I still remember my mom making or buying matching outfits for herself and me when I was little, and the memory isn't always fond, but I couldn't help but make matching pants for my daughter and me the other week.
First, I haven't told you about this ridiculous find about an hour from me that sells fabric for $1/yard. Yes, you read that right. One dollar per yard. AND, it's self-serve - no one works there. AND, it's on the honor system. I'll fill you in on the details on a later post, or email if you just have to know now - {P.S. It's only open Fridays and Saturdays}.
The last time I went to this "fabric store" I got two yards of this striped black and off-white fabric. I intended on just making pants for myself - actually, I planned on making a super cool skirt but I didn't have enough fabric - but when I made a minor mistake for my pants, I ended up having enough fabric to make my sweet daughter some pants.
When I made the pants for myself, I drew a tiny bit from a previous post I did for t-shirt pants for my little one, but I adapted it a) for my adult size, b) a little bit as the waist on those pants ended up being really gathered {neither she or I have much hips - thanks genetics} and I was looking for more of a fitted/lounge-pants look, and c) to make them longer.
I measured my waist, my inseam, my "outseam" {I don't know the technical term but the length from the top of my hip to the floor}, the width of the bottom pant leg on some other pants I have, the crotch {waist to inseam}, and the diameter at the thigh/crotch area. I then just transferred those measurements onto the fabric, making sure to line up the stripes properly. {Some people find stripes hard to work with. I appreciate that they don't allow me to fudge and force me to be accurate with my work.}
The pattern ended up looking like this:
Note: a) If you make these pants, make sure you cut the fabric on the fold where the outer leg is on the fold and you have to sew up the inseam. The measurements I wrote down assume the fabric is folded in half. b) I added a few inches in the crotch {waistline to crotch} measurement to allow for fabric to be folded down and enclose the elastic. Make sure you add the appropriate amount of inches of the "outseam" to allow for the waistline as well.
I folded down the waistline but added about 0.5-1" on the back side to allow for booty room. :) Then I made a similar gap for elastic that I did in the t-shirt pants tutorial, but this time stretched the elastic and sewed right on the elastic so the fabric would gather neatly.
I folded down the hemline 1/4" and then another 1/4" and did a simple stitch along the bottom. Next time I might do a zig-zag stitch here as sometimes the hemline rolls up.
For some reason, I cut my inseam 5" shorter than I wanted {24" instead of the 29" I measured} so I had enough fabric to make another pair for my mini-me. Since she's potty trained {yay!} I measured her waist, booty, thigh, inseams and crotch area and made the same pants, only smaller.
When I made the pants for myself, I drew a tiny bit from a previous post I did for t-shirt pants for my little one, but I adapted it a) for my adult size, b) a little bit as the waist on those pants ended up being really gathered {neither she or I have much hips - thanks genetics} and I was looking for more of a fitted/lounge-pants look, and c) to make them longer.
{The How-To Part}
I measured my waist, my inseam, my "outseam" {I don't know the technical term but the length from the top of my hip to the floor}, the width of the bottom pant leg on some other pants I have, the crotch {waist to inseam}, and the diameter at the thigh/crotch area. I then just transferred those measurements onto the fabric, making sure to line up the stripes properly. {Some people find stripes hard to work with. I appreciate that they don't allow me to fudge and force me to be accurate with my work.}
The pattern ended up looking like this:
Note: a) If you make these pants, make sure you cut the fabric on the fold where the outer leg is on the fold and you have to sew up the inseam. The measurements I wrote down assume the fabric is folded in half. b) I added a few inches in the crotch {waistline to crotch} measurement to allow for fabric to be folded down and enclose the elastic. Make sure you add the appropriate amount of inches of the "outseam" to allow for the waistline as well.
I folded down the waistline but added about 0.5-1" on the back side to allow for booty room. :) Then I made a similar gap for elastic that I did in the t-shirt pants tutorial, but this time stretched the elastic and sewed right on the elastic so the fabric would gather neatly.
I folded down the hemline 1/4" and then another 1/4" and did a simple stitch along the bottom. Next time I might do a zig-zag stitch here as sometimes the hemline rolls up.
{How I Got Two Pairs of Pants Out of This}
For some reason, I cut my inseam 5" shorter than I wanted {24" instead of the 29" I measured} so I had enough fabric to make another pair for my mini-me. Since she's potty trained {yay!} I measured her waist, booty, thigh, inseams and crotch area and made the same pants, only smaller.
I now get why my mom did what she did when I was younger. :) Have you made any mother-daughter matching outfits?? Do share!
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