Seat Alteration

How to Sew Pants Tighter

Learning how to sew pants tighter is an alteration that can be done on anything from shorts to dress pants to a pair of jeans, and no matter what type of pants you are doing the alteration on, the method is essentially the same.

The first step in doing this alteration is determining how much needs to be taken in in the seat area. This can be determined by simply putting the pants on and pinching out the amount of excess fabric that you want removed. Ashley explains that, ideally, this is only about ½” to 1” of fabric on either side of the existing seam, meaning you are removing anywhere from 1” to 2”. She explains that the more you take in the pants in this area, the closer the back pockets will become, and you don’t want to remove too much to where the pocket placement seems unnatural.

Once the amount has been determined and pinned, Ashley shows how to stitch the new seam, tapering in and out of the existing seam so that there are no puckers in the new seamline.

Once stitched, depending on how much was removed, the seam allowance can be trimmed down. Ashley explains that depending on the type of pants you are altering and whether or not they are men’s or women’s pants, the seams can be finished differently and you may need to remove additional stitching.

Once that is done, the seam allowances can be finished and pressed to either one side or open. Once you learn how to sew pants tighter, learn other alterations like shirt alterations and shoulder seam alterations.