[jeanniegirl]

I love these shorts, but they are just a tad bit short on my 7 year old girls. I am making the size 6 which fits them well with button style elastic. I don’t think we could move up to the size 7, but in order for them to wear these to their school, they must be 1/2 to 1 inch longer. The length needs to be added only to the bottom not above the crotch area. I haven’t fiddled with adjusting the pattern yet. Any ideas on the best and/or simplest way to add this much length? On my 2nd pair, I used 1/4″ seam allowance when sewing on the Fabric B trim, and that helped but more length would be better. Thanks for any advice.

[Tamara]

This is what I do.

Trace the size of the pattern onto interfacing or tracing paper (which ever you prefer)

Mark the placement on each piece (for this pattern it is the shorts front, back and the facing pieces) where the length needs to be added – make sure it is the same on the respective facing pieces.

Slice the pattern at the line you’ve drawn to mark length to be added.

Split the pattern to the desired length on top of another lot of tracing paper or interfacing (I like to use a combination of pins and magnets to hold it all in place).

Once you have the pieces where they need to be. Measure twice cut once remember, trace around the lengthened pattern and cut and mark this new pattern to use.

It is basically the same if you want to add to the crotch or add to the side. You have to make sure all the relevant pieces are included or you will come unstuck when sewing.

Good luck. Hope this helps.

[Sarvi]

Johanna, from the flickr group, posted a very useful photo of a neat technique she uses that inserts a sort of tessellated line in the middle of the leg, like a squared-off sawtooth? It helps you keep everything squared up. There’s a photo but I don’t want to link to somebody else’s account without asking.

[JohannaO]

Here’s my picture-

http://flic.kr/p/9ZrAtR

I basically mark two horizontal parallel lines on the pattern (I have a 3″x18″ clear ruler, so I typically mark my lines 3″ apart, but that’s just laziness on my part.), normally near a notch. Once I have those drawn on all the pieces that need to be lengthened, I draw two more parallel lines vertically inside my horizontal lines. Then I cut the pattern essentially into an upside down squared off “U”. Then I start to move my pieces. I do trace my patterns onto freezer paper, so once I have the top portion positioned I iron that down, and then repeat for the bottom portion.

[jeanniegirl]

Thanks, ladies! This confirms what I need to do. Normally, I’m much braver about modifying things, but with the beautiful curves on these shorts, and they way the pattern pieces fit together. I needed extra encouragement about adding length.