Tutorials
Adjusting Men’s Underwear Patterns for a more Roomy Pouch
Feb
For most people, the men’s Boxerwear and Grundlewear patterns will fit and feel comfortable as written. But some people find that the pouch is too tight and adjusting the Front pieces for a more roomy pouch is a simple process. The photos below are from the Grundlewear Briefs pattern but the process is the same for the Boxerwear pattern and any other underwear pattern that has a separate piece for the Front pouch.
To begin, I always suggest making a muslin quality garment before using your final fabric. The fabric you use for the muslin should be the same type of fabric with the same amount of stretch that you will use for subsequent garments. After trying on the muslin you will know if you need a more roomy pouch and where the room needs to be added.
When adding more coverage to the Front/Pouch piece, we need to make sure that the perimeter of all of the outer edges stay the same length so that they’ll still align perfectly with the body piece when we’re finished. We also need to make sure that the Fold edge and the edge that will become the dart remain perfectly straight.
1- Print the Bottom Fly Front OR the Front, depending on which version/pattern you’re going to sew. If you’re sewing Boxerwear, cut the Front pattern in half vertically. Now the pattern will be “cut 2 on Fold” rather than “cut 2”.
2- Cut the Front piece at the areas outlined in blue. Note that only the vertical line is cut all the way to the edge of the paper. Tape the bottom edge together. (Outlined in green.)
3- Place a blank sheet of paper behind the pattern piece and tape the Fold edge of the Front to it. (Outlined in purple.)
4- Pull the curved edge on the left out toward the left by 1/4” or more, depending on how much extra room you need. Smooth out all the cut edges and tape to the paper. (Outlined in yellow.)
5- Draw a straight line onto the paper connecting the top and bottom edge of the dart. (Outlined in red.)
6- Trace the remaining edges onto the paper and cut out.
If sewing the Fly option on the Grundlewear pattern, align the Top and Bottom Fly Front pieces at the notches and transfer the changes from the new Bottom Fly Front onto the Top Fly Front. Similarly, if you’re sewing the Fly option on the Boxerwear pattern, align the adjusted Front with the other Front piece and transfer the adjustments over.
I hope you enjoy sewing your underwear! Please share your makes with us on Facebook or Instagram!
Happy Sewing!
xo Jennifer
The topic attracted me. I have this problem. However, I don’t have a clue what it is you are trying to communicate. Neither the explanation or the diagrams is in any way sensible.
Hi Jo,
When adding more room to a garment it just means you need to make it bigger. But with underwear patterns like our Boxerwear and Grundlewear which have a separate piece for the center front of the underwear, it’s important to add the extra fabric in the right places so the bottom (where the front and back connect at the crotch) and the sides end up with the same width/length. This tutorial is similar to performing a full bust adjustment on a ladies blouse pattern where you make slits in specific areas on the paper pattern and then spread the pieces apart to make them larger. It makes more sense with the pattern in front of you but please feel free to use the “contact us” form for specific questions 🙂
-Jennifer
I’m can’t seem to load my picture but she’s instructing how and where to cut your pattern piece to adjust the pouch size to have more volume. I just did it over a new piece of paper and taped it down. When you see it cut up and adjusted it makes better sense. My husband has this problem as well, one of the reasons he’d like custom underwear so thanks for this tip Jennifer!
Oooh just like an FBA! Brilliant!
My husband has an abdominal hernia, so the leg openings of traditional briefs don’t cover everything. I keep telling him, “You need to get some hernia underwear!” I don’t know if anything like that is available in RTW. I just purchased this pattern—and I’m thinking this hack just might do the trick! Thank you! 😘