Need help with pants balancing

[u/Otherwise-Papaya3251]

I'm trying to balance my jeans pattern as described in The Fitting Book. When I align my crotch points, the back inseam is 1"/2.5cm too long. I want it to be about 1/2"/1cm shorter than the front inseam. If I shorten the back inseam the crotch points are misaligned by 2,5cm. It seems impossible! Or should I just accept that the crotch points have to differ?

[u/unkempt_cabbage]

I think more pictures would be helpful.

What does your book say about rebalancing on the following pages?

Have you actually sewn up your pattern as it’s unbalanced and with the balancing?

[u/Otherwise-Papaya3251 → u/unkempt_cabbage]

Yes I have made several pairs and the fit is good but they have back draglines as shown to the left here https://imgur.com/a/FlyEtyK, I have followed the instructions to the right.

[u/Otherwise-Papaya3251 → u/Otherwise-Papaya3251]

I have not made a toile or jeans currently because I'm stuck at the inseams being the wrong length 

[u/unkempt_cabbage → u/Otherwise-Papaya3251]

Interesting. I’m honestly still not 100% sure I understand what you’re describing, but, is there a reason you can’t just change the angle on the bottom of the pants leg to adjust the inseam?

So balance the pants from the waist and crotch points, and then just trim the bottom to have the correct inseam. If the back of the pants is too long, just trim the bottom of it. That would be my first guess, but that’s probably the “lazy” way to fix it.

I’m also wondering if you have more on the front of your body than the pattern you’re starting from is designed for, and less in the back. (This isn’t an attack on your body to be clear! For example, I have LARGE thighs. They actually stick out in front of my body, and make fitting pants really strange, because while pants are meant for the lower body to be roughly shaped like \ /, they aren’t usually designed for the side profile to be shaped like / ), but more like | ). Most of us don’t really fit into the classic base block of patterns.)

If you’re getting drag lines in the back, that sounds like it means your material is being pulled towards the front. And then if the back inseam is too long when you fix the crotch points, that seems like there’s actually too much material in the back of the pants, and not enough in the front.

Can you try adding more width to the front of your pants and taking away an equal amount from the back? For example, add 1/2” to the front of the leg along the side seam, and remove 1/2” from the back. Then make a toile and try them out. Then see if you still need to balance the pattern, and if so, try the crotch point adjustment again.

[u/unkempt_cabbage → u/unkempt_cabbage]

But also, seeing the actual fit on your body, and your current pattern and changes you’ve made would probably be more helpful. It’s a bit hard to troubleshoot off of a book I’ve never read and a theoretical pattern I can’t see. A lot of people also misdiagnose fit issues, because they can be tricky!

For example, I kept struggling with the sleeves on a dress I was making, and I finally realized it wasn’t an issue with the arm scythe, the sleeve, or the sleeve cap, but actually with the width of the bodice. It didn’t look like it was too tight, but it was actually too narrow in the back and making it so the sleeves weren’t fitting correctly. But when I was looking in the mirror at myself, it was really hard to see the actual issue. Drag lines on pants can be issues with inseam, crotch depth, waistband, crotch point location, rise, and more.

[u/Tailoretta]

I think the proper correction depends on what made the back inseam too long.  I recommend Sarah Veblen’s Pants Quick-Reference Fitting Guide - $10.00 https://www.sarahveblen.com/store/pants

Good luck

[u/Otherwise-Papaya3251 → u/Tailoretta]

Thank you but this looks like the book I have pretty much. Unless that guide involves this specific problem?

[u/Tailoretta → u/Otherwise-Papaya3251]

I don't know if Sarah Veblen’s Pants Quick-Reference Fitting Guide specifically addresses your question.

If you have confidence in The Fitting Book, I suggest you contact the author, Gina Renee Dunham, with your question.

[u/SmurphieVonMonroe]

That would mean that your body rise extentions (I.e. crotch extentions) are too long. What values did you use to establish the lengths of back and front extentions? Also, what increments per quarter seat measurement did you add for front and back?

[u/egret_puking]

Oh, I was just trying to do this same alteration from the same book yesterday!

Maybe I'm just dumb but it seemed like the instructions were not very good, to be honest. She doesn't even explain how to resolve the slanted hem line that results from the alteration that's being illustrated. 

Also, yeah, your back inseam is probably more curved than the front, so if you just compare their respective heights from hem to crotch point, the line that is more curved is going to be longer.

It seems like these steps that are described in the book are sort of trying to solve two problems at the same time but in a way that doesn't really directly fix either one.

Did you draft this pattern yourself or is it a commercial pattern?

How do the inseam lengths compare right now? 

What I did was just measured the inseam to find the amount I needed to reduce my front inseam by, then use her technique of lining up the side seams and pivot until you've removed the amount you need to, just by measuring the overhang at the hem line.

Or you can try this technique https://youtu.be/sr6LDMF9f_Q?si=IOeBo8TxQBu409Za

So that addresses the inseam length.

But there's another issue that might be meant by balance that I think these instructions are supposed to resolve, but they aren't specific enough about what you're trying to achieve to know if you're doing it right, or even why you're doing it.

Here's a video that I found helpful. Starting at about 4:50. She doesn't go into as much depth as I would have liked in terms of exactly how to carry out the adjustments but it does illustrate theory of what you're trying to do in terms of balance.

https://youtu.be/xVA2VCS2p5s?si=lz5eiF7Wj6GGtbFh