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Help fitting jeans

myangels123 | Posted in Fitting on

Hi everyone I’m new to taunton. I have never taken a sewing lesson but have sewed for many years. I am having trouble sewing pants for my daughter. I have bought the smallest jean pattern I can find, she is 16 tall and very skinny like her dad and brother. The pattern was a straight leg, regular waste line. She likes tapered legs to fit and a low waste line. I had to cut down the size 8 girls pattern for her, waste size also. My problem is I cut something wrong because when I put the front and back together the legs twist on the outside edge from back to front. If someone could please tell me where I went wrong and how to adjust the pattern correctly I would really appreciate it. To get jeans to fit her would be $80. and up I have been making them for $10. to $15. This is my third pair and still don’t have it right.

Replies

  1. Josefly | | #1

    It's hard to say what's the cause of the twisting, but if you cut the pattern down, and you cut more off the front side seams or off the front inseams than off the back corresponding seams, the back will roll toward the front. When altering the legs, the same amount must be taken off the front and back. Or added, if making the legs fuller or more flared.

    Good luck!

    1. myangels123 | | #5

      Hi again everyone. I want to thank you all for your quick response. I used something I found on the internet on how to copy your favorite pair of pants. I did exactly as they said. Fold the pants in half, measure every 3" on the top part and 4 down the legs. The only place had a trouble figuring out is the zipper front I did not know how to cut down the zipper portion. I take a 6" zipper and cut it down to 3"s that's how low she wanted them, ( to her bellow button) she's short in front but very long legs. But I did not cut down that 3"s in width on the on the center front. I'm guessing from the grainline responses that that is where my trouble is coming from. It is probably twisting from there. Because I did not know how to adjust it there on the pattern I just corrrect it when I am putting them together. Thanks to all of you I believe I took off too much from the front side edge not allowing for the extra by the zipper. I did adjust below the zipper in the crotch. Can someone tell me how to adjust them correctly. A small drawn picture would help. I am a migraine suffer and lately things have not been going well. They very from annoying to extreme and I have to keep stopping and starting again my projects. With the medication I take I have some trouble concentrating these days. They are worse when I am crafting and sewing. Pants are not my favorite to alter.      By the way I make two zippers from one by cutting them in half and snipping a few teeth off the top of the bottom half (a tinsnips works great). I cut a few teeth of the bottom of the leftovers then I use the stoppers and pull from an old zipper to make two complete zippers. Works great. Can't buy 3" zippers here. My email c[email protected] Thanx again for your help.

       

  2. ElonaM | | #2

    Hmmm, is your fabric a twill-weave denim, the stuff with sort of a diagonal thread pattern? The reason I ask is that, at first blush, it sounds like a grainline problem, and lots of people have trouble laying out properly on twill weaves.

    Since this is your third try, the cut of the pattern itself may be contributing to the problem. What brand and number are you using? If you haven't tried Burda, I'd strongly suggest it, because of their superior crotch curve.

    Third, any possibility of posting a picture of your daughter in the pants? It's so much easier to see what's wrong, you know. For example, one of the, ahem, competitor sewing sites (http://www.patternreview.com) has a pattern question section where this kind of problem is routinely discussed, show-and-tell style, by a whole bunch of sewists. I think the possibility might exist here at Gatherings, but hasn't been done.



    Edited 3/9/2005 7:50 pm ET by Elona

  3. mem1 | | #3

    I agree it sounds like a grainline problem to me were you very particular with putting the arrow on the grainline and was the fabricmatched at the selvages ?

  4. HeartFire | | #4

    It may be a grain line problem, if when you altered the patter, you changed the grain line and didn't re-draw it. Make sure the new grain line is going straight up the center of the leg it may shift from where it was at the waist line.
    Judy

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