Want to make a great fitting pair of jeans? You absolutely can, and this post on jeans fitting adjustments will help you get there, whether you're making our Ginger Skinny Jeans, Morgan Jeans, or any jeans pattern on the market. Below I walk you through the most common fit adjustments, what they look like, and how to fix it. Pants fitting is always a bit of trial and error, but hopefully this post will help! If you need more help with fit or construction, check out our jean-making online sewing class. We cover everything in. much greater depth and can give you more one on one fitting help if you need it. Looking for denim? We've got the best stuff at Core Fabrics.
We've also made all of this information available in a PDF ebook you can download and save for later.
Download Free Jeans Fitting Ebook
GENERAL ADVICE FOR JEANS FITTING
Oh jeans. Does anything strike more terror into the heart of a sewist than these two tubes of fabric? Sometimes I'm not sure if people are talking about jean fitting adjustments or the apocalypse, for all the fear and anxiety tied up in it. We all want our best-fitting jeans, but here's the thing...
Chill out. While I think it's commendable that a lot of people strive for fit greatness, I think far too many of us get so caught up by drag lines that we can't see the forest for the trees (or the jeans for our knees!) Nobody else is paying that much attention to the back of your thighs and you're still looking better than you do in RTW, so just take a big, deep, cleansing breath and be okay with it not being 100% perfect. If you need a reminder of why perfection and fear will ruin your sewing, read this post and stop talking yourself out of trying new things or enjoying the things that you make.
Here are my recommended suggestions and order of operations for testing jeans fit:
- Make a muslin! Try to use a similar fabric to your final jeans for the most accurate results (ie. if you're making stretch jeans, use a stretch woven with similar stretch). At the bare minimum, quickly baste your pieces together before doing any final construction or topstitching so you can catch problems early. Always baste your waistband on to avoid stretching the waist seam.
- In a well-lit room, take pictures of the front, back, and side with your butt at eye/camera level. I find looking at pictures helps you be more objective and spot things you might not notice in real life.
- Start with the front. Is the crotch laying smooth against the body? Do you see any frown or smile drag lines radiating from the crotch? Any camel toe? Is the fit good through waist and hip or are you feeling/seeing some tension lines? What about the leg - is the fit through the leg good? Too tight? Any weird lines around the knees?
- On to the back. Is the waistband gaping? Is it the yoke or just the waist? How is the bum - too tight, too loose? What kinds of lines do you have under your bum? Again, how do the legs feel - too tight, too loose? Any lines around the knees? Do you feel enough room in the calf or is it riding up?
- Note or draw any drag lines you see, or any general feelings about fit (ie. legs too loose, waistband gaping etc). Try to make adjustments while you're wearing them, or take note of what you'd like to change, take them off and pin or baste adjustments as needed. With your muslin you can try shaping the legs, take in waist or hips and remove wedges from a gaping back. If you have enough of a seam allowance, you can also let out seams where needed. This is a step-by-step process so take your time. I suggest starting with front/crotch adjustments before tackling the back. Adjustments to the legs should come only after you've dealt with the waist/hip/crotch area first.
- Many adjustments don't require cutting a new muslin or pattern pieces, but the following do: full calf, knock knees, bow legs, lengthen butt/crotch, add width to thigh, full tummy, gaping yoke or waistband.
- Copy any adjustments over to your pattern pieces. Use a measuring tape or ruler as a guide when transferring.
You can repeat the muslin process as much as you need to, but I generally move on to the final pair after no more than two rounds of adjustments, otherwise you can easily lose steam. It's important to actually wear jeans as well, and see what changes you need after actually living in them. Maybe that drag line you noticed the first time won't bug you once you're actually wearing them.
My biggest piece of advice is to ALWAYS baste your side seams and test the fit before sewing them for real, each and every time. Denim varies SO much that I often find I need to let out or take in jeans with each make. For non-stretch jeans, it's important to actually wear your first pair for a full day before you come to any conclusions. Denim can relax a great deal and things you notice when you first try them on might become non-issues once you've stretched out your seams a bit. This is especially true with that back seat curve! I find it a smidge tight on my prodigious booty whenever I make a new pair, but its generally feels perfect after it loosens up after a few hours.
WHAT IS GOOD FIT?
Good fit is different for everyone. For some, it might be a totally smooth, drag-line free pair of jeans (as nearly impossible as this is to achieve!) For others, it might simply be a pair that fits their waist/hip ratio, or has enough room for their tummy. Personally, good jeans fit for me is a balance of comfort, appearance and function. They should not dig in or feel uncomfortable. They should have a minimum of drag lines in the front crotch and bum area. They should be easy to sit and bend over in. Anything over and above that is just a bonus. For those of you who like visuals, here is an example of a pair of Ginger Jeans on me that I think has nearly perfect fit:
The front crotch is quite smooth - there is a slight drag line on one side but nothing to lose any sleep over (probably the result of slight body asymmetry). In the back, the waistband sits close to the body with no gaping. The butt fit is great. There are some horizontal lines under the bum but in a skinny jean like this, you need them for sitting ease (or else you can't bend over!) The legs fit well with enough room in the calf.
What about fit that needs a bit of work? Let's look at an example:
For these Ginger Jeans, the overall fit isn't bad although we do need to make a few tweaks. There is a little bubble at the front crotch and it's not immediately clear to me if the front inseam needs to be taken in a smidge (around 1/4") or if we need a round pubis/camel toe adjustment. I would start with the inseam and if the problem persists, try scooping out the crotch curve for a camel toe adjustment. It's also possible we need to add a small wedge to the center front seam for a full tummy adjustment. I am seeing some lines around the knee, and in the back the issue becomes more apparent. Our model has slight knock knees, which makes the inner seam of her leg longer than the outer seam, which is why you're seeing that bunching along outer back knee. The butt fit is pretty good, but I've tried pinning out a wedge on the left side to see if she needs a small seat adjustment - you can see that doing that has helped reduce the diagonal lines right under her left cheek. I could do that by removing a wedge along the seat curve, or remove a wedge at the inseam for a fast fix. There is some puckering along the side seams that came from a pretty drastic graded hip curve, so we'll try and smooth that out as well. There may be a few more tweaks, but I would try the above before trying anything else.
JEANS FITTING ADJUSTMENTS
Here's how to understand the following graphics: in the technical flats on the left side of each graphic, I have highlighted the drag line in grey. On the right side, the fit adjustment is indicated by a pink dotted line. I've taken this advice from the books Pants for Real People, Fitting and Pattern Alteration and my own experience fitting hundreds of people. Some of these alterations can be more involved than I show here, but these are quick and dirty tips to get the fit up to snuff without too much fuss.
SHORTEN CROTCH ADJUSTMENT
If you see lines radiating downwards from your front crotch, it is likely too long for you. Simply shave a little off your inseam on the front thigh. Work in 1/4" increments - small adjustments make a huge difference here.
LENGTHEN CROTCH ADJUSTMENT
If you need a little extra room in the crotch, you'll have diagonal "smile lines" radiating from your crotch. Add a little to your front inseam to lengthen your crotch curve.
ROUND PUBIS ADJUSTMENT (AKA CAMEL TOE)
Also known as a prominent pubic area, I fully admit that this is a weird name for a fit issue but it sounds better than "Oh camel toe" doesn't it? If you find your pants cleaving to you in an unwelcome way (also manifested as vertical drag lines around the front crotch), simply scoop out that front crotch a little. It adds depth to the crotch curve, making more room for you. A 1/4" or even 1/8" can make a difference here.
FLAT PUBIS ADJUSTMENT
If your pubic bones is set a little further in, you may get horizontal wrinkles across the front crotch. Fixing this just means drawing a shallower crotch curve in, again working in 1/8" to 1/4" increments.
FULL TUMMY ADJUSTMENT
If you have a full tummy, you may see diagonal drag lines radiating from your stomach. The side seams may also come forward around the stomach, along with a little tightness in the crotch. To correct, slash along the center front to the hip and spread to add length and width through the abdomen area. You may also find you need to add a little length to the crotch curve by letting out the inseam.
FULL SEAT ADJUSTMENT
If you have a fuller bottom, you may notice drag lines all pointing to that back crotch seam and your back waistline may be tugged down. Essentially you need to add length and width to the backseat curve. The proper way to do this is by slashing and spreading in various spots to add length to the lower crotch extension and the center back, but you can also just add a little to the inseam and top seam as I am showing here (#quickanddirty). You may also find that you need a deeper seat curve - if you scoop out that curve more, please note you will have to add a little to the hip since you are removing width across the hip with this adjustment.
FLAT SEAT ADJUSTMENT
A flatter seat is indicated by bagginess under the bum and diagonal drag lines pointing to the hip. To correct it, try removing width from your inseam. You can also try shortening the overall length of the back rise by taking a wedge off the top (the proper way to do this is by slashing and spreading so that the top edge stays the same length).
LOW BUTT ADJUSTMENT
If the curve of your heiny sits a little lower than the pant has been drafted for, you'll find horizontal drag lines under your seat. Simply scoop out that seat curve a little bit to make room for your bum.
SWAY BACK ADJUSTMENT
If you have a sway back, your pelvis tilts forward, forcing your bum out and creating a shorter distance between waist and top of the bum. This generally manifests in pooling or folds of fabric at the lower back. Fitting & Pattern Alteration has a complicated adjustment for this involving numerous slash and spread adjustments, but I think you can do a #quickanddirty adjustment by taking a wedge of the top pant (or folding out the amount from your pattern piece and redrawing your seams). I've also found that you can take a quick wedge off the CB (including the yoke) to prevent gaping if that is also an issue. This will change the pitch of the pants so keep that in mind!
FULL THIGH JEAN FITTING ADJUSTMENT
If you need more room in the thigh, your pants will tell you with diagonal drag lines or wrinkles pointing towards your crotch inseam. Extend your back crotch at the inner thigh to give yourself more room.
THIN THIGH ADJUSTMENT
If your thighs need less room, you should see vertical drag lines along the back of your thigh. Taking width off the back inseam will help; you may also need to remove a little from the front inseam as well.
FULL CALF ADJUSTMENT
If you're spotting horizontal drag lines above the back of your knees, you will need more room in the calf. Cut your pattern as indicated and swing seams along your lower leg out to create more width along the back of your calf.
KNOCK KNEED ADJUSTMENT
If you're a little knock kneed (possibly the cutest sounding fit issue) you may find that the fabric is tight along your inseam and looser at your side seam. You'll notice diagonal drag lines radiating from along the side seam above and below the knee. With this adjustment you need a little more length at the inseam and a little less at the side seam. To achieve this, slash to a center point in the center of the thigh on either side and rotate the entire upper pant so that you are reducing the length along the side seam while slightly adding to the inseam.
BOW LEGGED ADJUSTMENT
Most jeans are cut straight in the leg so if your knees bow out, you'll notice drag lines radiating out from the side seam around your knee and calf. This is the exact opposite adjustment we made for the knock-kneed; you need more length on the side seam and less on the inseam. To achieve this, slash to a center point in the center of the thigh on either side and rotate the entire upper pant so that you are adding to the length of the side seam while reducing the length of the inseam.
Phew! Hope you find this helpful. Again, if you need more help, our Sew Your Dream Jeans sewing class is a great place to start!
Thanks for such a comprehensive post on pants fitting! I’ve fumbled through a few of these with my own trial and error – this would have saved me a lot of trouble once upon a time!
yay!
Great post, Heather! Someone was just asking me about jeans fitting and I am going to send them right here.
Awesome, happy to be of help Lorene!
Holy Hanna banana, thank you thank you thank you for this awesome post! I want to put on my rtw jeans and do an assessment. Also, this gives me the confidence to tackle pants!
You can do it Amanda!
this is impressive! I will definitely bookmark that. totally makes sewing jeans seem doable!
Its totally doable Clara!
Wow, fantastic tutorial. I love the drawings and visuals. I agree that much of the sewing community seems to overfit; however, I think tutorials like these help boost confidence before one starts the project.
I think its a lot of external pressure. You know how it is; a few bloggers obsess about fit and then everyone else feels like they should too, when i feel like most people are like me in their heart of hearts, which is to say “Meh, good enough!” and then feel like that instinct is wrong or something.
Hahaha love the chill out! So true. I don’t understand the angst some people have over sewing certain things.Great resource you are providing here thank you!
People are just scared to fail. But failure’s good! It teaches you so much!
So much of this applies to trouser fitting too. Wonderful point form resource 🙂 My copy of pants for real people is on it’s way — everyone who sews should have at least one great pattern fitting book in their library. I have 4 now 🙂 Thank for the help Heather
I love that book but its not organized very well. You really have to root around to find what you’re looking for – still a great resource though!
Bookmarked this page for when I eventually have the time and courage to try jeans making! The number of ways I can mess it up with fitting and stitching (not to mention rivets) is still giving me the fear. But I’ll be using your patterns and guidance when I do 🙂
You’re probably overestimating how bad you can mess it up – I encourage you to give it a try! Even getting it halfway right feels amazing.
Incredible resource and so generous so publish it for free when you must have put so much work into it. Thank you
My pleasure Sarah!
FLAT PUBIS ADJUSTMENT. The tincture for my needs, and I didn’t even know it. Thanks, Heather! This is incredible as always!
Hahahaa, happy to be your crotch holistic dispensary 😉
Amazing, thanks for doing this! The pictures are so clear.
Happy to hear it Bella!
Oh you make it sound so easy, I’ve not worn jeans since I had my four daughters and I now have a rather awful tummy area but I am feeling more and more like I could wear jeans again and you have shown fixes for some of the areas I used to have troubles with in rtw jeans, I sew now so I won’t be wearing rtw, just need to work up the courage to purchase the pattern and fabric now x
You can do it Jennie! I had a class last week and had a student with similar fit issues to you; it was a few quick fixes and she looked spectacular when we got the fit right. You can do it!
Are you kidding? This is amazing. Thanks! I never knew about the low butt adjustment!
Awesome! Happy to be of service Janet!
You are a hero for writing such a lovely detailed post. May it direct endless traffic to you for years to come! 😉
Hahah thanks Gillian!
Thank you for this! This may just give me the confidence to give sewing jeans a shot some day!
You can do it Jacey!
Oops, under knock knee adjustment, you said “With this adjustment you need a little more length at the inseam and a little less at the side seam.” It should be the opposite, as the pic shows and as you say in the next sentence “rotate the entire upper pant so that you create a little more length and reduce the inseam.”
Great post with terrific details and graphics!
I think the alteration images for knock kneed and bow legged need to be switched…… and the alteration description is correct for knock kneed but should be the opposite for bow legged. Bow legged needs LESS at the inseam and MORE to the side seam. I think?
Great post with easy to follow adjustments. It’s nice to have them all in one spot as a quick reference.
Fixed, thanks Amy!
🙂 Glad I was helpful.
I LOVE having the easy to read visuals that go along with alterations. Thank you!
As some commenters have pointed out, I think the illustration for the adjustment is still reversed for the knock kneed/bow legged adjustment. For knock kneed, it reads that you should spread at the inseam, but the illustration shows it being spread at the side seam.
This is fantastic, thank you! I’ve got a few of the problems, most of which can apparently be solved by adding a bit to the front crotch and center front, and scooping out a seam a wee squibbit-I do believe it’s time to bust out the pants patterns again and give it another go!
I think people get frustrated when they have a few problems at the same time since changing one can affect the other. I always try to get front crotch fixed first before tackling anything else..
good point
This is a great post heather. Bravo!
Fabulous post thank-you Heather and one that I have saved as I know I will refer to it again and again. My pattern for your Morgan jeans is in the post and I am keen to get started.
I’m still a little confused by both the knock knee adjustment and the bow leg adjustment.
The knock knee says: With this adjustment you need a little more length at the inseam and a little less at the side seam.
And the bow leg adjustment says: This is the exact opposite adjustment we made for the knock kneed; you need more length on the inseam and less on the side seam.
Thank you Heather for all the helpful information though 🙂
Sorry I’ve fixed it for real this time!
Also, please, where can I buy the paper pattern in Australia?
Hi Mel. You can see our list of stockists here! http://store.closetcasefiles.com/pages/stockists
Thanks! I think I needed both the pep talk and the fitting tips. Fear of fitting is what held me back from the Ginger Jeans for so long, but I started them on Wednesday, and it has gone great! I had fewer fitting issues than I feared, and your directions helped me where I needed it. I’m really hoping to finish them today.
Great summary!!! I will print this off and keep it in front of me for pant making reference. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Bloody hell! Best set of fitting explanations/solutions ever!! Thanks so much!
Thank you for this amazing resource! I am in the muslim stages of my Ginger Jeans and I am excited to finally have great fitting jeans. All RTW jeans – from designer to Old Navy- have the same problem for me. Despite fitting well in the hips, crotch, and waist when standing still, any movement causes them to fall down my waist to my high hip and sag at the crotch. Also, all my jeans wear out at the back crotch point. What is my problem? Low butt? Full thigh? Full front thigh? Thank you for any insight!
Heather, I love you so much for this. I have one pair of clovers that I keep putting on and have no clue how to fix them. Now I can do that and actually attempt gingers. Flat line drawings are the best. Thank you so much for posting this!
Thank you for posting all these adjustments. It never occurred to me there might be a way to alter a pattern for knock knees.
FYI, to young ladies out there with the knock knee issue. I have it too, and my surgeon prescribed a thigh-master (Yup, the one pushed by Suzanne Sommers 🙂 to strengthen the inner leg muscles. This prevents the outer leg muscles from taking over and popping your knee cap out of place. I was also told never to wear heels, again because of what this forces the muscles to do. He also said to always use a knee brace when participating in sports.
(I’m hoping my comment inspires a few people to take action before their condition results in the need for surgery. Strengthen those inner leg muscles people, they matter!)
Thank you thank you thank you for posting this! Having attempted a pair of pants and gone through 4 muslins and still had major drag lines this is amazing. !!! Amazing! I have done 3 of the adjustments, but didn’t know how to resolve some of the other problems. (I’ve taken a diagonal dart at the bum hidden under back pockets to try to correct drag lines i could not make disappear back there!). Yay! No more odd bulky darts….
Thanks so much for posting this! I’ve only made pants a couple times – a pair of jeans and two pairs of Hudsons – and each time suffered from various fit issues that resulted in never really wearing any of these FO’s … they’re all gone to the thrift shop. Couldn’t quite figure out what I needed to modify and how to do it! (although fumbled through various attempts). Anyhow, I think I could now make another attempt and potentially even come out with a reasonable pair of pants! Thanks!
What a great post! I so totally agree with the “chill out a bit” on the fitting (even though a make a good portion of my living teaching fitting classes :-)). Yes, doing a bit of fitting is a good thing – and will make the garment look better, but so many sewists get overwhelmed and sometimes stuck with small fitting issues, that really doesn’t matter. Much better get the garment finishes and worn (and it’s probably still better fitting than the RTW) and then try to tweak it a bit in your next version. A “perfect fit” like most fitting books and classes advertise is a very big (unrealistic, even?) goal to promise from a book or class.And that’s okay.
Only one thing – did you switch the illustrations for knock knee and the bow knee alterations around? I usually add more length to the inseam with knock (inward turning) knees, and hat’s also what your text says. But the illustration shows how to add more length to the side seam
Yarg, these graphics have been such a pain! I updated them a while back but WordPress didn’t recognize it so I reinserted the correct illustrations – thanks for pointing it out Maria!
With the knock kneed adjustment, how does the grainline need to be trued up? Should it be redrawn following the original grain line on the bottom half of the adjustment (the thigh/leg) or should it be redrawn following the original grain line on the top half of the adjustment (upper pant). Thanks!
It should be drawn according to the leg – so it would continue up to the top of the part of the pant you rotated.
I suspected as much, just wanted to check before I cut my denim. Thanks!
Great information! Thank you very much!!!
I disagree with the Camel toe correction. The proper way is to scoop curve as you showed then scoop down and extend crotch point as needed. Scooping out as you mentioned will only will take away fabric and making it worst . You need a lower saddle shape and longer from crotch hook . Front rise will get longer so you might want to drop front rise the same amount as per corrections at waist seam to 0″ at outseam to maintain the balance if the waist was hitting on a good spot before corrections .the same correction and amount given has to be done to the back rise to maintain patterns Balance. After you align front and back rises to see saddle shape and make sure there is no peak at crotch intersection point.finally the issue Is in the saddle depth and width plus saddle shape that’s causing the issue . Camel toe can also be due to stitch tension too tight at front rise seam FYI. Hope this helps
Let me know what do you think ??
Hello,
Thank you for all that adjustments, do you have any idea what is wrong when the ginger walks down in the back when i am just walking and even more if i am sitting. When I am Standing i have the feeling it pulls down in the back. Do you have any idea for this?
Thank you from Germany
Andrea
Hi Heather, this is so brilliant. I think I need to use about six of these! I haven’t attempted jeans since my first pair of gingers which were good but not great fit wise. This is going to sound really strange, but when you make these with your students do you work straight on the denim rather than making a muslin first and if so how do you accommodate some of the adjustments? I ask as the issue I had with my Gingers is that despite using a stretch fabric of similar weight, the fit was pretty different to the muslin, so I’m wondering if I should just go straight to denim for the Morgan’s I’m about to embark on as any muslin fabric I use is unlikely to fit the same way as the glorious denim from the kits! Thanks so much in advance and I hope this makes some kind of sense. Charlie x
I always fit straight on the denim. With Ginger its easy since most of the common fit adjustments can happen right on them ie. crotch adjustments. I always ask them to bring extra denim in case we need to do a swayback on teh yoke or waistband. for Morgan I would do a muslin first since non-stretch denim isn’t as variable as stretch denim (at least if you’re nervous about cutting into it first)
this is so helpful, thanks!
very well done tutorial – you really covered many fit problems with great explanations and illustrations. Thank you
The fitting information is excellent. The photo links appear to be broken?
You are a life-saver! I was looking for a post like this about a year ago! This is so useful for all of us pants-fitting dunces! Thanks so much! 🙂 Lisa
I know I’m abit late but thanks for this article, find it really helpful as I’m learning to do alterations.
Wanted to know, with the knocked kneed and bow legged alterations, does this mean all of the trousers being altered in this way will have a stitch going horizontally across the thigh or would there be another way of doing it?
Keep the posts coming!!!
There’s no stitch line there. You are just rotating the upper portion to adjust inseam length, not actually cutting your fabric that way.
I feel really silly asking this question, but how are you supposed to be standing when looking for these lines? Feet together? Feet under shoulders? The crotch lines I get change drastically with stances and I don’t know if I need a flat pubis or a lengthen crotch adjustment. Or maybe I need both?
Other than that, this post with the diagrams is really helpful, so thanks! 😀
Hi Nicole. I’d just stand normally with feet hip distance apart. Otherwise it’s not a drag line, it’s just ya know, livin’.
If need to narrow the calf I need to narrow the calf should I do something similar to the wide calf adjustment but then overlap the pieces instead of spread them?
I would just take in the side seems Allison! Pin them as needed until they fit closely but not snugly.
Ok, thank you for the quick response!
Alright so I’ve made the low butt adjustment making it more L-shaped but I still feel like there is extra fabric right under the butt. Should I do a slight backwards J-shape? Or what do you suggest?
Have you tried taking the thigh in? That might be it. Or drop that seat curve even lower…
I made the alteration of taking a wedge out of the centre back due to gaping… can you explain what it means to “alter the pitch”?
I’ve still got gaping at the back but also gaping now at the front too! Is this due to the skewing of taking a wedge out of the back?
(EDIT: I made view A of the Ginger Jeans)
I could cry, I was so meticulous with the sewing and fitting before i put the waist band on. I guess next time I should probably grade down a size at the waist.
Hi Elizabeth. When you take a wedge out at center back instead of removing the wedge (like a dart) you are changing the angle of the center back seam. This is a quick fix but you don’t necessarily want to change that angle – what you actually want to do is remove width at the waist (that dart shape) which would not change the angle/pitch of CB. Hope that makes sense. I’m not sure why/how this would effect the front – would taking in there front side seam at waist help remove the gaping there?
Hi there, I have an issue where there is gaping at the back centre seam, I graded the back pieces from one size smaller at the top down to my desired size in the crotch, and used that smaller size for the yoke. The fit is better however now the waistband isn’t flat to my back (my lower back dips in quite a lot). Do I need to add some curve to the waistband in the centre section (which is usually pretty straight)?
Hi! Yup! We have a tutorial for our Sasha trousers with that exact adjustment here https://www.closetcorepatterns.com/pants-fitting-adjustments-best-tips-for-pants-fitting/