If you're making the Jessa trousers and shorts and want some guidance with fitting, then today is your lucky day. It's Nikki here, Product Manager at Tilly Towers, and I'm here to help with some handy tips on sizing and fitting.
Jessa is one of our two latest sewing patterns - the other being the gorgeous Romy top and dress. We covered fitting Romy a few weeks back, so check that post out if you missed it :)
Trousers have a bit of a bad rep when it comes to fitting. There are a few different adjustments - especially in the crotch - which can be done to get a good fit, and this can put sewists off from taking the plunge and having a go. But fear not, I'm going to go over a few of the most common adjustments for trousers or shorts fitting. You'll have a beautiful pair of Jessas in no time!
In this post we're going to cover:
- Making a toile
- Choosing your size
- Lengthening the legs or rise
- Shortening the legs or rise
- Combining pattern sizes
- Lengthening or shortening the crotch seams
- Full booty adjustment
- Small booty adjustment
- Saggy back leg adjustment
We can't cover absolutely every aspect of trouser fitting here, so if you want more in-depth help, then we recommend checking out this amazing guide by our friends at Closet Case Patterns and The Complete Photo Guide to Perfect Fitting by Sarah Veblen (this is an affiliate link).
Making a toile
As the Jessa trousers and shorts are a bit of an involved project, I definitely recommend making a toile so you can check the fit and any adjustments you have made before you crack on with your beautiful new fabric. The fabric you use for your toile doesn't have to be fancy, but it must be a similar weight and stretchiness (if any) to your real fabric, as your choice of fabric can have a significant impact on the final fit.
Whether you decide to make a toile or not, it's a good idea to tack (baste) the side and inner leg seams and try them on. Tacking stitches (i.e. longer stitches around 4-5mm) are much easier to unpick than regular stitches. Once you've done this, check the fit is comfortable both standing up and sitting down. If you need to adjust the seams, mark your new stitching line on the wrong side of the fabric with chalk or a fabric pencil.
Don't get too bogged down with fitting your Jessas. Remember, there will always be some creases around the crotch of trousers - the extra room allows you to sit down and move around comfortably. But if you're finding a crease particularly noticeable or obvious, you could consider making one of the following alterations. This is by no means an inexhaustible list of fitting adjustments for trousers, but probably the most common ones.
But first, let's start at the beginning with...
Choosing your size
Using a flexible tape measure, find the circumference of your:
- waist - where you bend at the side
- hips - fullest part
Check the tape measure is sitting level with the floor - it can help to turn to the side and look in a mirror to check. Circle your measurements on the ‘Body Measurements’ chart in the pattern instructions.
If your waist and hip measurements are in the same size according to the body measurements chart, then that is your size. There’s a key on the pattern sheets that shows a particular style of solid or dashed line for your size – that’s the one to use when you cut your fabric.
If, on the other hand, your waist and hip measurements land in two different sizes, you can "grade" between the appropriate sizes to better fit our unique body proportions. This is super common - in fact, my bust, waist and hip measurements fall across three different sizes! So if you need to grade between different sizes then you're in good company :) Check out the 'combining sizes' section below for more details.
A bit of info about lengthening or shortening the legs or rise
There are two different "lengthen or shorten here" lines on the trouser leg pattern pieces and one set of lines on the shorts legs. The top lines on the trouser legs, and the only lines on the shorts, serve to help you lengthen or shorten the rise of your trousers or shorts. The lower lines on the trouser legs, between the crotch and the knee, are to be used if you want to add or remove length to the legs.
Our patterns are drafted for a height of around 5"5 (165cm). If you are particularly taller or shorter than this or have particularly long or short legs, then you may want to lengthen or shorten the legs. We've added a crotch to hem inseam measurement on the finished garment measurements, so check these out before you decide whether to adjust the pattern.
Lengthening the legs or rise
If you want to lengthen the shorts legs then this is easy peasy. Simply stick a bit of paper at the hem of the shorts and extend the side and inner leg seams down until you have the new desired length. Connect your new side seams and inner leg seams with a horizontal line. Make sure that you add the same length to the front and back shorts else you'll have wonky legs!
If you want to lengthen the trouser legs, get a piece of paper, a little longer than the width of the pattern piece you are lengthening. Draw two parallel lines, the distance between them being the amount you want to lengthen trousers. Cut along one of the "lengthen or shorten here" lines marked on the pattern piece(s).
Place the paper strip with the set of lines on underneath the top pattern piece, aligning the newly cut edge with the upper horizontal line, and stick it down with tape or a glue stick.
With a ruler, extend the grainline arrow from the top pattern piece right down through the paper you just attached. Now align the lengthen/shorten line on the bottom piece with the lower horizontal line, and match up the grainline arrows. Repeat these steps for both the front and back legs. Join the side seam lines and the centre front/centre back lines through the new extension and cut away the excess paper.
If you want to lengthen the rise then you follow exactly the same steps as above, but for the top "lengthen or shorten here" lines above the hip notch. Again, make sure that whatever length you add to the rise on the front trouser or short legs, you also add to the back legs, else they won't match up at the side seams.
If you have added length to the rise you must also add the same length to the zip guard and zip facing pattern pieces. You'll need to make sure all the zip notches on the front leg, zip guard and zip facing all match up otherwise you'll get into a bit of a pickle when you're sewing the zip fly. The zip notch should be 19.5cm (7 5/8in) down from the top of the zip facing, zip guard and front leg pieces. Make sure all of the notches match up on all pieces.
Shortening the legs or rise
To shorten the legs, draw a parallel line below the lower of the "lengthen or shorten here" lines on the legs - the distance between the two lines should be how much you want to shorten it by. In the picture below I'm shortening the legs by 25mm (1in).
Cut along the lower of the "lengthen or shorten here" lines and move the lower pattern piece straight up until it meets the line you drew in the previous step. Align the grainlines on each to make sure the pieces don’t shift to either side. Tape or glue the pieces together. Redraw the side seams so they're smooth.
If you want to shorten the shorts, draw a horizontal line connecting the side and inside leg seams together. And voila! This is the new shorts hem.
If you want to shorten the rise then follow the steps above, but this time use the "lengthen/shorten here" lies above the hip notch. Make sure you remove the same length in the rise from the front and back legs.
If you've removed length in the rise then you'll have to make sure the notches on the zip guard and zip facing also match up. We've recommended an 18cm (7in) zip, as this length matches up perfectly with the zip notches on the pattern piece. If you have shortened the rise, you will have to shorten the zip. Tilly has written a wonderfully informative article on how to shorten a metal zip if you need help on this bit! When sewing the zip fly, make sure the zip stop lines up with the zip notch and you'll be golden :)
Combining pattern sizes
If your waist and hip measurements fall across different pattern sizes you'll need to grade between sizes. If you're also lengthening or shortening the legs, make sure you do that first before you combine pattern sizes, otherwise, it may affect the shape of the legs.
To combine pattern sizes, simply choose your appropriate waist and hip measurements and draw a smooth, curved line between the two, using a french curve, pattern master or by eye if you don't have one of these in your sewing kit.
Repeat this process for both the front and back trouser or short legs. When I am combining sizes I draw the new side seam for the front leg, cut the new side seam line, then flip it over and line it up with the waist and side seams on the back leg and trace the new side seam shape so it's an exact copy.
Make sure that you start your new waistline about 15mm (5/8in) below the waistband seam cutting line. This way the stitching line will stay the same and the waistband will still fit.
Lengthening the front crotch
If you can see drag lines coming up from the front crotch that resemble smile lines, it may be a sign that it needs more length. On the front leg piece, stick or tape some pattern paper next to the end of the crotch seam and extend the cutting line. A little goes a long way, so around 15mm (5/8in) should make a big difference. With a ruler or steady hand, re-draw the inner leg seam so that it gently tapers into the original cutting line.
Shortening the front crotch
If you can see lines dragging down from the front crotch that resemble frown lines, it may be a sign that it needs less length. On the front leg piece, mark around 10mm (3/8in) from the end of the crotch seam and, with a ruler or steady hand, re-draw the inner leg seam so that it gently tapers into this point. Cut away the excess.
A little removed goes a long way with this alteration, so don’t rush into taking off too much – it can be a process of trial and error!
Full booty adjustment
If you have a fuller behind (guilty as charged!), you might find that extending the back crotch seam will make the trousers fit better and be more comfortable to sit down in. A good sign that you need to do this is a back waistband that pulls down, and drag lines that come from between your legs.
Cut along one of the ‘Lengthen or shorten here’ lines on the back leg from the crotch seam to 15mm (5/8in) away from the side seam. Cut from the side seam to this point so that the two sections are still attached by a tiny pivot point.
Pivot the top section away from the bottom by the amount you would like to increase the crotch seam by - 20mm (3/4in) is a good place to start. Tape or stick down over a strip of paper, and then redraw the crotch seam with a straight line to neaten it out. Cut away the excess.
Small booty adjustment
If you have a smaller derrière, you might find that reducing the back crotch seam will make the fit much more flattering. A good sign that you need to do this is drooping drag lines under the bum.
Cut along one of the ‘Lengthen or shorten here’ lines on the back leg from the crotch seam to 15mm from the side seam. Cut from the side seam to this point so that the two sections are still attached by a tiny pivot point.
Pivot the top section over the bottom by the amount you would like to shorten the crotch seam by - 20mm (3/4in) is a good place to start. Tape or stick down and then redraw the crotch seam with a straight line to neaten it out. Cut away the excess.
Saggy back leg adjustment
If you don’t feel you have a particularly petite derrière and are still finding excess fabric at the top of your back thighs or underneath your bottom, giving you that delightful ‘droopy booty’ look, it might be that the pattern is too large or long for your thigh. Pin out the excess fabric in the back of your thigh from one side to the other (a sewing buddy or willing family member is helpful for this!) and work through the following adjustment.
Identify where the excess fabric that you’ve pinned is situated on your pattern by measuring down the inner and outer leg seams. Draw a line between these two points on your pattern. Draw a second line starting a third of a way along this line and ending at the crotch seam.
Cut along the second line from the crotch to the first line, and then cut both ways along the first line, ending 15mm (5/8in) from the side seams.
Pivot and overlap the upper pieces over the lower leg by the amount that you pinned out of your toile. Tape or stick down. With a ruler or gentle hand, re-draw both legs and crotch seam to smooth them out.
Well done for sticking with this particularly long post! I hope you feel encouraged and eager to get on with fitting and sewing your Jessa trousers or shorts. Try not to get too bogged down with fitting, and just remember that you made a pair of trousers or shorts - how impressive is that?! Definitely a cause for celebration.
We absolutely love seeing all your progress shots and makes - nothing makes us happier than checking out the pattern hashtags in the office. Show us your Jessas on Instagram @TillyButtons and using the #SewingJessa hashtag.
*****
Photos: Jane Looker
Models: Suzanna Hopkins and Alice Irvine
Pink and white denim: Higgs and Higgs
Teal corduroy: Like Sew Amazing
