Pants for kids with short legs?

[LynnS6]

My kids have long torsos and short legs.

It's not so hard to find pants for ds because he's skinny. So, even though his overall height puts him at a size 12, we can buy him size 10 slim pants and they'll fit just fine in both leg and waist.

Dd, on the other hand, is a different story. She's much more proportional to her height (92nd % for both), and appears to have inherited my family's lack of waist. I'm having a very hard time finding pants for her. Her overall height and weight put her at a size 8, and size 8 shirts fit beautifully. But for pants, her inseam is a size 6. So, if I buy her an 8 (for her waist), they're far too long. If they fit her legs, they're uncomfortably tight. I've even looked into girls "plus sizes" but those are then TOO big around the waist.

So far, she's gotten around it by wearing leggings, but she wants some pants with pockets.

I don't sew. I don't own a sewing machine. I don't want to sew.

Help?

[WindyCityMom]

Is there a local place or someone you know that could take in the inseam a bit?

[kcparker]

When I was a child, I had a dream, a dream that someday, I would not need to cuff my pants. I'm still waitin'.

Sometimes capri pants work as long pants for me, so you could try that. Taking pants to get hemmed at a tailor shop is fast, cheap, and easy. If they keep some of the excess fabric intact, they can also be let down as she grows if they still fit in the waist.

[Ornery]

I share your dream kcparker.

Unfortunately, I have not found a way around this issue other than to have pants hemmed. My oldest ds has always been solidly built with short legs. He gave up with most jeans and has worn shorts for the past 4 years or so, year round. Even in snow and ice. Not something I would recommend!

[NYCVeg]

We have the same problem. Dd just wears leggings or dresses with leggings or tights.

What about some straight-leg jeans? Those can be cuffed without looking goofy.

[jillmamma]

What about using something like stitch witchery where you can iron it and not have to sew?

[sleet76]

Not sure what your price range would be, because these are expensive, but we have a few pairs of Mini Boden pants, and they seem to have shorter legs for the waist size. My DD is on the border between a 6 and a 7 (getting close to having most 6s look like highwaters), and I just got her a few pairs of Boden pants on a splurge, and they are juuuuust at the length that many longer 6s are. They have a generous waist and hold up super-well. We have the heart-knee pants, the velour sweatpants, and the regular sweatpants.

[lilyka]

If you watch for sales you can get some good deals at Boden. And I don't know about their kids stuff but I am wearing a pair of pants from them right now and they are not too terribly long (I could fit a size down and those would probably be just right for length) and never get that lucky. Otherwise I recommend getting pants that fit well in the waist and having someone hem them. Take them to a tailor. I always had to wear poorly hemmed jeans and hated it. If you are going to hem it should be done well. Otherwise it is better to just cuff. The prep roll (peg leg) is making a come back anyway no...i am serious.

[emilysmama]

Give sewing one more chance?

I get it about hating sewing. I really do. When I was in junior high in 1980, I had straight As, except for the C I got in sewing class. At that time, the male/female roles were very defined, so it was particularly annoying that even all the boys sewed much better than me. Those stupid sewing machines just had a mind of their own and sewed crooked seams for me. Looking back, I know that they were very good machines, but I just couldn't get along with them. Before my dd was born, I would hand sew whatever needed to be sewn, but that was very slow.

BUT, I detest ironing even more, so for me Stitch Witchery would not be an option for me.

If you go to a store like Joannes and browse the notions store, I think there is some kind of glue that you can use to hem your pants. Maybe that would work for you. Wouldn't for me, because I am very bad with glue, very messy. I think that given the alternative between a hot iron and messy glue, I would be tempted to staple the hems up. But I digress.

Where I live, the cost of living is very reasonable, but I seam to remember that hemming costs me at least $15-$20. That's not reasonable for a child's pair of pants, especially if the pants cost me $2 at the thrift store.

Sewing machines have become amazing since I was in junior high. Now they do everything, and they're computer controlled. So I bought a Janome computerized sewing machine, and the machine almost does the sewing by itself. Even I can't screw it up, and that's saying a lot.

I do it quick and dirty.

I have my dd put on the pants inside out. I fold up the pant leg until the inseam is correct. I might use a couple pins to keep the fold in place while my dd takes off the pants, but I don't think pins would really be necessary if my dd were careful when taking off the pants. Then a quick zip with the sewing machine, with the length of the stitch set at its longest, and DONE! Total time, 2 minutes. The most time consuming part is having my daughter put on and take off the pants.

So maybe consider going to a mom & pop sewing machine store? Purchase a used sewing machine (but not a Singer) from them, have them completely tune it up or whatever, and then have them walk you though an hour of their free class so that they can remind you how to thread the machine and stitch a simple seam.

I never thought I would say it, but using a sewing machine is actually easier than any other option.

[LynnS6]

Originally Posted by emilysmama

I get it about hating sewing. I really do. When I was in junior high in 1980, I had straight As, except for the C I got in sewing class. At that time, the male/female roles were very defined, so it was particularly annoying that even all the boys sewed much better than me.

Ah, but you see, I went to junior high in the late 1970s, and I took woodworking, metal working and drafting, just so I could avoid the cooking classes and the sewing classes. (I already knew how to cook, and my mom had tried to teach me to sew.)

Originally Posted by emilysmama

BUT, I detest ironing even more, so for me Stitch Witchery would not be an option for me.

If you go to a store like Joannes and browse the notions store, I think there is some kind of glue that you can use to hem your pants. Maybe that would work for you. Wouldn't for me, because I am very bad with glue, very messy. I think that given the alternative between a hot iron and messy glue, I would be tempted to staple the hems up. But I digress.

me too!

Originally Posted by emilysmama

I never thought I would say it, but using a sewing machine is actually easier than any other option.

So, how much to sewing machines cost? 5 pairs of pants a year for 10 years (that'd get her to 16 with 5 new to her pairs of pants a year) = 50 pairs of pants (max) to hem..... so what, $200/50 = $4 per pair of pants?

Maybe I can just talk my friends who sew into doing this. You hem dd's pants, I'll clean your fridge/edit your resume/whatever. I'm thinking barter is the way to go, if I can't get some Boden pants that fit.

[blizzard_babe]

DS has a similar build. We've had luck with Lands' End cordouroy pants. Not sure about their other pants, but I'd like to give them a try because they fit perfectly right now. He can actually wear a 2T at 2 1/2 years old . I have no clue, however, about how the bigger sizes fit. In most other pants, he's able to wear 18 month pants (he's PLed, so without a diaper), while fitting quite well into 3T shirts.

I'm considering the sewing thing, but UGH. Me no likey sewing machine. Mechanical things break. I like knitting needles better; they have fewer moving parts .

[K1329]

I have short legs/long torso and this has been a lifelong problem! Do they make petite children's clothes?

Anyway, our local drycleaner has a tailor service that shortens pants for 6$ a pair. Unfortunately, I've resigned myself to spending the money and have added it to my clothing budget. Short of learning to sew, I don't see another option.

[4evermom]

Yeah, a barter is probably your best bet. I'd do it for a friend...

But can you buy pants hemmed to size from someplace like Land's End? I know you can buy some kid styles unhemmed. And you can specify inseam for some of their adult pants...

Yes! Here you can select inseam length for girls dress chinos. Not an exciting style, though. You can probably do this with all Land's End "dress pants."
http://www.landsend.com/pp/PlainFron...7&origin=index

[dawncayden]

My kids have my dh's body (he's 6 feet tall with a 30 inch leg)
My son is almost five years old and wears size 6 top and 4 bottom.

I buy pants that fit their waist then I sew them up. Sometimes I use a machine but more often I just throw a couple stiches in by hand to keep them up.

The other things I do is give them a big cuff. Or you can roll them up 80's style Here's a good example: http://www.joe.ca/en/clothing/fall_2...ids_look_book/

[emilysmama]

Originally Posted by LynnS6

Ah, but you see, I went to junior high in the late 1970s, and I took woodworking, metal working and drafting, just so I could avoid the cooking classes and the sewing classes. (I already knew how to cook, and my mom had tried to teach me to sew.)

After I got a C in 7th grade sewing, I decided I would have none of that anymore. When we moved to a different city for eight grade, I decided to take woodworking. In my new school, the girls did the home arts and the boys did the industrial arts, and no one had ever requested otherwise. The principal said that I had to get a note from my parents if I wanted to take industrial arts. That was strange. I got the note, but I quickly discovered that if I couldn't sew a straight line, I certainly couldn't cut a straight line either. It wasn't until graduate school that I discovered that metal working is a lot more forgiving. One more funny fact is that my brother went to the same school four years later and by then they had apparently integrated the genders for the home/industrial arts, because he came home from school one day with painted fingernails.

Oh yes, I was browsing Meijer today in their crafts/sewing/knitting section, and I saw lot of products that might work for you. They have a glue in a bottle that you can use to stick the hem up. They also have double-sided tape that you can use to stick the hem up. I also saw what looks a little bit like the equivalent of a sewing machine the size of a standard office stapler. I even saw hot glue gun glue sticks for fabric. I think if you go to Joannes and ask them for ideas for products to hem pants for non sewers, they will come up with a lot of inexpensive products that you can use.

Oh, and you can try cross-posting at the sewers subforum to see if any of them are effective.

[JudiAU]

In my experience, American Apparrel runs short, especially with fleece.