Lengthening a dressmaking pattern piece is an easy way to improve the fit of your handmade clothes. Here’s how…. Firstly decide how much you need to lengthen your pattern by Find the lengthen / shorten line on your pattern which is usually a double line If your pattern doesn’t have one, you can create your own by drawing a line which is perpendicular to the grainline in an area which doesn’t have any other style lines like darts or pleats Cut across the lengthen / shorten li