Pants...All Month Long!

You may remember that last summer Becky of Trail Balloons and I did a fun challenge making woven tees. Believe it or not, those tees have been a staple of my summer wardrobe. It was such a great challenge!

We teamed up again to do woven tops for winter, but I managed to slip on the ice, break both bones in my arm at the wrist, have surgery, and basically be incapacitated for 3 months. Oh well,best laid plans :(

This summer, we thought it would be fun to do something a little different and spend the month talking about pants. Becky and I have very different shapes. She is very long and lean, where I have curves. So we thought that with the 2 of us doing pants, with our different shaped bodies, we would appeal to most everyone. 

For our 1st week, we are showcasing our favorite pant pattern. Becky loves the Flat Bottom Flo from Style Arc. It's as if the pattern was designed with her in mind.

By far, my favorite, or at least most used pattern is the free pajama pant pattern from Martha Stewart. This is a very basic elasticized waist pant pattern. I love it because, it's super easy to fit, and it's also easy to manipulate into lots of fun designs.

You may be looking at the picture below and thinking, "this is not a pant, it's a skirt!" It does look to be a skirt, true enough.

But see, it is pants!!!

All I did was use the basic pattern, then cut 2 rectangles, my favorite thing ;), and attach those rectangles into the right side seam of the pant. Because this is a border print, I had to be careful in lining up the print, but other than that, the pants were a snap to make. 

I added ties to the rectangles so that the rectangles could be tied and held in place at the waist. 

The pant has an elegant look, and yet it's made casual with a pair of fun sandals.

If you have shied away from making pants, get an elastic waist pattern and start having some fun. Typically, the only adjustment you will have to make is to either lengthen, or shorten the crotch. 

Becky gives lots of details on how she altered the Flat Bottom Flos to fit her beautifully. You can see that post HERE. 

Out next installment for the challenge will be Getting To The Bottom Line. With our first post, Becky was early and I am late, but we should both be on schedule for this Friday! :)

Hope we can encourage you to give pants a try!

Rhonda

Thrifty Thursday/Free Pajama Pant Pattern

When I came across the free peasant dress/top pattern from Martha Stewart, I also found a free pajama pant pattern. It looked simple and easy, just as a pajama pant should be. Now many of us who have been sewing for quite some time probably have a pajama pant in in our collection of patterns. Pajamas really don't change that much, maybe a little design change here and there,but for the most part, pajamas are pajamas. With all of that in mind, I thought I would still give the pattern a try. I realized that there are many who are new to sewing and as I thought about the pattern, I realized that it could possibly meet a lot of other needs, like teaching someone how to sew. For anyone who may be teaching a summer camp, this is a great pattern for teenagers. The parents will also thank you since it's free, just the cost of printing it out. The pattern is easy to sew and easy to download and tape together.

Here's the pattern once it has been taped together. One person commented that they were upset as had the pattern been moved down a bit, 5 sheets of paper could have been saved. That wasn't a huge deal for me, I recycle the paper, so it just went in the recycle bin.

The only issue I had with the pattern was the front crotch.As you can see in the picture below, the lines do not meet up. It turned out not to be an issue. I just smoothed out the line and went on my merry way.

There are a couple of issues with the materials list. 2 yards of 45" wide fabric will not yield a pair of pants. You will need closer to 2 3/4 yards for the pants. Also, 1 yard for the drawstring is too skimpy. Buy at least 1 1/2 yards of ribbon or twill tape. You want enough to go around your lower waist and still have enough to tie a decent bow.
Once you cut the pants out, sew up each leg. I like to try a leg on just to check the crotch depth and how the pant leg is fitting over all. Since this is intended for sleep wear, you're looking for comfort and that means ease in the pattern. There's nothing worse than a tight pair of pajama pants. At least in my book. The pant pattern was quite long. In fact, I cut 3" off the length of the each leg and still had 2" for hemming.

Just in case you are wondering, yes, it's airplanes!!! I really like airplanes ;)

And now for a very bad picture of me in my pajama pants., no makeup and all!!! The fit is great, not at all constricting. I decided to add elastic to my waistband in addition to the ribbon. After all they are pajama pants and rather like not having to deal with tying my pants if I happen to get up at night.  

You can find the free download of the pattern HERE. I also like the fact that there is a video that accompanies the pattern and instructions. A great tool if you are working with someone who is learning to sew. The video can be found just off to the side of the instructions.
So other than the few issues I told you about earlier, I really like my new pair of pajama pants and I will be making more. The pants would be great with the addition of a side seam pocket. Or you could add back hip pockets. You can also cut the pattern down and make drawstring shorts. The pants would make a great summer pant out of a fun cotton print or gauze. Or you could also use them as a cover up for your swimsuit. So lots of possibilities.
A great pairing with the pajama pants would be the free Tonic Tee pattern from SBCC. Remember, there's a short and long sleeve version!