Have you ever had a garment with horizontal draglines? It’s a sign that your garment is too tight somewhere. In this post, we’ll see how to correct tightness around the hip area of your pattern. This correction works well for skirts, dresses, and pants.

Steps to Correct Hips That Are Too Tight

1. Open up the side seams on both the right and left sides and allow them to relax open.
2. Tape and pin the garment open and measure the amount you’ve opened.
3. Give half to the front panel and the other half to the back panel of your pattern.
4. If the side seams become too curvy, you can also give the waistline on the side seam. If you give it to the waistline on the side seam, you will need to create a dart or deepen an existing dart the amount that you give. The purpose of this is to prevent your side seam from becoming too curvy while also giving you the shaping needed with those darts.

Super easy! And don’t forget: horizontal draglines generally mean it’s too tight on the garment. It’s not always at the exact location of the draglines; it could be below them, but view your garment for the tightness levels!

This information and more can be found in The Fitting Book. Order your book today through the link below.