Fitting the Pinyon Pants

One of the many things that we love about the Pinyon pants is how the silhouette is so easy to fit! With a roomy hip and thigh and a wide leg silhouette, focusing on the waist and crotch curve is less daunting. Using your body measurements AND referring to the finished measurements is really important as you consider what size you’ll start with.

The finished measurements will give you an idea of how much ease you’ll have, and whether that aligns with your personal preferences and proportions. Remember that size numbers have no inherent value – they’re a bunch of very useful numbers that can equip you to make a pair of pants that you can move about joyfully in!

Meg and Meredith wanted a bit less ease in the waist and hips so they both sized down. Ashley and Judith preferred the recommended amount so they went with their normal size based on the chart.

Meg is 5’3″ with a 28″ waist and 37″ hips. She wears a size 4. Ashley is 5’10” with a 46″ waist and 59″ hips. She wears a size 32 with the front crotch curve lengthed by 1 1/2″ and zeroed to the back, and the back crotch curve scooped an inch deeper. The side leg seam was angeled out by about 2″. Meredith is 5’4″ with a  27″ waist and 35″ hips. She wears a size 2.

We feel so strongly about comfortable clothes, and if this is hard for you, we really encourage you to take a moment and coach yourself through your measurement-taking with kindness! Your body is a good body, and you are valuable no matter what numbers you read on the measuring tape. 

Intended Ease

The intended fit of the Pinyon Pants is fitted in the waist and high hip (that’s 4” below the waist), and looser through the hip and thigh. Wearing ease for a fitted waistband can range from 1 to 3” depending on your preference, so think about if your waist fluctuates during the day, and how much ease you prefer between your body waist and your pants waistband.

Even though there’s generous ease, the crotch seam fits closely (without digging in!) for a smooth fit in the seat.

The angled waistband does lots of work for seated comfort, allowing for comfortable breathing and movement while still keeping the high wasted back look that really contrasts with the wide leg! When you’re trying on your muslin, remember not to overfit the back leg and remove your sitting room! The Pinyon pants are not slacks, so you will have some folds that are essential for seated comfort. 

Choosing a Size

There are two ways that you could approach the sizing selection in this type of pattern… you already know what I’d suggest if you’ve read through the pattern instructions! In a style like this, I prefer starting with the hip to choose your size, and then refining the fit in the waist if needed.

Since the crotch curve and the hip and thigh circumferences are all so closely related, and the waist has plenty of opportunity for refining in the darts and the side seams, this is my preferred approach. A second method is to choose your size based on your waist circumference, and then refine the hip and crotch curve from there. This is a good option if you are pretty close between two sizes and might just take the hips in or out a smidge. You can blend sizes, too! 

If you’re looking at the charts and really struggling with understanding or deciding on the Finished measurements, you might find it easier to refer to a pair of pants from your closet whose fit and ease you appreciate.

If you looooove the waistband size on something you own, refer to that measurement to help you choose your size! (Just remember to pay attention to where you measure, and compare measurements at the same location on your pants and on the Pinyon pattern. Make sure that waist = waist!) With a little bit of closet research, you can quickly determine your preferred amount of ease in the waist, hip, and thigh, and work from there! 

Make a Muslin

Making a muslin is so very worth the effort. You can skip all of the pockets if you want to, and the zipper too, and just make the legs and waistband in muslin. You’ll be able to refine your fit with much less pressure than if you were to cut your good fabric first! We also have a free and fabulous Pants Fitting Guide that’s full of the nitty-gritty details on pants fitting and has loads of diagrams to help you through! 

My last comment about sizing is a tidy little segue into talking about fabrics.

Using a heavier fabric (like the max weight recommended for View A, which is 12 oz) might make you want to size up if you’re between sizes since the fabric is that much bulkier. It will be less bendy when sitting, so more ease is more comfortable. The opposite is also true – if you’re making summer Pinyons in an 8 oz linen, sizing down can be a good option both because linen relaxes with wear and because the fabric is so light!