How to Raise the Crotch in a Pair of Pants (Take-Up Guide)
Adjustments are always needed. You'll find that with many sewing projects, the patterns just don't do it. The results leave you with ill-fitting or uncomfortable clothing. That means you need to either make adjustments on your own or ask a more experienced sewer for help.
How to raise the crotch in a pair of pants: One option would be to create a deeper inner leg seam and you can do this by starting 7 inches below the crotch intersection. Once you start at that point you will need to taper the seam to make sure you get comfort. Then do the same action on the other side of the pants.
To learn more about raising the crotch on your ill-fitting sewing projects, just continue to read our article. It provides the information you need to know in order to have a better fitting crotch area when you are done with your project.
Why do My Pants Sag in the Crotch?
There are many reasons why this will happen. The first reason may be that the pattern is not as good as you thought it was and it did not provide you with the right measurements to make a nice fitting pair of pants.
The solution to that issue has been given above and more should be given shortly. The second reason, this situation takes place is because the material you used was a stretch fabric. Once the material is stretched, it can result in a sagging crotch area.
Next, on the list, is that the fabric is wearing out due to too much washing. frequent washing can cause the material to weaken and when it does, it can sag in all the wrong areas.
Then, the problem may come from all the stress you put on the seams. The stitching is only so strong and won’t hold the material in place if there is a constant amount of stress when you are sitting down.
Finally, the pants may just be too big for you and you need to find a smaller pair. That issue is common and sometimes the sagging part comes from skin-tight jeans. The legs are very slender but the waist area is a lot larger than you thought.
This situation will happen more often than not and you need to be prepared for when it does.
Crotch Too Low On Pants
We have already given you one solution in how to handle this issue. If you find that the crotch is too low, you will have to take the area apart again and start your inner thigh seam a little deeper.
Another suggestion was to start all over and take out any darts, zippers, and waistband you already attached to the fabric. But the deeper thigh seam is a good solution for more than one pattern.
One way to know if the crotch is too low is to see if the pants bind at the thighs then goes away when you pull the pants up. Then, it is also tricky to get the actual measurement you need to combat this problem.
One suggestion was that you need to tie an elastic around your natural waist and then sit on a hard flat surface. Once you are doing that, you need to have another person measure the distance between the chair and the elastic.
In doing this you will get a fairly accurate measurement of the space you need when you sit down. The problem with this option is that it does not take into account any hip spread nor the area that your rear end has below your pelvis.
Then, there is one more critical measurement you need to take and it is called the stride. You tie an elastic around your waist again, then measure the distance between your legs going from center front to center back.
The measuring tape doesn't need to be tight against the body but held at a point where you want the pants to ride. That will help you with the ease measurement.
Finally, stand your tape measure on end, then measure along the front and back seam lines taking into account the height of the waistband.
Can You Raise the Crotch in Pants?
Yes, you can and generally, most sewers have mentioned that they have to shorten the pattern to get this done. It will take a little work but not a lot of it to get this done. Also, timing is the key as you will have to do this before you cut your pattern pieces. in some cases.
Some people recommend that you make a muslin version. This allows you to test the crotch before you start working on the real thing. Plus, you should not alter or lower the waistline. This is called the incorrect method of shortening the crotch.
When you drop the waistline down, you have to raise the crotch up and when you do this, you get those dreaded draglines. Plus, this movement does nothing to solve the excess in the front of the crotch.
Shortening the waistline at the front will only result in shortening the area between your legs. It will not do much for the length which is the reason why you wanted to shorten the crotch in the first place.
Finding the correct method will help you avoid more work and embarrassing moments once you put the pants on.
How to Shorten Crotch On Pants
The way to shorten the crotch on a pattern is to lay the pieces of the pattern out on grid and align one of the grain lines with a vertical line. Then about 6 inches below the waist, draw a horizontal line across the front and back pieces.
Next, measure a 1/2 inch up or below that line and draw a second line. Once that is done, bring the lines together and the pattern is shortened by 1/2 inch. Keep in mind that this process of shortening the crotch will influence the pockets and fly fronts.
Another method you can try would be to eliminate the length. To do this you have to create what is called a slash line. This line appears about 1/3 the way up from the front fork.
When you draw the line, make sure you are away from the front curve of the fork area. The slash line goes at right angles to your front cutting edge and square across the side seam.
Now cut along the line to divide the pattern in two. At this point, you should be able to decrease the amount of fabric. Once this is done blend the cutting edge using a good pencil and by drawing a nice steady line.
If the problem is bagginess and not length, then you can scoop out some of that excess. Or you can shave a little off the inside leg. Both actions only require about 1 cm of material to be removed.
You do not want to shave off too much or you may end up creating drag lines again.
Tips to Shorten the Crotch Length of Pants
- 1. To measure if you have the right crop depth or not, you can compare the feel to a wedgie, which is very tight and very uncomfortable. If the pants crotch is well below your actual crotch, then the area is too long.
- 2. One adjustment does not fit all. This is going to be your key tip because while one adjustment works for one person, different body shapes will make that adjustment uncomfortable for another person. You will have to make adaptions to instructions to fit your body size.
- 3. Make a muslin of your pants and include the waist and the fly areas to make sure you can test the pattern design correctly. Don’t worry about any wrinkles as those will be normal with muslin. Then feel the crotch to make sure the fabric is just right.
- 4. When you have a low-hanging crotch you can pin up the excess until you feel the depth is just right. The key here is not to over-pin the fabric. Do walk around and sit for a bit to make sure everything is going to fit right and not be uncomfortable.
- 5. If your crotch is too low, then you will need to slice the fabric and add some more to the crotch area. Just pull the bottom portion down until you get the right fit and then pin and sew.
Some Final Words
The crotch area is a difficult area to sew just right. Not only does your body change from year to year, one adjustment may not work for everyone. The key will be to get the right measurements and do some tests before you sew the real piece of fabric together.
