It is no exaggeration that I have been planning, and prepping, and sewing these Anna Allen Persephone Pants for quite possibly the last three months! I purchased the pattern back in June, thinking I would get started immediately. But there was one fairly significant hiccup; with no side seam, how would I execute my typical pattern adjustments?? I love a deliciously high, belly-button-covering (I have an outie) pair of pants – and these Persephone Pants are the high-waisted jeans of my DREAMS. However, I am petite with a sufficient backside, and all the tutorials I found for lowering JUST the front rise focused on using JUST the front pants leg pattern piece and these are one combined unit (front and back). So, I did what any other fearless, self-taught, sewing pattern hacking bad ass would do – and devised my own! And then I documented it to share with you all — hope you find it helpful!
Let me start by saying WHY I thought I would need to make this adjustment. For reference, I am short waisted (mostly in my upper vs lower torso), and I happen to not have a flat butt. To top it off, I have a bit of postpartum posture challenges as a leftover function of two pregnancies on my petite frame (essentially, my belly and butt protrude based on some misalignments – I hope to eventually work on correcting those with strength training). To see this better I’ve included a graphic from The Fit Mummy Manual below:
That adds up to a need for a shortened front rise, without reducing the length of the back rise. If you require adjusting both the front and back by the same amount, then it’s easy. All you need to do is use the shorten-lengthen line and follow Anna’s instructions in the Persephone Pants pattern!
I intuitively knew that I needed this adjustment. But I actually made a muslin before cutting into this amazing denim I found in the NYC garment district. I’ve included a couple before shots below so you can see where I was able to pinch out some excess in just the front rise:
Rise Adjustment Video Tutorial
Of course there are wrinkles – I have to actually MOVE in my jeans after all. But there are CONSIDERABLY less than if I had sewn up Persephone Pants without the adjustment. I’ve included a video below to show you how you would tackle it for yourself! The video quality isn’t the best, but I will get there – I promise!
http://sewalteredstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/img_9580.mp4Rise adjustment in 5 easy steps:
The video is less than one minute long. However, in case you prefer to see them written, I’ve included the steps below:
- Cut out front panel. It should be a block, with one edge being the waist seam, one being what would be the side seam (there is a marker on the pattern piece), one side being the front crotch curve, and the last being the lengthen/shorten line.
- Shift the block by the adjustment amount (this is easiest to estimate if you make a muslin first)
- Add tissue paper to fill in any gaps created by moving the “block” downwards
- True/smooth the waist seam
- Adjust the crotch so the curve is shaped as the original (for me, this was a VERY minimal adjustment)
So that’s it! I adore these Persephone Pants, and was inspired by the Jesse Kamm Sailor Pants product listing to take some posing cues – how do you think I did?
Ok – seriously – I cannot take myself seriously!! Thank you to Tammy of D&H Fabrics Co. and Lara Orndorff of Handmade by Lara Liz for meeting for coffee at the last minute with my screaming kids in tow – and for these amazing photos!!
– Mac
