the domestic sphere

my dalliances with all things domestic






6/05/2002



Flat Pants Tutorial



At 2:15 I posted that I was thinking about making some Flat Pants to go with the WIP and maybe there was some appropriate fabric out in the garage. Well, there was. By 5:30, the pants were done and everything was put away! And that's with two kids underfoot, mind you! So I'm not lying when I tell you they're easy.

Use this helping, friendly tutorial and sew along!


First, cut out the pieces. It's easy to change the size. Just add or subtract some length. Leave plenty of wiggle room in the center panel, because there's no shaping for the tochis.

Since the lighter fabric I was using has a lot of open space and big graphics, I thought about where I was cutting. I made an impromptu pattern piece out of a sheet of paper so I could center the graphics before I cut. Take the seam allowances into consideration when you do this.


I made pockets for these. Cut out squares. Fold all edges over 1/4 inch. Fold the top edge over again. Stitch around the edge on the machine. I centered them on the pant legs (figure out which end is up!), pinned them (this is the only time I pinned anything!), and stitched them down.

Sew on the cuffs to the bottom of the legs. I made an error here. I turned and seamed the cuffs at this point. This means that the seam shows when you roll the cuffs. Not awful, but don't make this mistake yourself! Sew the cuff to the leg. Finish the open edge of the cuff by turning under and stitching. Press the seam toward the cuff. You'll come back to it later!


Now we assemble ze pants! Sew the center panels to the first leg. Add the second leg. Press seams toward center. Finish by zigzagging both together at outside edge. This prevents fraying later. (A little tip: usually you sew with 5/8 seam allowance, then trim the seam to about 1/4 inch and finish the edges. I just sewed these with a small allowance, so I didn't need to trim a lot of fabric off, and could finish them neatly. Don't do this on other patterns unless you modify the pieces when you cut though!)

Hold the pants so everything lines up, with the pants inside out. Starting at one cuff, sew up the leg, across the center and down the other leg. Snip the corners and finish seams. Press. Hooray! You're almost done!


While you're at the iron, press the cuffs toward the inside to just above the seam. You might as well press the waistband as long as you're there. The pants should still be inside out. Press 1/4 inch toward wrong side. Turn again to form 1 1/2 inch waistband and press. You may want to pin here. Sew along the lower edge of the waistband, leaving an opening to thread the elastic through. Attach a safety pin to the elastic and run in through the waistband, gathering as you go and being careful not to twist the elastic. Sew the ends of the elastic together. Sew up the hole you left.

Now go back to those cuffs! From right side, stitch along the previous seam between the two fabrics catching the back of the cuff. Add a second row of stitching if you like. You're done!







posted by kristi at 6/05/2002 08:26:00 PM
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