Need some help learning to adjust patterns for your height? This blog post is for you. Learning to fit yourself (or the person you’re sewing for) can completely change how your garments look and feel! This is an introduction to adjusting height for beginners.
First, check out our blog on how to measure yourself.
The essential length measurements you’ll need are:
- Side waist- Armpit to the natural waist.
- Waist to full hip- Natural waist to full hip.
- Trunk (if you’re making a romper)- Top/middle of the shoulder, through the legs, around the crotch back to the starting point.
- Inseam (if you’re making pants/romper)- Down the leg, from crotch to hemline.
Take these measurements on yourself and write them down, or save them as a note in your phone to keep handy.
We draft to a height of 5’5″, with a side waist of 8″ and waist to full hip of 8.25″. We always include finished measurements so you can see how long the top, dress, skirt length, trunk length/girth, inseam, etc. will be. Below is our Wrenley size chart we’ll use as an example since it includes a crop/top, dress, and romper.
Decide which hemline you’re making on the pattern. Look at the finished measurement chart and see where the length is measured. Usually, it’s from the underarm to hem OR shoulder to hem if it is a dolman style top. Measure yourself, underarm to hem, to see where you want your crop, top, or dress to hit on yourself. Then, compare that option on the finished measurement chart. It may be that you don’t need to add or remove any length even if your height is not exactly 5’5″.
You’ll need to adjust your pattern if you want your garment shorter or longer than the finished length in the chart.
Where do you need to add or remove length?
That’s where your side waist and waist to hip measurements come into play. Remember we draft for a side waist length of 8″ and waist to full hip length of 8.25″.
If your side waist is 7.75″, remove 1/4″ from the pattern between the underarm and waist. 8″- 7.75″ = 1/4″ difference. The same goes for your waist to full hip. If your waist to full hip length is 7 7/8″, remove 3/8″ from the pattern between the waist and hip. 8.25″ – 7.875″ = 3/8″ difference. So you’re removing a total of 5/8″ from the pattern. Below are examples of a top and dress length.
If your side waist is 8 3/8″, you need to add 1/8″ from the pattern between the underarm to waist. 8.375″-8″= 1/8″ difference. If your waist to full hip length is 8.75″, you need to add 1/2″ from the pattern between the waist and hip. 8.75″- 8.25″= 1/2″ difference. So you’re adding a total of 5/8″ to the pattern.
Now, let’s go back and look at the finished length and see if your measurements are cohesive. Whatever length you remove or add to the pattern should correlate to the finished length difference. If you wanted the top length to be 3/4″ shorter/longer, but you only have calculated removing/adding 5/8″ from the pattern, where is the other 1/8″ that needs to be removed/added?
It may need to be removed/added from the shoulder to the underarm area. I highly suggest always BASTING the shoulder seam or strap with the removed/added length, trying it on, and adjusting it if necessary. This will become easier over time because you’ll learn where you usually need to adjust for length. If you printed your pattern, you can hold the pattern piece up to your body to double check where you need to remove/add to the pattern.
Rompers, swimsuits, bodysuits, etc. are a little trickier because it throws one more measurement in: trunk length/girth. You will do all the same as mentioned above, but you will also look at the pattern’s trunk length and compare it to yours. Make sure whatever length you remove or add to the pattern correlates to the trunk length difference. If your trunk length measures 2″ longer, you need 1″ added to the front and 1″ added to the back. Your side waist and waist to hip should correlate to the 1″ of added length. It should all make a complete picture/puzzle/equation.
Let’s talk about pants. You’ll need your waist to full hip length and inseam. Compare your waist to full hip to 8.25″ to see if you need to adjust the length. Do the same for the inseam length. Depending on the pattern, we offer several inseam lengths, so you can just use whichever you need. If there aren’t several inseams, use the knee height line to adjust the inseam. Sometimes, you can get away with taking a larger or small hem allowance for your inseam adjustment.
I hope this helps you when you’re starting to learn about adjusting for your height!
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