As most of my readers know, I mainly use (and review) free sewing patterns from the internet - that's what I do. Using patterns that have generously been posted for free does require an acceptance that they won't all be perfect, and you may sometimes have to fiddle about with them to make them work. (Not always, of course, there are many that are brilliant, and that I use again and again.) But how much worse to pay for a pattern and then find that one doesn't work either!
And my biggest bugbear by far, is the pants and shorts and trouser patterns which don't have a separate back and front shaping - or rather, the crutch seam is identical for the back seam and the front seam. It's really surprising how many people, even some who also sell their work, produce such patterns. It doesn't take a lot of thought to realise that human beings are not symmetrical when seen from the side!
(I realise my drawing talents leave a lot to be desired - I should have taken lessons from Picasso. Hopefully you'll get the idea.)
So the patterns I recommend, like this one from Jereli for pyjama pants, result in pants that have a crutch seam higher in the back than the front, and (generally) have a longer curve on the back, so that the inside leg seam sits a little forward of the midpoint of the inside of the leg. If you look at purchased trousers, even jeans, you will see that shaping, to accommodate the wider part we all have at the rear! Even children and babies - especially babies, who spend a lot of time with their legs in the air - need space for bending at the hip. OK, you may just get away with this with knit fabric and a sloppy fit, but it ISN'T DIFFICULT to make a pattern correctly, and make the result more comfortable.
These above are from another pattern I recommend, from Suzi of Bay Patterns at Space. Note that the centre back is higher than the centre front. These were a really comfortable fit. The grandchildren wanted more of them!
However, you will find patterns which ignore this golden rule, so here's what you can do.
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I'll use as an example a pattern I found recenty, which has really good instructions, so I was keen to use it. I'll let you know which one if you contact me.
The pattern is nicely drawn, and of course it is lovely to have a free pattern, isn't it? But the back and front are same, the pattern is just cut on the fold. And people commenting say the pattern comes out somewhat too big, perhaps to allow for the lack of a longer back seam. However, the instructions and tutorial are very good, so you may be tempted to give it a try.
So let's suppose you decide to use this pattern (or one that is similar): don't do anything until you've stuck the pieces together and decided which size to use. Then, I suggest first you make the whole of your chosen pattern size one inch higher, and the inner leg seam half an inch wider (shown by the dotted red lines below). In fact, the original pattern I was looking at dips very slightly towards the sides, not sure why.
Next, cut out the two legs on the fold, as per the instructions given on the web site. But then, after cutting out, open the pieces of fabric out, place them exactly, right sides together, and mark new cutting lines as follows. On the side which will be 'Front', cut away 1" from the new inner leg seam edge. This means you have not altered the overall width of the legs, but have moved the seam forward. Then mark and cut another line at the top (the waist), angled down from the new height added at the back, to 1" below the original waist height (or 2" below the back). These new cutting lines are shown as blue-green dashed lines. This will give you a nice bit of additional roominess so the back waist won't be dragged down when the pants' wearer bends at the hip. (The 'builder's butt' won't be in evidence!)
So this, below, will be the final shape of your cut out pattern pieces.
And now you can proceed according to the instructions, which on this pattern were excellent. And you should have a nicely fitting pair of comfortable trousers.
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