam waist edge.  This will maintain the correct waist circumference and true the side seam shape so that it will sew in the same curve to the back side seam.

8.  Redraw and reposition the front hip-fitting dart to best suit your body contours.

9.  Bring the straight of grain up from the leg.

This process will shorten the CF crotch length by the amount of the dart/tuck.  Be aware that you may need to add this amount on to the back crotch length so that you maintain your overall crotch length requirement.

Happy Sewing!

Glenda... The Good Stitch

Dealing with an Asymmetrical Body

Do you have asymmetrical body issues?  Very few people are truly perfect and symmetrical from one side to the other of their bodies.  Often a leg is slightly longer, or a shoulder might be sloped more than the other.

Ask yourself these questions:
1. How severe is the asymmetry?
2. Does it affect the look of my clothes on my body?
3. Should I make the effort to change my pattern?

If there are just slight differences from one side to the other, generally we do nothing, as it's simply not enough difference to affect the hang of the garment on our body.

However, if your garments hang crooked or form obvious drag lines toward the high or low point, then you will likely want to make asymmetrical adjustments to your pattern.

This typically entails creating a right and left side pattern that reflect the height and width dimensions for that part of your body.  Once the change is done for both sides (if necessary), they will generally then need to meet in the middle - typically CF and/or CB.  Once you've created a right and left side for your pattern and you're happy with the muslin test fitting shell, then you can use this pattern for future style changes.

You will always need to mark which is right and left side, and which side is going to be cut 'right side up'.  It's definitely more effort, but well worth it when your clothes hang better on your body.

In some instances, like a high/low shoulder, sometimes you can get away with a temporary solution of adding a shoulder pad to the low side.  This then will give you a more balanced look, particularly in jacket construction, and offers and easy solution.  Always try to evaluate your options before doing major pattern adjustments.

You will find asymmetrical high/low hip adjustment directions on page 17 of the Dress Kit Instruction Book.  The same basic concept applies to the waist line level of your pants pattern.  If you'd like to see a short video regarding the asymmetrical hip heights, watch this video:

Often times, you will also need to make circumference tune-ups as well since one side can be wider as well as longer.  Then you definitely need to create a right and left side pattern - for both the front and back of your skirt or pants.

Here's and example of pants that are now hanging fairly well on a definite asymmetrical body.  The waist line is substantially tipped forward and the right buttock is definitely higher and fuller than the left.  With persistence, and the creation of right and left side patterns for both front and back, these pants are now hanging smoothly.

Here are the happy customer's comments:

I finally have a great fitting pair of pants, thanks to the Sure-Fit Design system and the incredible assistance I received from Glenda.  In my opinion, she is the star of the system!  My original draft was easy to develop and certainly fit me better than any " straight from the envelope" pattern I've ever tried.  But my "great fit" is entirely the result of endless patience and guidance from Glenda, addressing my severely tilted waist, uneven hips and various other figure issues.  Over the course of about three weeks, we exchanged many emails working through all of the problems.  Her service is exemplary, and I highly encourage anyone with problems fitting pants to give Sure-Fit Designs a try!
KK, Sew Fittingly You, Victor, NY 

Happy Sewing!

Glenda...The Good Stitch