Hi! Remember when I went though my trouser phase in July, and posted about my Closet Case Patterns Sasha trousers? Well, it started all kinds of fascinating discussions about plus-size fit, the lack of examples of what good fit looks like on plus-size women, and which wrinkles are unavoidable. Now I’m back with modified Sashas, and I’d love you to help me figure out what adjustment to try next!
Lucky for me, there is lots of knowledge out there on the internet. @DogwoodDenim offered all kinds of insights in a series of stories, and since she designs custom denim for a living, I’m all ears!
Her suggestion that resonated the most is illustrated above: If you want to have a smooth leg with no wrinkles, the fabric needs to fall straight from the butt to the calf. I’ve highlighted the curve of my legs in green, and you can see that my back and side profile is literally curvy… so when I sew slim pants that fit my thigh and calf snuggly, I end up with quite a lot of wrinkles! Interesting, eh? I’ve never seem this talked about before, but makes sense to me.
So, for this latest pair in what-I-thought-was-olive-but-turned-out-to-be-brown, I straightened out the side seams from the apex of the hip to the calf. In some places this just added 1/2″, but in other areas it was adding a fair bit of fabric! The end result is… good? Slightly better? When I first tried them on I thought, “Yeah, that’s an improvement!” but now that I compare them in pictures it seems pretty subtle. Hmm.
I’ve got fabric ready to make a black pair, but I’d like your suggestions first: What to change next? If I drop the back crotch curve lower, will that help the front/back balance, and alleviate some of the underbutt pulling? Should I make the top looser? Should I address my knock knees?
A few extra details:
- I did sew the butt/belly of the pants with a large seam allowance because I thought the last pairs were a bit loose… but then I remembered that it was just the elastic that was loose last time.
- I listened to the sage advice of Debbie Cook and stretched my elastic out before measuring it… and she was right, it really makes a difference!
- This twill has 4-way stretch, which might be affecting fit.
- To be clear, I will be wearing these quite happily, as I have been with my teal and blue pairs.
Please let me know what you think! Read those wrinkles!!!!
Crafting A Rainbow 
They look pretty good to me!
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Thanks! They are super comfy with the 4-way stretch, and I’ll definitely get wear out of them!
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I like the straighter leg; it is more flattering. However, all of your trousers look fine!
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I’ve just done a couple of days on a pattern cutting course making a trouser block and my own patterns. I have a similar figure and was amazed that bringing the crotch down made a huge difference. I would definitely try that.
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Ooh, sounds like a great experience! When you bring the crotch down, do you just drop the crotch curve, or do you take height out right across the back leg?
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Just drop the curve. If that doesn’t solve it, you could also extend the curve forward and add fabric that way, but I think the first option is more likely to work.
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I think you’ve done a great job with these and the previous pair. They look fantastic!
Unless we are one of those lucky souls (from the point of view of trouser fitting) born straight up and down with legs that go on forever, and without a curve in sight, I suspect all fitted, and particularly narrow legged, trousers will wrinkle on our curvy bods, whereas a flowing palazzo shape would fall straight from butt/hip to ground. It’s got to be down to simple (or not so simple when trying to figure out the wrinkles) geometry hasn’t it?
I am still giggling at the thought of you addressing your knock knees 😂😂😂.
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I agree! That’s why I find this adjustment quite interesting – you can’t really tell, but there is at least 2″ more fabric around the circumference of my thigh in this version. I always find that in skinny-fit pants I get wrinkles above my calf, and I think adding more fabric has helped that… so like you say, the only solution to make wrinkle-free pants is not to make slim pants! 😛 I’m intrigued with the process though, so I’m happy to make a few more adjustments before my next/last pair!
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I don’t think the key is slim pants but “skim” pants. You need to find the perfect ratio of fabric to Gillian. That’s so individual for every reason – proportions, preference, fabric choice etc. so it’s bound to take a few iterations! And then, natch, your body may change again somehow (they always do) and then you’ll have the fun of trying again – but with more knowledge. This is how I encourage myself but it sounds better in my head!
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Oooh, that’s good wordplay! I think you are spot on! I’ve done some more tweaking this afternoon, and if I angle the back crotch curve down, then the fit is a lot better! I’m going to try to make another version and see how it goes!
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I’d like to know the top pattern (looks to be white with scribbles) you used while wearing the blue trousers. Also, thanks for not standing pigeon toed whilst modelling! I’m new to your followers and am enjoying your posts.
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Both tops I’m wearing are actually the same pattern! It’s the Hey June Santa Fe, and it’s one of my favourites! https://www.heyjunehandmade.com/product/9054/ I tried so hard to stand straight this time for photos – hard to break the habit of my usual dress poses, but important when we are talking about pants! 😉
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Gillian- your modified pants show many of the same problems I have had with pants fitting, especially that diagonal line from the fullest part of the upper thigh to the fullest part of the calf and the buckling at the back of the knees. I talked to Alina about this problem and she suggested that I shorten the back pattern piece horizontally and then ease this into the front piece, only between the hip and knee. I tried this on my last pair of Ginger jeans and it helped a LOT. However, I didn’t realize when I adjusted the pattern piece that the gingers already accounted for about half an inch of easing along the inner thigh seam (only) so when I added another inch (if I remember correctly), that resulted in easing something like (I’m not sure I’m remembering the numbers exactly correctly) 1.5 inches along the inner thigh and only 1 inch along the outer. I have corrected this to be 1.5 inches along each seam on my pattern, I just haven’t gotten to try it out yet. The added benefit is that this correction made a small knock knee adjustment. I think its going to fix even more fit issues, but I can’t vouch for it it. I’m not sure I explained this super clearly, so please send a message if you would like!
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Thanks Megan! I remember when the Ginger pattern was redrafted to include that adjustment – it definitely sounds like something that could help me! Do you notice any lack of ease vertically when you sit? Waistband being pulled down or anything like that?
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Good question, Gillian. I don’t, but I also added something like t1.5 inches to the rise as drafted. Those babies aren’t going anywhere 😉 Even when I sit, I think my back thigh is still significantly shorter than my front.
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I have very similar “shapely” legs. I have found that the adjustment Megan talks about helps. I regularly deepen the back crotch curve and add height at the centre back for my curvy behind. Taking a triangular wedge out of the back leg, about an inch at the inner thigh tapering to nothing at the outer thigh, really helped with the back thigh wrinkles.
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Good advice, thank you! There are so many ways to go about similar adjustments – I’m excited to play around and see what works this time!
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Hi Gillian. I’m watching everyone’s suggestions closely because well, trouser fitting. Sigh. I’ve read lots of books and blogs about this but am still correcting things although I think my latest Sasha which was actually a mashup of Sasha and RTW was not too shabby. Looking at your picture I think as well as lowering the crotch at the back a bit (so making the curve more of an L shape rather than a J shape), you could try adding a bit of length to the back crotch seam where it meets the inner leg – lengthen the short section of the L a bit. I haven’t tried Megan’s tip but will definitely give that a go next time. You’ve got perfectly wearable pair of trousers with both of those which probably fit you better than any RTW!!
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Those are all good tips! I got chatting again to Dogwood Denim and I ddi that thing with tin foil to see what shape your crotch curve is… and I think you are spot on that I need more space in my back curve for my low butt. I did some adjustments on the fly for this pair, and they are looking better already!
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try taking a tuck across your butt , about half way down, tapering to nothing at the side seams. That may get rid of some of the back wrinkle under your butt. I agree, pants fit on us short, curvy women is difficult. No one really gives us the help we need.
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I agree there is a big lack of resources for curvy fit, and short legs don’t make anything easier! I’ve been chatting more with Dogwood Denim and she has helped me do a low butt adjustment, and I think it’s definitely helping!
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Peggy Sagers from Silhouette Patterns always shows taking a tuck across the butt and tapering to nothing at the side seams. She does it at the knees too. Her patterns don’t fit me well. But when I made a muslin at her workshop and she pinned in the tuck, the fit improved dramatically. It pulled up all those back thigh wrinkles.
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https://www.threadsmagazine.com/2017/12/26/sewing-womens-pants-with-this-on-the-body-fitting-method-for-the-back-crotch-seam
This is an interesting method with lots of pictures.
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Ooh, that’s brilliant! Thank you!
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Oh – this is like a Kristin trigger warning!! 🙂 For starters, that shot with the green line is illuminating. You are delightfully curvy and (much as is the case with boobs), curves are a challenge to fit – though so fab when fit well! I sense a slightly deeper back crotch curve would make a difference. I also think that the brown pants could use a bit more fabric in the outer hip from just below the waist to the widest point at the low hip. Now I am intrigued to see the black pair (though showing alterations on black fabric is a bitch). I like how the pants fit in the calf but – and this is just a personal preference thing – I think they would look even better if lengthened by an inch. I feel it would better proportion them vertically, giving a long line to your leg below the knee – to align with your long upper leg length.
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Good point on the length! I shortened the whole pattern 3″ when I first started sewing them, which might have been a bit too much… this is as long as this pair could be, but I’ll give myself some more wiggle room next time!
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I’m no expert in pants. But what happens, when you move some fabric of your inner back thigh upwards and pin it horizontally under your butt? I think your front pieces need to be longer than the back pieces, and the outer seam longer than the inner seam.
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I have avoided sewing pants like the plague; sad to say since I have been sewing my clothes for over 30+ years. I cannot offer any solutions on fixing the fit. My issues are not the same as yours. Sandra Betzina on Craftsy has a great video on fixing fit for pants. I suggest this one as the issues I see are in the back of your pants and from watching her video she offers up some great fixes for back leg wrinkles. I am planning on making some shorts and pants to get over my sewing block and may find myself asking for help. I think you have gotten some good advice here.
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Checkout Peggy Sagers http://www.silhouettepatterns.com/html/media/livestreamchannel/index_replays.htm. Aug 8, 2016, she corrects wrinkles on four different ladies. And they aren’t all straight sticks. Best of luck….
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I think your trousers are looking good, you may want to give your calves a bit more space in the back pattern piece. It can be useful to think about where the side seam falls and then accept that some measurements are not evenly divided between the front and back pieces. My thighs are larger in front, my calves are larger in the back. I need a higher rise at the centre back than centre front. When I put the (modified) trousers on, the side seam hangs straight – yay!
I also flirted with the many fitting adjustments for pants I needed and finally decided to start from scratch and draft my own block. It took a long time but meant I only needed one muslin to check the fit. I made many trousers from the block. Then gained weight and never re-did it.
20 years later I am gearing up to do it all over again. I know the total effort will be less than constantly tweaking an existing pattern. This time I’ll need two blocks, one for fabric with no stretch at all, and one for stretch wovens.
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I agree with TC Ferrito, she is spot on about how to get rid of the wrinkles under the butt. Watch the Silhouette Patterns videos and see how Peggy Sagers solves that fitting problem. I tried for years to get pants to fit and nothing improved the fit as well as the dart that begins at the center back at the hip level and ends at the side seam. Don’t do any scooping of the crotch curve until you try this. Love your blog.
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Knockknee adjustment is totally worth it! I did it for my gingers and its amazing how many wrinkles and pulled side seams went away!!
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I love wrinkle reading! (And your style.) I’m no expert but I think our body shapes have a couple commonalities. I definitely recommend scooping out the back crotch curve. I commonly deepen it by 1/2″ or more at the apex of the curve (aka where the fullest curve of the butt goes). That removes under-butt wrinkles for me and adds a little ease through the low butt. For the diagonal lines from outer hip down to inseam, I’ve found a lesser-used pattern adjustment for full inner thighs really helps me. It involves cutting the pattern leg horizontally at mid thigh, siding the lower leg 1/2″ inward, then redrawing the inner and outer inseam to match. You can see an example here: http://stitchesandseams.blogspot.com/2008/01/full-inner-thigh-alterations.html?m=1 Happy fitting!
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The brown ones look perfect to me, I honestly wouldn’t worry about any minimal wrinkles and don’t bother with any more adjustments. Even the blue ones are fine, maybe not as your best pair but absolutely fine to wear around town. I must give this pattern a try! I have a very similar body shape to yours and never yet managed to get a pair that fits me to an extend that makes them wearable (I usually have a big builders bum issue). But this post has really given me hope to try these ones 🙂
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Many, many, many years of sewing for a butt has taught me; if it pulls in the stride in the BACK, extend the top/inner thigh on the FRONT. For those of you who get creases pointing straight to your crotch on the FRONT, extend the top/inner thigh on the BACK. This basically moves the crotch seam intersection forward or backward depending on your fit issue. That makes the inner thigh sit in the middle of your inseam rather than towards the front or back.
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