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Questions about alteration gone wrong

kdt

Hello all, this is my first post here but I have really enjoyed the advice and discussion about body type and clothing fit that I have encountered on this forum and in Angie's blog posts in the past! I have a high hip and have always had pant fit problems. Low rise and often even mid-rise pants have always cut into my hips in an unflattering/uncomfortable way. However, I have been slow to understand this because, even though I have an hourglass figure with a defined waist and exaggerated hip flare, I haven't always had great luck with pants in "curvy" cuts.

Recently I had the waist taken in on a couple of pairs of high rise trousers, due to the fact that my hips are a size larger than my waist. This is the first time that I have done so, since I have not consistently purchased pants with a higher rise until recently. Well, I got them back from the tailor and brought them home only to find that the waist seems to have been taken in too much because they are now both too tight in the seat/crotch :-/. Obviously, I don't have much choice but to go back and try to get them fixed, but I am hoping to gain some insight into what went wrong so that I can hopefully avoid another mishap like this one in the future.

Is there something that I should possibly have said/noted when the tailor was pinning the trousers? I didn't notice anything amiss at the time, but it's true that I have zero experience with getting this alteration done. In general, even if a tailor does take a pair of pants in at the waist a bit more than is ideal, how likely is that to result in the awkward problem that I am experiencing? (I should mention that neither pair is technically too tight in the waist area, though on one pair the bottom of the waistband is now cutting into my hip in an uncomfortable way.) Could this outcome have anything to do with some unusual body measurement or proportion of mine, such as a longer-than-average rise?

Thanks so much for any wisdom you have to offer!

Dressing

16 replies

Latest reply was from kdt

Jessikams

(website)

Veteran

I’m curious to see what others say, as I have sometimes had trouble with high-waisted pants getting too tight in the crotch. I have a very long rise, and it seems like maybe if I gain any weight in the butt or hips, it somehow makes the pants’ crotch tight....?? I don’t really understand the problem or how it can be fixed.

Anonymous

I don't have an answer either, but I will watch for what others have to say.

ChrisM

Veteran

I’ve found that, when I tried to do this alteration myself, it’s easy to get the waist nice, then have trouble sitting because I’ve used up some of the ease that was allowing me to bend at the hip. This can be a tricky alteration - I’m surprised that the tailor didn’t make you try them on before you took them home.

If the alteration effectively hikes the pants up to your natural waistline, (even just a little bit) then it seems very possible that the slacks lost some of the length In the rise.

You’re pulling in the waistband and removing the fabric ease that previously allowed the pants to hang at a different place near your mid-section. It’s amazing how even the smallest adjustment to where the pants sit on your waist affect other fit issues.

When you have the slacks pinned in the future (knowing you have a long rise) spend some some moving around, sitting, bending, walking.

kkards

Veteran

i don't know the answer, but i do know, unfortunately from experience, that some tailors are better than others. and that somethings can be done, but in doing so will create other issues and a good tailor will tell you that and work thru the options and or recommend not tailoring....

Bijou

Veteran

I always try on items at the tailors to make sure that there are no fit issues prior to picking the item up. Luckily my tailor (whilst expensive) is a perfectionist and would hate to see any item not fit well. I say, change tailors and find one that makes you try items on before picking them up to make sure the fit is perfect.

Cardiff girl

Veteran

I second what ChrisM said.It sounds like the taking in of the waist has involved some loss of the rise thus making it tighter in the crotch area.Take them back and explain the problem.

kdt

Thanks so much for your comments everyone! Yes, I really am regretting not trying everything on before I left--unfortunately it is hard for me to get there before they close after work, so perhaps the relatively late hour is why they did not encourage me to try things on when I picked them up.

Even though I am 5'6" and have a 32" inseam, I am beginning to wonder if I might be better off buying tall size trousers for the extra length in the rise? I had one other pair of pants altered from the same brand, which happened to be a tall, and I do not have the same problem with them. I don't really wear significantly high heels, so I have to get trousers from a lot of brands hemmed anyway.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Yes, it's the rise. Some brands will have a higher rise in tall and others will not. You may have to experiment with brands to get the rises right for you.

Ginger

Veteran

kdt, I'm 5'9" with a long rise, small waist, and a lot of hip flare. I agree with the others about why the alteration didn't work. Also, if the waist was actually too small for where the band sits on your hips, it will want to travel up to where your waist is smaller - but that makes the crotch very tight. If you've ever tried to keep an elastic waist skirt down on your hips you know what I'm talking about.

I also agree that buying talls is a really good choice. I take regular talls, but my American Eagles jeans are all extra tall. I get an extra 1" of rise, in addition to the leg length, and it makes a huge difference in making sure the waistband is where it needs to be.

Vildy

Veteran

I'm 5 feet tall with a long rise and I will often get Talls and just shorten them. I think the tailor can fix the problem. I do this with pants all the time. It's a counter-intuitive method that cuts further into the pants.

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Jessikams

(website)

Veteran

Vildy thx for diagram! Very cool

kdt

Yes, I think that you are right ChrisM and Ginger--the waist alteration is increasing the tendency of the pants to shift up to the narrowest part of my natural waist. And since both pairs of pants are high-rise but not truly high-waisted, that is higher on my torso than they ought to sit, I think. Even pants that are supposed to be high-waisted do not always sit at my natural waist, I suppose. Until recently it didn't occur to me that one might have a long rise and a short waist at the same time. My upper torso is short enough that I would probably just buy petite tops with shorter proportions if not for my long arms, so I guess that extra length has to be somewhere and it is not in my legs.

I will definitely look more into tall sizes in the future. Thanks so much for the helpful diagram, Vildy! That makes sense and it is good to know that there is something that can be done.

Anonymous

Sorry this will be long- if I did this correctly- this website below has directions for how to take full body measurements ( 18 + areas) that we use for making and correcting patterns when sewing and altering clothes. If I did it wrong- sorry- google “ how to take body measurements “ and look for image with comprehensive directions for all 18 +.

https://www.google.com/search?.....3906.12693..15785...1....142.1880.0j16......0....1.......3..35i39j0i131j0i20i264.ZN%2B4elwevdo%3D#imgrc=Ssf_gzPwwy5EmM:

Suggest you have a friend assist you in taking these measurements and write them down. Keep them up to date- every 8-10 pound change in weight can change a dress size. Make sure you take the measurements both standing and sitting.
When you shop or take things to a tailor take a duplicate index card with your measurements, name and phone # on it. When you need alterations Have tailor double check your measurements to The card where garment is concerned ( if altering pants tailor does not need to check neck or bust but will need waist, hip, thigh, rise, Inseam , heel height etc)Then have tailor pin garment. Take garment off and measure pinned garment to confirm it matches your card. Leave card pinned to garment so tailor can double check while doing alterations.
Always ask tailor what alterations can be made without cutting or if cutting is required- how much seam allowance can be retained in case future alterations are needed. Always request that all cut fabric be saved- bring a clean baggie so tailor can return all fabric cuttings to you. If there is a tear- this can be used as patch also.

When you pick it up- confirm measurements against card. Then try it on.
***Do not leave tailors without trying it on.***
Remember- a tape measure is your friend.
When you shop -bring card with measurements and a tape measure. You will know if garment is “off” or good before you even try it on.

Sorry you had a less than great experience- hopefully this procedure will prevent future disappointments.

cjh

(website)

Veteran

Probably not a solution for this pair of pants, but to think about in the future. I’ve had success inserting a length of elastic into the waistband to make the waist closer fitting when hips fir well but waist is too big in pants. This works if the size difference isn’t too great and you will not want to tuck your tops.

Dana

(website)

Veteran

Welcome to the forum, kdt! I'm so sorry to hear you had a bad experience with your first foray into having something tailored. I know it can be daunting to add money on top of your purchase price in the first place. I don't know much about that particular alteration, but I would advise you to find a different tailor. I think it's very important to find someone you can communicate easily with and who knows what to do without step by step instruction from you. Also, you want to make sure the tailor isn't defensive or too opinionated about what you want done.

kdt

My apologies for the delay in responding to those of you who commented more recently--I suffer from chronic migraines and we had over a week of very frequent thunderstorms where I live, which unfortunately set them off :-I. Thanks so much for your help!

efbgen, thanks so much for your detailed advice--I will definitely ask my mother to help me take down my measurements and start bringing along the notecard and my tape measurer when I go shopping or take something to be tailored. Do you happen to know if there is somewhere where I could find a list of the average measurements (or range of measurements) used by clothing manufacturers for particular sizes within regular, petite, or tall ranges? I imagine they vary from brand to brand and garment to garment but if such a resource exists I wonder if it would help me to understand what is typical and how I might conform to or differ from the norm where particular proportions are concerned.

cjh, as you say it probably wouldn't be an option to add elastic to the waist of these pants in particular, but that's definitely a helpful suggestion for future pants that I do not plan to tuck in a t the waist.

Dana, I totally agree that I need to find a tailor with whom I can communicate with easily and who knows what to do without detailed input from me. Since I do not know very much about this at this stage of things, it seems like I run the risk of a lot of expensive mistakes if the tailor in question does not meet these criteria. I did manage to take the pants back to the tailor, who made some adjustments. They are not a perfect fit but better than before. Even though I do not know very much about these things, even I can see that the work she did on one of the pairs the second time around was rather sloppy, so I won't be going back to that tailor for sure.