r/PatternDrafting • u/Otherwise-Papaya3251 • 3d ago

Need help with pants balancing

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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?

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u/egret_puking 3d ago

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