My Ugly Duckling Projects: Pajama Pants!

I have a secret...I LIVE in my pajama pants when I am at home. Literally, if I am home and the dogs have been walked and sometimes even if the dogs haven't been walked I am in my pajamas. I have been this way forever...except when it was swimsuits. I used to LOVE going swimming so much that my parents couldn't get me to take my swimsuits off. Anyway, PAJAMAS are amazing. Up until today my favorite pair were my husbands and I had to roll the waist three times because they were too long and too big. Now I have these cute pj bottoms. Sorry for the bad pic...

*Funny story: I had to put socks on for these pics because my friend is totally freaked out by feet and I was concerned that maybe some of you hate feet, too. Do any of you hate feet?

Even better than just the pictures of the wonderfully comfy pants I am going to write down how I made them...all you need is approximately 2 1/2-3 Yards of fabric and a favorite pair of pajama bottoms to use as a pattern. That and some elastic for the waist. If you don't have elastic that's okay. Make a drawstring instead!

First, fold your pants in half with the back showing to make the 2 back pieces of your pants. Lay your pants on the folded fabric and cut AT least 5/8ths from the edge. I cut more like an inch and a half from each edge. Remember you can always take in, but it's harder to make bigger.

Next you need to fold your pants the other way, with the front side out. Make sure you line up the leg seams. This is what most of the tutorials were missing. They just traced four of the back then the final product turned out supper "poofy" in the front. The back has a bigger crotch seam to account for your butt, the front has a curved crotch seam, but it shouldn't be as drastic. Cut two (just fold your fabric).

Now you should have two back pieces and two font pieces. You are going to sew front to front and back to back with right sides together. Only sewing the crotch seam. Remember when you are sewing clothing you need to use a wider seam allowance. 5/8 in is most common. Remember ONLY SEW THE CROTCH SEAM. The curved part.

Once you have sewn the crotch seam of both the front pieces and the back pieces you need to open them up and lay them right sides together. You can pin (I don't but I am lazy). I sewed outside seams first. Starting at the waist and sewing down each leg seam. This way any uneven hem is at the bottom and will be trimmed when you hem or add a cuff to your pants. Once you have sewn the outside seams you are going to sew the inside leg seam starting at the bottom of one leg and sewing continuously to the bottom of the other leg.

At this point I like to try my pants on. It's just for fun and totally optional. You also have options here. You can just fold down the top of the waist 1/4 and then again 1 inch and sew along leaving a space to enter the elastic. Hem the bottom of each leg and be done...or you can add a fun waist band and cuffs on the leg hems. This is what I did.

To make the elastic waist casing I cut a 3 inch wide strip that would go all the way around the waist of the pants. Sewed the two short ends together and folded in half. Then with right sides and raw edges together pin the waist band to the pants. (I like to match the waist band seam to the seam in the back of the pants.) Sew the waist band on being sure to leave an opening to insert the elastic.

Cut a piece of elastic that feels comfortable but snug on your waist. *TIP* I safety pin one end of the elastic to my fabric so it doesn't accidently get pulled in. Insert the elastic. Then sew the end of the elastic together.

Now, admire your work! You're nearly done. Isn't that a nice clean finish?!

Last step! Add the cuffs to the hems of your pant legs. I made these the same way I made the waistband. Cut them to the length needed to go around your pant leg. I used 3 inches, so they finished at about 1 inch wide. This is the easiest way to measure how much you need. Remember when you sew them on RIGHT SIDES AND RAW EDGES TOGETHER!