How to Slim Leggings and Adjust the Rise

Sometimes leggings can be a little tricky. Not the sewing part- that's easy, but the fitting can be a headache. Leggings are one of those clothing items that you want to fit JUST RIGHT. They can't be too baggy or too tight, too short waisted or too high waisted. We make our patterns to fit "average" size kids, but of course, not all kids are average, and there a million variations in between. 

Today I'm going to show you a little tip to help you tweak our leggings patterns to get just the perfect fit. These methods work great on our patterns. There are other, more complicated ways of doing this out there, but CKC patterns are designed for simple adjustments, so follow these steps to get  a perfect fit on CKC leggings.

Slimming Leggings

Assemble your pattern and cut out the desired size. 

You are going to slim them from the center so you don't have to transfer any curves. Take your pattern piece and measure the desired amount on each side of the center line.

Say, for example, you wanted to slim your leggings one inch all the way down. You mark 1/2" on each side of the center line for a total of one inch.

Then, you are going to crease your pattern down the center line, and also down the line right of center.

Fold the pattern accordion style on the creases so the lines overlap.

Your two outer lines that you drew will overlap and become your new center line. Tape in place.

That's it! How easy is that???

Now, if your rise is too high... 

(saggy crotch or pants fit too high up on the waist)

Cut out the pattern in the desired size. Line up the top of the pattern with a straight edge.

Line your ruler up parallel to the top of the pattern along another straight edge and measure down the desired amount. Cut or fold your pattern down on the line. That's it, you've got a new waistline!

 Easy Peasy!

Now go have fun making some leggings!