DIY - Stretchy Breeches? Any Help Welcome

[Finding_Serenity]

So I have a very short inseam (24" just above the ankle!) and cannot for the life of me find nice breeches that will fit. Due to skin sensitivity I can’t just “roll them up” and the knee patch wouldn’t be in the right spot anyways. I can’t wear kids as I’m too curvy at this point I have schooling tights from back when Irideon carried petite sizes, but nothing nice with belt loops and pockets and whatnot for clinics and shows. Heck at this point I’m going to be wearing fleece lined jeggings for the winter

I am moderately okay with a sewing machine (mostly sewing plushies for nieces and nephews as well as minor tailoring) and I do understand the basics of pattern following.

Does anyone out there know of a good pattern, fabric sources, heck even a youtube channel that could get me started? The patterns I’ve found for sale seem to be more old school style no stretch breeches rather than stretchy styled fabrics. Part of me is tempted to find something that at least fits in the waist/hips and then chop it apart, but good breeches are expensive to just turn them into pattern fodder.

[Viranh]

I believe Tropical Rider will still do made to measure if you give them a call. Otherwise, maybe you can deconstruct some breeches that are close to get a pattern?

I wish Equissentials was still around. I still have a pair of made to measure breeches from them that are awesome.

[Highflyer1]

Maybe look for some inexpensive cropped leggings that fit you and use them for a pattern? Or if you can find some in the right colors you may be able to add belt loops and suede knee patches or even DIY silicon depending on your preference.

[LilRanger]

I have found many breeches at a local thrift store (horse community) those would be the right ones to deconstruct.

[Posting_Trot]

You can buy a Suitability sewing pattern for $8 for breeches on Etsy. I’ve never sewn the breeches, but I have sewn other Suitability patterns and they were pretty easy to follow.

It is an e-pattern which means you have to download it and print it out before you can use it.

[Finding_Serenity]

Yeah the Suitability pattern didn’t quite look right. Was hoping there might be something else that I wasn’t aware of.

[Posting_Trot]

Well, you may have seen this pattern as well. Again, I haven’t sewn it personally:

Riding breech pattern on Etsy

Edited to add: there are lots of patterns available for leggings, and it would be relatively easy just to add knee patches to leggings. Alternatively, if you know of a company that makes leggings that fit you well, you could add knee patches to those. Full seats would be a little trickier, but not by much.

[Posting_Trot]

Here’s another company (also German) that makes a pattern for breeches. Just looking at the line drawings of the pattern pieces, it does not look terribly difficult. I sew some of my own regular clothes, and would consider this a project that either succeeds or fails based on a) the choice of appropriate fabric and b) the fitting of the pattern to the body. The sewing itself doesn’t look all that difficult.

The hacking jacket pattern also looks interesting!:

Another option.

[Finding_Serenity]

Thanks for the options I will have to look at them.

[Robin]

I understand your problem as I also have a 24" inseam and a decidedly not twiglike body. The biggest problem with breeches is not the pattern but the fabric if you want more traditional stretch breeches. The alteration you will need from any standard pattern will make the project quite challenging. I did find a fabric supplier in Oregon which had fabric I thought would be suitable and also found a couple folks on ebay who were trying to recruit a group to buy a whole roll of fabric which they would share out. What I was about to do when my health took a turn such that I stopped riding was to go to the local university which had a design department which had fabric and sewing instruction (a good vocational school might also work) and see if the instructor could suggest a student or recent previous enrollee who could handle such a project. A theater department at a school might also have costume makers who could be hired to produce a quality product.

[Highflyer1]

That hacking jacket is fantastic. Way beyond my abilities and way too classy for trotting around the farm on my fat muddy horse but…

[Finding_Serenity]

Yup! We do have a community college nearby with a theatre program that has sewing/design classes for costumes. I might take a look and see if I can find anyone Thanks!

Btw - I just tried out a pair of Buckwild breeches (used and under 1/2 off!). They’re still long at 26" but they’re the thicker-ish stretch fabric and since it’s a super thin sock at the end, I was able to fold it under without a problem (and I have sensitivity issues with pressure) PLUS I absolutely love their full seat variation with silicone. Kept me so much more stable in my seat when my muscles didn’t want to work right that I could focus on my horse instead.