Pants Fitting Journey: A Summary

As many of you may know I have been attempting to achieve a well-fitted pair of pants, and recently achieved a pair in which all my fit issues were addressed. Because this has been such an exceptionally long journey, and I know that many people also struggle with pants fitting, I wanted to make a summary of what I did, and what I learned.

First of all, if you are attempting to do the same, please don't get discouraged. This is my journey:

• 18 muslins.
• 14 wearable (I use that term loosely) pairs of pants.
• 6 months of work.
• 5 commercial patterns.
• 1 self-drafted (in 5 different versions).

The first thing to do in determining what changes to make to patterns is determining your fit issues. In order to do this, you have to face realities and you must become aware (and honest about) every single lump and bump on your body. This has been especially difficult for me. And if you are asking for assistance with fit, you must post some extremely unflattering photos of yourself. If you were to scroll through my photos over the last year, you would be able to watch me put on 40 pounds over the course of mere weeks. In March, I was diagnosed with Hidradenitis Suppurativa, a skin disease that causes large, painful nodules to form under your arms and for some (fortunately not for me) in your groin. My doctor's first attempt at treatment was very high doses of steroids, which caused me to pack on an incredible amount of weight, at a ridiculous pace. So, not only did I have to face new fitting issues...I had to address it quickly because I had nothing in my closet that fit! My doctor and I have now agreed to pursue alternate treatments (mainly since the steroids didn't actually do anything!) and I am moving forward in getting that weight back off.

But, back to the original point...many of us have body issues, and we would rather not look too long and hard at a full-length mirror. However, if you are to address achieving well-fitting clothing, you do have to take honest measurements, and address every single thing you both like and dislike about your body. Mainly because you want to hide the dislikes and accentuate the likes! This part of fitting can be really difficult for some people, but the important thing to remember is that someone who weighs 200 pounds in well-fitting, tailored clothing will look a million times better than someone who weighs 100 pounds in clothing that doesn't fit properly. So it is important to overcome any discomfort and begin to look closely at our bodies and become comfortable with identifying what our fit issues are....so that we can address them.

So, what are my fit issues?

• Wide and round backside.
• Small waist in relation to hips.
• Carry most of my weight to the back (junk in the trunk).
• Thick from front to back.
• Wide thighs.

Once you know what your fit issues are, you need to know how is this manifested in the garment you are trying to make (both RTW and pants sewn from commercial patterns)? For me, what I have to deal with in pants are:

• Lots of gaping at the back waist.
• Drooping of the back waist, exposing panties.
• Wrinkles radiating from the front crotch.
• Fabric bunching underneath the buttocks.
• Side seam of pants not vertical, drags to the rear.
  

Once you identify these, how do you solve these issues? What I have found is:

• For me, wide contour waistbands are better than narrow. But, I always have to contour them more than they are in the pattern, or on the RTW pant that is being copied. Otherwise, they gape in the back.
  
• Back darts are helpful in curving the back in to the waist. If the pattern does not have back darts, I take the pattern in at the center back and side seams.
• Cut the front pattern piece in a smaller size than the back. This is a trick I learned in copying RTW pants. They do it to make the pants look more flattering, but for someone built like me, this is a much better option for fit.
• Add a wedge to the back seam to add some height and cover an ample derriere. I add my wedge just where the back curve straightens and becomes vertical. I usually add 1 1/2 inches.
• Extend the center crotch curve to accommodate thickness from front to back. When I first started this, I just kept adding and adding to the back...until I made a pair of pants that looked like I had a penis. After that, I cut down on what I was adding and also distributed the additional tissue to both the front and the back pattern pieces. This also helps prevent "crotch smileys" because your pants aren't borrowing fabric from the front to accommodate your width from front to back.
  
• Widen the back leg to prevent back leg wrinkles.
  

Best resources for pants fitting:

• Pants for Real People. Yes, it looks old-fashioned and yes, the clothes look frumpy BUT the advice is sound. Get a copy, it's not expensive.
  
• Discussion boards on Pattern Review. The expert sewists there are incredibly helpful. Always post photos, though! It is impossible for other sewists to help you with fitting without photos! And your photos need to be dead-on. Not angled to the side to look thinner. No one is going to be critical, they are there to help, otherwise they would not be participating on the boards!
  
• Fellow bloggers. Corresponding with Chelle at Smoking Needles was what helped me figure out one of my last issues with the back legs, and sent me in the direction of widening the back leg. Also, you can find great resources at Debbie Cook's website. Find a blogger with a similar body-type to you, and become a follower. You may find out everything you need to know.
• Trial and error. Many muslins. And lots of trying on during construction.
  

Finally, I just wanted to say a bit about ease and shape. When dealing with fit, it is important to determine what your preferred ease is, because this will impact what size you cut initially, as well as what alterations you make. Many people like a lot of ease in their clothes, and some people don't like much ease at all. This is what I know about my ease and shape preferences:

• At the waist, essentially zero ease.
• Remaining at zero to 1 inch of ease through the upper hip, and loosening up approaching "pocket level."
• Minimal ease until you reach the lower hip, and then expanding through the leg. I like this minimal ease because it is less bulky under a shirt, a jacket or a sweater.
• NO PLEATS EVER. For someone with a shape like mine, pants with pleats is a formula for frump. I only sew flat-front pants.
  
• I prefer a wider leg, bootcut or even flare. I think that pegged pants make girls shaped like me look like ice cream cones. It's not a good look.
• Length is important to consider, too. Even though flat shoes are more comfortable, I always hem my pants for heels, letting the pants fall over the shoes, almost to the floor. This makes the leg look longer, and helps with proportions for someone who is a little heavier. The longer leg balances out a wider hip.
• While this doesn't fall into the category of ease issues, it is related to the overall silhouette of the pant...and that is front pockets. Slash pockets often gape open, so I look for pockets with a more horizontal opening. Also, look for pockets with extensions that attach to the front fly. This will keep your pockets from gaping and also help flatten the front of the pant. Burda typically has pockets like this, although I rarely see them in "The Big 4." They are easy to draft, though.

I hope that this is helpful information, and encourages someone to try pants if they haven't before. While my journey has been an extended one, the reward is knowledge and confidence, and I think the experience was incredibly valuable in increasing my knowledge of fitting, as well as sewing technique.

So, grab some cheap fabric for muslin, a pair of pants you like the fit of, a pattern you want to try, and get started on your fitting!