Madrone Pants: How to Lengthen/Shorten
The Madrone Pants hem is intended to fall to the ankle, but of course you can customize your pants to what you want! That is, after all, one of the reasons why we sew! The pattern already includes two inseam lengths: 26” (66 cm) and 28” (71 cm).
If you want to personalize the length further, there’s a quick and easy way for changes or shortening by ½” (1.3 cm) or less (but not lengthening, sorry!), and then the usual slash and spread/overlap for anything more than shortening by ½” (1.3 cm).
The Hem facing gives us a little bit of opportunity to make small changes in the length, so if you want to shorten either length by about ½” (1.3 cm), you can change the seam allowance of the hem attachment to reflect that. Trim the seam allowances and understitch as usual, and you’re set. The Hem Facing will have a slightly shorter finished height, and the leg opening circumference may have changed by a very small amount, but it’s a negligible change for a very simple length adjustment.
Getting Started
To add or remove length to the Madrone Pants, you’ll need the following pattern pieces:
- two Center Fronts (A) in 26” or 28” length
- two Center Backs (C) in 26” or 28” length
- two Side Backs (D) in 26” or 28” length
- two Lower Side Panel (F) in 26” or 28” length
- two Hem Facings (G) in 26” or 28” length
Set aside the remaining pattern pieces to use later, no changes needed:
- two Side Fronts (B)
- two Upper Side Panels (E)
- two Pockets (H)
- two Pocket Facings (I)
- two Back Pockets (J)
- two Pocket Interfacings (K)
First steps
Line up the Lengthen/Shorten line of the Center Front, Center Back, Side Back, and Lower Side Panel.
Cut on the line
To Lengthen
- Mark grainline on new paper, and parallel lines the distance of the change
- Move the pattern pieces apart and position them on the new paper, aligning the grainlines and placing the cut lines on the parallel lines
- Tape the pieces in place
- Blend the lines, making the changes needed below the knee
- True up new edges (match up the pattern pieces to make sure they fit).
- Align all of the pieces at the hem (joining the seam lines as if they’re sewn) and check that Hem Facings fit correctly. Adjust if needed. (Note: Some of the pieces in the diagram are slightly transparent so you can see the pieces overlapping.)
To Shorten
- Mark a parallel line below the Lengthen/Shorten line, by the distance of the change
- Overlap the cut pieces, ensuring the lower part of the pattern goes under the upper portion
- Tape the pieces in place
- Blend the lines, making the changes needed below the knee
- True up new edges (match up the pattern pieces to make sure they fit).
- Align all of the pieces at the hem (joining the seam lines as if they’re sewn) and check that Hem Facings fit correctly. Adjust if needed.
If you want to learn more about pants fitting, check out our free guide!
Our illustrated guide walks you through diagnosing and making pattern changes for common pants adjustments so you can get a beautiful fit every time and make pants you truly love to wear.
You can use this guide to help you fit ANY elastic waist pant!
Looking for more fitting help?
Our Fit and Sew Pants class provides detailed fitting instruction, as well as well as a complete sew-along of our popular Chanterelle Pants.
Hi! 😊
Can I use your patterns in my small business? I upcycle curtains and bed sheets etc…Into beautiful women’s clothings.
Our patterns are intended for personal home sewing use only and cannot be used for small-scale or commercial garment production. We truly appreciate your understanding, and we’re honored that you were interested in using Sew Liberated patterns as part of your work!
I’m currently working on my third pair of Madrone pants but I have one recurring difficulty and that is the waistband. I cannot seem to stretch the soft elastic without it folding. This is driving me crazy. Can you offer any tips or workarounds? I just ripped out a whole lot of sewing because of this problem. (Obviously I LOVE these pants which is why I’m making my third pair.
Hello there! We’re so glad you love the Madrone Pants- and wow, three pairs! There is a lot of fabric to cinch with the elastic. You might find using a stiffer elastic, like braided, may do the trick. Braided is my elastic of choice (although I like the soft stuff we recommend too).Braided is stable, doesn’t fail, and easy to manage. Don’t forget to stretch it first before cutting it to size. A sort of pre-workout! If you cannot find braided, I would try a different elastic-anything that is less grabby and more stable for that waistband! Good luck!
Thanks so much for your input! I will look for braided elastic
Braided elastic did the trick. Thanks!
Great to hear!
Going to try and lengthen—- wish me luck!
You got this, Amber!
Hi there, beginner here. If the pattern is drafted for 165cm tall and I am 175cm do I literally need to make them 10cm longer using the above images/technique?
Hi! Great question. You definitely do not need to add 10 cm! Since the difference in height would be distributed throughout your body, and not just in your legs, you’ll probably need to make a much, much smaller change.
What I suggest, since you’re a beginner and probably getting used to using patterns and thinking about proportion, is to check your closet for a pair of pants that has an inseam that’s close to what you’d like for this project. Measure the inseam on those pants (assuming the crotch curve fits similarly to what you can estimate from looking at the photos!), and comprehensive that number to the two inseam lengths available for this pattern. The difference between your ideal number and the closest available number is the distance that you might adjust the leg length. If you do want to change the length, it will probably be a change closer to 4 cm. 🙌🏻
One more suggestion – since you’re a beginner, and thinking of making a pattern adjustment, I suggest planning on making a muslin! It will give you a chance to check your work, practice the techniques, and check that the fit works for you, all with a much lower stakes fabric than the good stuff.
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Judith
Thank you so much! That is all very helpful and makes sense!
Glad I checked!!!
Hello, My inseam is 90 centimeters. Can I still use this pattern? Is it easy enough to add the extra length?
Yes, you can! You’ll want to print the 71 cm (28 inseam) pattern, and if you want the finished inseam to measure 90 cm, you’ll be adding 19 cm. It is a more dramatic change than you see in the diagrams, but it’s still doable! I’d suggest double checking your desired finished inseam length first, then going ahead with the changes as shown above. When you’re blending to make your new seams, prioritize nice smooth seam shaping. The difference you might see between your pattern pieces and the above diagrams is that you might need to blend your new lines a bit higher up on the leg pieces in oder to get that nice curve. Draw the seam lines first, then walk them off (align the seams that will be sewn together, to make sure they’re the same length), then add the seam allowances. Then I really recommend a muslin. It’s so worth it to check your work before cutting into the good fabric!
Feel free to send us an email if you’d like a second look at your pattern pieces after you’ve made your changes, or if you have any questions! Happy sewing!
I am 5’0″ and I shortened the inseam on the Madrone pants by 3 inches. They are perfect. In fact, I have made four pairs (so far) I love this pattern; it is so versatile and soooooo comfortable
That’s great, Abby! Four pairs!! Wow!