With fall here in full force, and winter to soon arrive, who doesn’t want some comfy lounge pants?
I know my little ones sure love them.. so if you are ready here we go with my first ever tutorial!!
First I started with an old men’s T-shirt! Knit can be hard to find and this is the easiest way for me to get my hands on some comfy knit fabric.
You then need to trace your pants, or use a pattern (if you have one) I grabbed an old pair and began to cut. You can trace with a fabric marker, but I like to make it quick and just cut right around my pants.
These pants are too short for my daughter. Therefore I don’t have them lined up at the bottom of the shirt. You also want to leave a seam allowance, so don’t cut right against the old pair.
Both front and back of pants are cut here.
You then want to sew the crotch on both the front and back pieces. I also serge my seam after, but you can zig zag or leave raw especially since knit won’t fray.
Dont mind the dishes drying on the counter :) Someday I will have a craft room, someday!!
Then I line my front and back together and sew, then serge the inside leg.
Repeat the same steps to the outside leg. Now your pants are almost complete. Time to add the elastic waist band
This picture shows that you want to cut the front of the pant a little lower then the back. I just eye ball it.
Next you want to measure the waist of the person you are making the pants for. These are for my 4 year old daughter. Her waist is about 20in. I cut the wide elastic 21” so you have 1” to over lap and sew together.
This next step is my favorite. I hate when my comfy pants have elastic in the waistband and it get’s twisted inside the casing. With these pants you won’t have that issue. Find the back seam and line up your elastic seam with it, and pin in place. Do the same thing with the front seam and approx. the front of the elastic.
Then you sew around the elastic and pant. I like to serge my elastic to my pants all in one step, but you can always sew close to the edge with your normal sewing machine. Make sure as you are sewing you pull the elastic taunt. This is why you pin the back and front of the pants and elastic together. You pull the elastic and pants at the same time while you sew. Once you get to your pin remove it and continue to stretch your elastic as you finish sewing.
The finished product will gather slightly, which means you did it correctly!! good job
You are almost done.. fold over the elastic
Make sure you fold it over nice and tight. You don’t want any extra fabric on the top. See in the picture below how my elastic is right up against the fold? From here you can sew around the casing and call it good, or you can follow the next step to add a tie in the waistband.
Once you have folded over the fabric find the front and approx 1”-2” from the center seam create a button hole. (FYI- my machine is very old and passed down from my mom. The manual has been lost and I have not been able to figure out how to use the button hole feature) My ‘buttonholes’ are actually just cut’s I made in the fabric with sharp scissors. I then stitched around the hole, just to give it a little extra strength. Either way works just fine in this case.
Once your ‘buttonholes’ are made, fold the elastic back over and sew all the way around your waistband, pulling the elastic taunt while you go.
I did a double stitch on these pants. I first sew around the waistband with the inside facing me. Then flip them over and sew around again approx. 1/4” from your first stitch line.
Completed pants. I then cut 3 thin strips. (if you dont have enough fabric to make long strips, then cut multiple strips and sew them together)
Once my strips are cut I tie them in a knot and begin to braid the fabric. Once you are down at the bottom tie another knot.
Then attached a safety pin to your braided tie and pull through your casing. Sew a label on the bum and you are DONE!!! Wahoo bring on the comfy pants and hot chocolate
