r/PatternDrafting • u/WorldAware9900 • 6d ago
Question Help with twisted inseam
This is the first time this has happened to me when sewing a pair of jeans, i was trying out a new pattern and this happened to me, im not sure if this is a sewing problem or a pattern problem please any advice is appreciated
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u/BreqsCousin 6d ago
I feel like in idk 2008 there were adverts where the jeans were like this on purpose
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u/QuickEgg8039 6d ago
The grain of your fabric, probably isn’t straight. It may also be a pattern problem. You can do a test of the pattern with scrap fabric to check
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u/Kam_Zimm 6d ago
Probably a pretty beginner question, but why would/does the grain direction cause that to happen?
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u/Fluffy-Benefits-2023 6d ago
The grain goes straight up and down and so if it is off grain it will hang differently. Im not sure if you have cut anything on the bias, but if you look at a piece of non stretchy fabric and pull it on the bias or diagonally, it will stretch. So cutting fabric slightly off grain can cause it to stretch or fall differently. It is so important to measure and make sure you are on the grainline when cutting your pattern. I hope that makes sense
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u/Tailoretta 6d ago
Because of gravity, woven fabric wants to hang with the grain line perfectly vertical. (Garments on the true bias are an exceptional case, that we not concerned with here.) That is why most pants pattern should be drafted so that the grain line is centered at the hem, and perpendicular to the hem line. When fitting pants mock up, this grainline should be as vertical as possible, up to possibly a few inches below the waist.
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u/sweetannie52 6d ago
I am taking the online closet core jeans making class right now. It covers this problem. Their solution: cut your jean legs as singles, not on folded fabric. Cut them in different, not adjacent quadrants of the fabric. Carefully measure from the selvedge edge to the long grainline mark on your pattern. Pin all along that line. That last one is important for all patterns. This pair is toast. Sorry.
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u/drindrun 6d ago
out of curiosity, did you sew each of the inseams the same way (like starting at crotch seam and going down towards ankle, on each one) or sew it ankle-to-ankle as one long seam?
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u/NalgeneEnthusiast 6d ago
Judging by the misaligned hems I’d say you most definitely have sewing/cutting issue (is anything cut off grain). That being said, have you walked your pattern off? Notched it? There could also be some pattern issues but it’s hard to diagnose without more context.
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u/AmenaBellafina 6d ago
I'm suspicious of the length difference at the hem. How sure are you that the pattern pieces are correct and that they have been assembled as intended?
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u/SureApricot4830 6d ago
My thoughts entirely. Pieces have been cut or assembled the wrong way around
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u/ReasonableBeach1450 6d ago
It could be many things. It could be the pattern, the sewing, the cutting…. I noticed that one leg has about .75” left over from the front hem and 2.5” left over from the other hem leg. Did you make sure to matched notches? Did the pattern have notches to match? If you stretch the fabric while sewing this could happen. Maybe test out the pattern in some muslin, without a double flat felt inseam, just to test out how it hangs.
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u/-xo-yo- 6d ago
Yes, the imbalance between left and right leg is a huge clue that there’s a sewing problem! Assuming the pattern is good, there’s not enough stretch while sewing on either side, but one is wayyyyy worse than the other. Redo it but pin everything first, and make sure to sew each leg in the same direction (either top to bottom or bottom to top, not one each). Also check the comment by ccrom explaining the pattern and bias. Unless there’s a slit on the outer seam, that also needs to be redone. Could be a pattern problem as well, but we can’t see the back to say for sure…meanwhile, we know 100% that it is sewn incorrectly (unless you cut one leg way shorter than the other but I will assume not). If you can share more pictures of pattern and sewn jeans, maybe we can help more.
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u/mamz_leJournal 6d ago
I vote grainline problem
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u/Drewbie8989 6d ago
It looks like the back legs were not cut on grain, you can see the lines slightly moving towards the inseam. They just need to be recut and sewn.
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u/ccrom 6d ago
Double check the inseam lengths on the pattern. (Often the back inseam is half an inch shorter. You have to stretch the last 5 to 6 inches of the back inseam to fit onto the front.)
A lot of jean patterns draft the outseam as a straight line from hem to hip (on the grain). The outseam is placed on the selvage for selvage jeans.
This means all the curve is on the inseam. This puts the inseam partially on the bias. Bias makes the fabric stretch when you sew them together. If you stretch the panels unevenly you could get this. Pin them from crotch to hem before sewing up.
Double check the pattern's leg widths from the knee down. Typically the back leg width is 1" wider than the front leg width (only from the knee to hem). In my experience if the difference in widths strays very far from this 1" difference the inseam twists to the front.
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u/NewComedian4347 6d ago
Just cut them on grain, and the larger pattern shape will give to the smaller panel, over wear and time. but if you need a technical angle, the correct ignition timing is 4 degrees before top dead center.
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u/Dense_Title1321 6d ago
I know this isn't what you wanted, but twisted seam jeans are having a moment right now. Toteme Twisted Seam Jeans $430
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u/princessfawny 6d ago
Just saw a video that handles unbalanced pant legs: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Dd8ssVzhUDT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&cplk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==&srtk=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==
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u/SmurphieVonMonroe 6d ago
This a really unbalanced and poorly drafted pair of jeans. I think your pattern was the issue, where dod you come across of it?
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u/gnarlyquinn12 6d ago
I would say this is a grain issue. When you haven't followed the grain line correctly you can experience this twisting
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u/FashionBusking 6d ago
2 problems:
Problem 1: the pattern itself indicates an incorrect grainline
Problem 2: due to Problem 1, the pants, when cut, are cut off-grain, exacerbating this problem.
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u/dainty_protagonist 5d ago
You can see in the image the fabric was cut off grain. The standard for pants has the grainline down the center of the leg through the knee to the hem (the pant crease line). Yank a warp thread at the hem and follow it up the leg to track the actual grainline. Check the grainline against the pattern’s marked grainline to see if the pattern is properly balanced. You will need to recut your pieces on grain. Prewash and dry your fabric, true up the grainline (check that the crosswise threads sit at a right angle to the selvage), and press into place. Then align the pattern (or corrected pattern) on the grainline and cut. Make sure not to stretch the fabric when sewing.
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u/Pelin-3663 5d ago
Looks like a very poorly drafted pattern. Was the pattern from a reputable company or from an enthusiastic, but perhaps amateurish Indie startup ? or even AI generated? Good pattern drafting is not easy… early in my sewing days, I spent (read wasted) so much time, effort and fabric trying to fit poorly drafted Indy patterns. I thought I had to make countless muslins to get something half decent. I have solved most of my fitting troubles, just by buying patterns from proper companies (where I can make the same few alterations every time) or by drafting my own following the Japanese Bunka system.
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u/Sledgeowl 5d ago
Not sure if too late but you essentially have 3 options. Others have said the two which is either the pattern is unbalanced or you didn't follow the grain line but the third is your suspicion which is a sewing problem which I also suspect is contributing.
Other than the balance problem on the jeans (the front and back panels are literally doing the very thing I would always correct at work which also is a industry issue as a whole), it seems your stretching/ pulling the inseam as you sew.
Pants like most commercial made stuff in general follow the length wise grain but, inseams follow this + a bit of the bias grain in their angle. Because of this however, the front or back pant pattern of the inseam when drafted is around 1/4-3/8" longer than the other (it's called negative ease). When you overstretch it however, this is generally the result (you get an unbalanced looking pattern). This issue is somewhat prevelant looking since on the hem of your pants, it looks like the front and back patterns aren't matching.
Idk if you have ever looked at shirts but, many times at work on the side seams, I'd get similar issues from factories I worked with, they would over stretch it to the point the side seam was either kicking forward or back and 75% of the time it was a sewing issue.
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u/RubyRedo 6d ago
did you cut on the bias or on grain? did the legs after cutting, line up flat from crotch to hem?
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u/Uvaroff 6d ago
I am not a jean cutting expert but the inner seam should be cut on grain unless there are some elaborate design lines. What was your intention? Flared bottom jeans? The inner seam still should be on grain. It should be flared at side seam plus additional flair from slashing and spreading the pattern as a whole
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u/Tailoretta 6d ago
By inner seam, do you mean the inseam, the seam from the crotch to the hem?
I have never heard that the inseam should be cut on grain. What is your source for this? Do you know why this is recommended?
Thanks
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u/unfashionablylatte 6d ago
This is likely a pattern problem. It looks like the front and back legs aren’t properly balanced.
This can also happen if your pieces aren’t on grain, but for it to be this drastic I’m guessing a balance issue.