Hello CSC! Every year right before summer (in either hemisphere), the question pops up in our facebook group or elsewhere in the community:
How do I keep my shorts from riding up?!
As people who sew, we are in a unique position to do as much as we can to adapt our shorts patterns and prevent this from happening. Today, I will cover some tips to help prevent your shorts from riding up.
I have to put a bit of a disclaimer above this, though, because sometimes you can try all these methods and your shorts may still ride up…and yes, that is super frustrating BUT ENTIRELY NORMAL. First off, this is NOT a weight issue. There are a ton of people with this problem no matter their size and if anyone ever tries to tell you differently please do not listen to them. Secondly, the reason it happens is because our legs are super flexible and meant to be able to bend and move and keep us mobile. Guess what? Shorts are just a tube of fabric and not really flexible unless they are made of stretchy material. When we walk or run, especially, our legs move around and bend and have a greater range of motion than the tubes of fabric we stuff them in. As someone with a dangerously large range of motion in their legs (thanks EDS!), I can attest to trying a million things and still having the issue but in no way am I going to stop wearing shorts. The fabric will generally ride up to the crotch area because that is where there is room to accommodate it. Our legs yearn for freedom to move and will try to rid themselves of the tyranny of clothes at all times. In other words, legs are like little toddlers that just want to run around naked and be freeeeeee. Parents, you get this. Luckily, our legs won’t cause a big mess like a toddler. 😉
Tip #1: It’s all about the fit
These shorts are a great fit on Meghan from @joyfulemon. She did a full tummy adjustment and achieved a great fit.
No matter your size, if your shorts don’t fit correctly, they will likely ride up.
Some things to pay attention to:
- Does the back side fit properly? Are there “smile” lines at the back crotch or is there pulling across the back or up towards the crotch (like in the below picture of me)?
Need more room for the booty
- Does the front crotch fit properly? Is there a bunch of fabric pooling or do you have “camel toe”?
- Do the thighs fit properly? Are they too tight? In general, loose at the thighs is okay (because your legs are able to be as flexible as they need to be) but that really depends on the person and where the hem is sitting (see more on this below in tip #3).
- Does the waist fit properly? Is it too loose? Or too tight? Is it sitting comfortably or is it bunching and pulling your shorts up with it?
Here are some great tutorials and lists for fitting recources for pants that can be translated to shorts:
A solution that has helped me is to taper my shorts from the crotch to the hem so that they can’t ride up. Tapering means that your tube of fabric isn’t actually big enough at the hem to go above your thigh. Of course, all bodies are different and, if your leg isn’t smaller where your hem is or that isn’t comfortable for you, this solution won’t work for you.
These shorts from CSC member Quana from Made By Laquana fit so well. The pattern is Simplicity 8389.
Tip #2: Fabric choice
When choosing fabrics to make your shorts out of, it really does depend on the pattern. However, fabric with a bit of stretch in it helps a lot in keeping your shorts in place. In general, a thicker fabric will stay in place a bit better as well. Denim with stretch is a pretty good choice for shorts.
Tip #3: Length
Most of the time, the length does a lot to keep shorts in place. A longer bermuda length short (with the hem just above the knee) helps keep the shorts in place a lot easier than a short hem that ends right at where your thighs touch. Having a bit longer of a length means the shorts act a bit more like pants would.
Style Arc’s Amanda Stretch Shorts have the hem just above the knee and also call for stretch wovens.
Tip #4: Bring on the Reinforcements!
- You can use some “boning” in the seam allowance of the inner seam of the shorts to keep them straight and prevent them from riding up. No Riders or just some regular plastic boning can be sewn in or ironed into the seam allowance. If you are using your own solution, use a bit of plastic boning like corsets and enclose it in a softer material or even in bra wire channeling. Be really careful about making sure the boning is enclosed and won’t rub you the wrong way since that area will get some high friction.
- Wear some bike shorts underneath. I know this doesn’t seem like a great fashion choice, but having spandex shorts underneath means that even if the shorts do ride up, you are preventing chafing.
- Elastic in the hem. If you want to avoid the bubble shorts look, you should probably only use this solution on shorts that are a pretty close fit in the thigh. The elastic helps them stay in place a bit better acting like a garter belt for your shorts hem to stay in place. Want a really cute look? Try elastic lace at the hem. It could peak out beneath the hem and really look cute as well as being functional.
Tip #5: Chafing creams and etc
We’ve written a post on anti-chafing solutions before so if your shorts do ride up, your thighs aren’t hurting a bunch!
Tip #6: Embrace it
Going back to my disclaimer above, maybe after you try all these things, your shorts are still riding up. Why not embrace it? Proudly walk, run, or play with no care about what your shorts are doing. Confidence itself is an amazing thing to show the world and when you walk with your head up and your shoulders back and your confidence shining all over, who cares about people’s ridiculous judgements? If you are comfortable, it doesn’t matter.
does any one know if you can buy the plastic that comes on the bottom of spanx that keep shorts from riding up? I want to put some in my bike shorts. Spanx calls it “Polymer strips on the leg openings offer a ride-free fit” I can’t seem to find it.
I LOVE the thighs as toddlers analogy! ACE!!!
Has anyone tried doing a flat felled seam on the inseam for extra rigidity? My thighs eat anything looser than a pair of jeans, long or short. So I was wondering if introducing a bit more structure might keep the inseam down and keep it lasting longer? I live in jeans all year round and don’t really like skirts, so I’d love to find a solution that will help me wear swishy, cool pants this summer.
Ps. Cable ties are a great lightweight boning option. They’re cheap, you might already have some lying around, and they’re completely flat which makes them more comfortable for high friction areas. Plus they’re bendy enough for sitting and bike riding.
What a great post! I have this challenge because I have a bit of chub right at the inner top thigh and it loves to grab shorts. I do find that this increases when I weigh more but it is there to some extent most the time cuz that’s how my legs are shaped. I have tried it all (except those cool, wide garters) and I find that glide only works when I’m wearing skirts because, when the chub gets to a certain ratio, my inner thighs eat the shorts whether I’m wearing a barrier or not 🙂 I have always felt strangely inferior for this reason but I’ve decided to let go of my inner-thigh grudge with the recognition that it really doesn’t matter. I just wear skirts or palazzo pants!
Wow-thank you for the great post! This is going to help me with some fit issues :). I also wanted to say I have a good friend living with EDS, along with two of her children and her sister. I had never heard of it before meeting her, and haven’t ran across anyone else until now. She has done a remarkable job of taking control of her health, as best she can. Hang in there and take care of yourself!
Wow – thank you for the great post! It’s going to help me with some fit issues, and you posted some great links! Also, I wanted to say I have a good friend who has EDS (along with both of her children and her sister). I had never heard of it before I met her, and have never heard of anyone else who lives with it.
Oops- I posted too soon! Anyway, my friend has done a remarkable job of taking control of her health, as best she can, and I wanted to tell you to hang in there and take care of yourself!
I add curtain weights to the inside hem of RTW shorts. The little extra weight keeps the legs down and if I’m doing a lot of walking and one leg creeps up, I do a little side step and the shorts leg drops back down… I have a couple of pairs that I have sewn quarters in the hem because I ran out of weights.
That’s a good idea – thanks! I think this would help with fuller style shorts especially.
This is so clever!! Definitely trying it.
I am hoping that I can mention a book that has been very helpful to me, It is Fantastic Fit For Every Body by Gale Grigg Hazen.
My shape would be be politely called “square” . and I always had horizontal rumples in the front of skirts or pants or shorts and the front hem of the garment would sit against my legs rather than skim smoothly and fronts of skirts would “droop lower than the back hem
This book has the only correction I have seen for this which is that my front rise is much ,much shorter than my back rise, So I really scoop out of the front rise at center front , tapering to the side seams , and I only make garments with a shaped waistband ( which I also obviously adjust) or a separate elastic waistband which I can maneuver to the more pronounced front curve.
From what I can see when I look at people in shorts , more people than just me would benefit from this correction and the above mentioned book is the only one that shows it, and believe me , I looked and read a lot of books on fit.
Hope this helps someone out there, I know that I spent years thinking that I was just impossible to fit and now I sew with confidence ( and have shorts that fit well, hurray !!!)
Love the comments! Great tips.
Andie this is great. I always do the longer length. Wish I’d sewn shorts years ago but the “ride up” fear killed that. And you are right about too much fabric in the crotch- I’ve done that and learned too! :o)
Good article! Yes, so many people have this problem, regardless of size. I think it comes down to a fit issue coupled with the physics of fabric and skin ; ). I think it is good to experiment and find what works for you. First, I found that patterns with a narrower leg are less likely to ride up. (Note: I have proportionally thinner legs, but with a little extra fluff on the upper inner thighs). If the style flares at all I either remove the flare entirely or use a different pattern. In generally, the more fitted or snugger, the better. IMO, the fit of the inseam is critical. If there is extra fabric under the butt or the inseams are too long, that extra fabric is going to ride up. I think a too long inseam on the back is an often overlooked source of this problem and others. To fix this I use an old trouser making technique and shorten the back inseam a little (about 1/2 in my case). When stitching the front and back inseam together, I stretch the last few inches of back inseam. (The back inseam just below the crotch seam is stretched when stitched). This sort of ‘snugs up’ the back leg to under the butt. (Works for full length pants too). Finally, fabric selection is important. I choose a fabric that is fairly smooth, so that the legs easily brush past each other when walking. I once made some shorts out of a soft brushed twill and it was just the worst – might as well as been felt – alternately piled and stuck to itself. Smooth, crisp, ***good quality*** fabric, stretch or not, is the best. Cheaper cotton tends to be short-staple, and it pills more quickly that quality stuff.
Such an excellent post. thank you
Excellent insights! Each of those ideas is worth trying! Thank you!
A hint from making heirloom dresses for my daughter…
Heirloom dresses typically have 4-8 inch hems…all that weight keeps the full skirts from flying up or bunching up as a baby/toddler/child moves.
Having a deep or doubled hem will help keep the shorts down.
Some great ideas above, thanks. I always thought a thigh gap is the only option to not having a ride up situation. And that come down to genes not anything else…
Thank you! Super helpful post.