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the fitting room: lyndsey’s lisboa walking shorts
Lyndsey recently shared her experience of applying a novel pants-fitting technique to the Lisboa Walking Shorts pattern. While there are numerous methods available for fitting pants, many stitchers still find the process challenging. The method Lyndsey experimented with in her post offers quicker results, making the entire fitting process less daunting and frustrating.
Making fit adjustments is one of my favorite parts of sewing a new pattern. I've always found it empowering to tailor clothes to fit my body perfectly, rather than settling for garments that are merely "close enough" from ready-to-wear options. However, fitting pants remains an area where I often feel uncertain. While I'm confident in my ability to fit dresses, skirts, or tops, I tend to avoid pants/shorts patterns because they require significant fitting work, and the outcome often falls short of my expectations. That's why when the Lisboa Walking Shorts came out, I included them in my four-piece summer capsule sewing plan but pushed them to the end, knowing I'd need time for fitting.
## A New Approach to Fitting Pants
This summer, while working on other projects for my capsule wardrobe, I stumbled upon Ruth Collins' posts on Instagram. She was discussing a new method for fitting pants, which she calls Top Down, Center Out (#TopDownCenterOut). As soon as I saw her post, I stopped scrolling and read every single one of her fitting-related posts. I even went through all her stories about fitting pants. The method seemed intuitive, and I knew right away that I wanted to give it a try with the Lisboa Walking Shorts. Ruth published an article in *Threads* (#218, Summer 2022) that provides a thorough explanation of this approach. This post will highlight what resonated with me about the method and demonstrate how I applied it to fit my Lisboa Shorts.
Here are some key points about the Top Down, Center Out method:
- **Start at the waist**: Unlike traditional methods that begin with the crotch curve, this method starts with the waistband. You construct a waistband to use for fitting, placing it where you want the final garment's waistband to sit, regardless of how the pattern is drafted. For me, this meant placing the waistband at my natural waist, which was both empowering and liberating.
- **Your fitting buddy**: The waistband becomes your fitting partner. This method is incredibly easy to perform solo. In fact, I completed the entire fitting process from start to finish in less than 30 minutes!
- **Don't alter the crotch curve shape**: Unlike conventional methods that focus heavily on modifying the curve of the crotch, Ruth argues that the designer has already correctly drafted this curve. She compares the crotch seam to a string, meaning it doesn't have a specific shape but rather functions dynamically. Instead of altering the crotch curve, you simply adjust the height of the pant leg on the muslin to achieve the desired vertical ease.
- **Adjustments come last**: Once the correct crotch height is established, you can adjust darts and pleats if your design requires them. After setting the crotch length, you can tweak the side seams on your muslin to adjust the width. No changes are made to the inside seam. Length adjustments happen last.
If you've struggled with fitting pants in the past, this method might sound too good to be true. I'll walk you through my first attempt using this approach so you can see how quickly I achieved a well-fitting pair of shorts.
## Fitting Lisboa Shorts Using Top Down, Center Out
A quick note: It was far easier to fit the shorts in my underwear in front of a full-length mirror than to fit them over leggings in front of a camera. For this demonstration, I'm wearing the tightest pair of leggings I own, but it's not quite the same as fitting in my underwear.
### Step-by-Step Process
1. **Prepare the pattern**: Add 2 inches to the top and 2 inches to the side seam of the shorts front and back pattern pieces.
2. **Create a half-muslin**: Cut one shorts front and one shorts back, marking the original cutting line, the grainline, and a horizontal balance line at the hip level. Sew the pieces together (with the pleat closed) to make one-half of the shorts, and stay stitch the crotch seam. I've also marked the waistband stitching line on the muslin.
3. **Create a Waistband**: Since the Lisboa shorts have an elastic waistband, I needed a temporary non-elastic waistband for fitting. In these photos, you can see that I'm using a simple scrap of muslin 3 inches wide by my waist circumference (plus several extra inches). I folded the strip in half for a 1-inch waistband with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. I pinned on the waistband with a safety pin and marked the center front and center back (later, I will mark the side seams as well). One of the reasons I love this method is that I am in control of where the waistband sits on my body. I prefer a waistband that sits at my natural waist for pants. Not everyone likes high-rise pants/shorts, and that's okay! You're in charge—put the waistband where you want it.
4. **Slip on the Version 1 half-muslin** and pin the shorts' center front to the waistband's center front. Do the same for the center back. Since the Lisboa pattern has an elastic waist, there is a lot of extra fabric under the waistband—that's okay.
5. **Evaluate the Version 1 muslin** to determine if you like the amount of vertical ease of the crotch curve. In the pictures from step 4, it doesn't look too bad. However, I COULD NOT WALK in this muslin! The crotch seam was too low, hanging about 3 inches underneath my anatomy. I pulled the half-muslin up until I found the vertical ease that was both flattering and comfortable to move in. To do this, I had to let out my side seams, which were too small to allow the muslin to move up and down. In the final position for Version 2, I had pulled the muslin up 1 inch at the center front and 3/4 inch at the center back. I also pulled the side seam up 3/8 inch to keep my muslin on grain. (The back view looks a little tight, but it's because I fit over leggings.)
6. **Mark the location of the bottom of the waistband** around the muslin from the center front to the center back. I used a Frixion pen that is heat soluble so that I could erase and start over if I needed to. Remember, the bottom of the waistband includes seam allowance, so the actual stitching line is 1/2 inch above where you are marking.
7. **Pin fit the side seam**. At this point, it almost feels like you are draping the pants on your body. The original side seam was fine until the pants hit my thighs. I needed additional ease at my thighs, adding 1/2 inch to the width (which I split between the front and back pattern pieces).
8. **Baste the hem using the hem allowance** to check for length; I selected the 7-inch inseam and was happy with the length.
9. **Transfer the changes** to your pattern. You're done!
## Final Lisboa Shorts
I'm not typically a shorts person. In fact, before starting this project, I didn't own a single pair of shorts in my wardrobe. However, I'm thrilled with how these shorts turned out. The fit is better than any ready-to-wear shorts I've tried on in years. And I finished these shorts just in time for end-of-summer barbecues!
Now that I've tried the Top Down, Center Out method for fitting pants, I'm eager to apply it to all my pants patterns. With fall just around the corner, the timing couldn't be better. I'd love to hear from others who have had success with this fitting method.
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