How To Raise or Lower the Rise of Pants & Shorts

ADJUSTING THE RISE

There are a couple of reasons you might want to adjust the rise of your pants or shorts.

You may be seeing smile or frown lines around the crotch, which can be a sign that the rise is too short or too long for your body.

Or the fit might be absolutely fine and you simply want your pants to sit higher or lower on your waist.

Either way, you can adjust the rise by adding or removing length above the crotch curve.

DO YOU NEED TO LENGTHEN OR SHORTEN THE RISE?

LENGTHEN THE RISE

You might want to lengthen the rise if:

• You have tight diagonal smile lines at the front, pointing out & up from the crotch.
• The crotch feels like it's pulling upwards or the rise feels too short.
• Your natural rise is longer than the pattern is drafted for.
• You simply want your pants or shorts to sit higher on your body.

One thing to check: Smile lines can sometimes look similar to the wrinkles caused by needing a high hip adjustment, so have a look at that adjustment too if you're unsure.

SHORTEN THE RISE

You might want to shorten the rise if:

• You have frown lines at the front, radiating out from the crotch.
• You have excess fabric or horizontal lines below the back waistband.
• The crotch feels like it's sitting too low.
• Your natural rise is shorter than the pattern is drafted for.
• You simply want your pants or shorts to sit lower on your body.

HOW TO ADJUST THE RISE

1. On the front & back pattern pieces, draw a horizontal adjustment line across the pattern, just below the darts or waistband area and above the crotch curve. Keep the line perpendicular to the grainline.

2. Cut straight across the pattern along your adjustment line.

TO LENGTHEN THE RISE

3. Place a piece of paper underneath the cut and spread the pattern pieces apart by the amount you want to add. Keep the cut edges parallel so the extra length is added evenly across the pattern.

4. Tape everything in place and smooth out the side seam if needed.

Repeat the same adjustment on the front & back pattern pieces.

TO SHORTEN THE RISE

3. Overlap the pattern pieces by the amount you want to remove, keeping the cut edges parallel.

4. Tape everything in place and smooth out the side seam if needed.

Repeat the same adjustment on the front & back pattern pieces.

HOW MUCH SHOULD I ADD OR REMOVE?

If you're making the adjustment to correct smile or frown lines, start small. You can always make another adjustment after checking the fit.

If you're simply changing where you want the waistband to sit, add or remove the amount you want to raise or lower the finished rise.