I remember sitting in American History in 11th grade, wearing a pair of jeans that looked awful unless I was standing. There was a horrible pouch of fabric right above the crotch when I sat and it made me feel like the pants were made roomy in that area for the opposite gender. This is not what an already self-conscious teen needed. Wouldn't it have been nice if I'd known why they fit incorrectly? ...And had known how to make pants that didn't do that?
A baggy crotch from Kelly at Alterations Needed:
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| Photo from Alterations Needed |
My first pants muslin had a baggy crotch:
The waist and hips were too big for me, so I took them in on the side seams, and this made the crotch baggier. You can see horizontal folds above the crotch but also folds at the hips. This is because I did my alterations in the WRONG direction. The correct way to alter pants is to fix the centers first, then move outward. I revisited my pattern. I knew that even before I took the sides in, I had a baggy crotch and needed a flat front adjustment.
There are a couple of ways to fix this problem. First, try scooping some fabric out of the crotch curve:
If this does not get rid of the horizontal folds, you can try the Flat Front Adjustment:
Draw a line from the sharpest part of the curve to the side seam. Cut to but not through the hip edge. Use the top piece as a hinge, and move it towards the crotch. Essentially, what you are doing is taking out a triangle (or a dart) of fabric, starting at the sharpest part of the curve. This shortens the crotch at the sharpest part of the curve, thus removing the extra fabric at the crotch.
If you are confused, try this video. If you are just starting to get it, DON'T keep reading, because it gets more complicated below.
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Going back to my pattern....
The second go-around I omitted the pockets and the fly front (just for muslining purposes):
I then discovered that I did not have enough length in the front to accommodate for my belly, so I did a Full Front Adjustment:
The second muslin is much better. The pants fit in the waist and the tummy area. However, there are still horizontal folds at the crotch. *%@!!! *Sigh.* Did I scoop too much out at the crotch? Is the inside of my leg too baggy? Please share you comments below if you have any advice for me. I'm totally willing to do a couple more muslins until I get it right.