Ask Vildy: your experiences re: pants alterations

I'd like to thank Vildy for her recent inputs on how crotch depth/seam/curve relates to the fit of pants, and whether anything can be done about it, as discussed in in Anchie's recent "is this good fit" posting here:

https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....s-good-fit

In particular these two comment by Vildy caught my attention:

Wrinkling under buttocks is a tough RTW fix because usually done at pattern alteration stage. Needs something like a pull up at back waist and you don't have room for that.
A crotch curve *can* be changed and I've done it myself. It's an option

I think every pair of pants I've ever owned has had this issue and I've seen it on lots of other people too. I thought it was unavoidable. I've recently done some research and came to believe the issue is caused by just what Vildy is saying, although I didn't quite get it until I read how she described it. I do have seamstress skills and could make my own pants that would fit better, if I wanted to.

Descriptions of how to diagnose and fix the problem at pattern creation/alteration stage are all over the internet and even in my Vogue Sewing Book published in 1975

Vildy, could you talk a little about how you were able to change the crotch curve on an existing pair of pants the time(s) you were able to do it? Not asking for a thesis, just an overview

Thanks in advance.

Chris

4 years ago

Runcarla

Veteran

Not Vildy, but I did a tailoring job on a pair of jeans earlier this year, and they are now my favourite pair of pants.

https://youlookfab.com/welookf.....ring-jeans

I have been so happy with the modification, that I did the same thing with a pair of chino shorts I thrifted last month. The shorts were fuller through the rear, so I extended the ‘V’ down to where the seam meets the inner thigh seams of the shorts. To get the best fit, I put the shorts on inside out and had DH help me place a few strategic pins.

Not sure if this is the fix you are looking for. I have the long rise/flat butt issue, and this fix removed the excess volume out of the rear.

Vildy

While I *can* sew and tailor and alter patterns, it's too expensive, have to get fabric online or special trip to Philly, time-consuming, etc.
So my alterations are on RTW.

Here are some articles with photos:
about monobutt in jeans:

https://fashion-incubator.com/.....hese_days/

about fixing cameltoe:

https://fashion-incubator.com/.....camel_toe/

There is a book around about how to alter RTW but I don't have it.
I just used fashion incubator's explanation and photos to give more
crotch space/depth. It's completely counterintuitive because it feels
weird to take out more fabric when clearly it seems there's already too little fabric. But it does work. Still, I don't cut anything until I feel sure my efforts worked. From a feeling of How could I possibly have gotten this right.

I have a couple books I picked up used online that are very good at explaining and showing fitting, though addressed to home sewers and
not for RTW. But they're great at explaining why you have the fit problems you do and you can extrapolate to a RTW garment.

https://www.amazon.com/Fast-Fi.....1561586498

This is by Betzina and she uses a "reading the wrinkles" method that points you to where the problem is. Much cheaper on eBay and possibly in your local library system when open for borrowing.

https://www.amazon.com/Complet.....J5CC0Q653G

I did do a RTW alteration on pants that I picked up from some tailor's comment on a thread. She said in order to get out that upper thigh bagginess in back you have to open the side seams and take in *only* the back garment piece. It worked and because I did it on lined pants, I could see why tailors want to charge more for essentially altering two garments. I didn't enjoy it. With this kind of sewing work I find I have to pin and try on and check the back and side view in a mirror and pin and try on and so forth.

I included the monobutt cure piece to show there's a difference between pants/jeans that follow the rounded separateness of the buttocks and one where you just have a tight grab at the bottom, which is more a crotch curve issue.

If you go to Amazon's The Sewing Bible for Clothes Alerations by Turner and use Look in the Book and write "trousers too big thighs" inside the Search inside this book space, open the link to page 105 and she explains and shows drawings of her own method of combining an alteration of the back side seam plus also a center back seam pinch technique and rhis tells you that the amount taken from the back side is the amount you pinched at the center back.

Chris987

Thanks RunCarla for the idea. I've done a similar alteration to take in the waist on pants (I am pear shaped so pants that fit at the upper thigh almost always have too big a waist) where I created two simple darts on either side of the back seam. Simpler but not quite as professional looking as yours. I never wear tops tucked in so it's not visible.

Vildy I hear you on making pants from scratch. I used to make a lot of clothes many years ago but don't think I ever tackled pants. Thanks for all the great resources! I'll definitely take a look at them. I've been living with the issue so long that I don't feel like I HAVE to fix it, but it would be good to understand the possibilities. I have some too-big jeans in my donate pile that I could use for practice....

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