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Probably a dumb question Making side seams match after alterations
HarrietHomeowner   Intermediate Member since 1/13/10 Posts: 657	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/7/12 10:09 PM About 25 years ago, I took a pants fitting class based on "Pants for Every Body" by Palmer and Pletsch. I tried on my gingham muslin the other day, and after I let out the side seams a few inches from hip to waist, they fit really well, so I'm really curious to try to make a pair of pants from my basic pattern. As I recall, at the time I took the class, I lost interest or something and never actually made any pants from all this. My question: one of my alterations was to add 2 inches in length on the back between waist and hip; another was to shorten 1/2 inch on the front. This causes the side seams to be wildly different in length. How do I fix this so I can sew the pants together? Do I angle the back piece at the sides so it matches the front? Somehow I can't visualize what's going to work. Thanks for any advice.
NhiHuynh   Advanced CA USA Member since 1/4/11 Posts: 593	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/8/12 1:04 AM Sounds like the adjustment in length that you're describing is only in the middle not at the side seams. So you would slash horizontally to the side seam stitch line at the area where you need the 2" and let it spread to the right length. You'll need to add fabric or pattern paper (depending on whether you're working on the pattern or on a muslin) to the gap that you've now created. The added piece would look like an elongated American football. Sorry I don't know what country you're from. For the front shorten 1/2" where you need it and taper to nothing at the side seams. There's nothing wrong with the length of the side seams so there's reason why you should be add more length here. Hope that makes sense.
HarrietHomeowner   Intermediate Member since 1/13/10 Posts: 657	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/8/12 10:09 AM Thank you. When I did the alteration in the class (per the directions in the book), I simply added to the length all the way across the back, from seam to seam (and did the subtraction on the front the same way). So the pattern I created ended up with the back piece 2 1/2" higher than the front piece. There was no mention of tapering the addition to nothing at the side seam, and I can't find anything about it in the book, either. Right now, the side seams hang perfectly straight.
woggy   Advanced Beginner PA USA Member since 8/15/04 Posts: 608	Login to reply to this post In reply to HarrietHomeowner Like this post Date: 2/8/12 1:57 PM HH, It sounds as if you are doing two separate alterations. Letting out the side seams tells me you are adding width to the front and back side seams so the pants can go around your current body shape. You are adding circumferance to the upper part of the body. Did you add the 2 inches in length when you took the class? If so, when you tried the muslin on the other day, did the waist hit you at your waist? Did the front hit your waist and did the back hit your waist? If the waist hit you correctly then maybe what you did in the class is add the 2 inches in the back on the shorten lengthen line of the pattern. It is possible for the front that you added the same amount but lowered the waist seam 1/2 inch at the center front seam so the back and front sides were equal. You could have a tilted waist which is why the front was lowered. In the P&P book on pants fitting there are pictures showing how they pull up or down on the pattern in the back and or front at the waist. On some of the models, paper was added to the side seams so there was enough of the pattern to go around the body. Then, the back center seam and front center seam were either lowered or raised according to the model's waist. Some folks do this lowering adjustment by slicing through the upper body from the center seam over to the side seam but not through it. The top portion of the part cut is lowered 1/2 inch over the bottom portion - sort of like a dart - so the center front is at your correct waist. Hope this helps. Woggy
HarrietHomeowner   Intermediate Member since 1/13/10 Posts: 657	Login to reply to this post Like this post Date: 2/8/12 2:54 PM Thanks. The muslin goes up way over my waist, so maybe I just need to mark where my waistline is and use that as the seamline (or waistline, for pants with a low waist). I think I must have added some "in case" extra to the top of the pattern as P&P direct in the book, and either never marked my waistline or marked it and the marks have faded in the intervening quarter century. But then there's the question of the back darts -- they will get obliterated if I cut the extra off the top. Darn. I was hoping this would be an easy fix and I could go ahead and sew something ... oh well. The good part is that the crotch fit seems just about right.

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