I love wearing comfortable clothing, and things with an elastic waistband-count me in! So I knew I wanted to make a pair of harem pants because they are so trendy right now. There are a lot of print on demand sites where you can buy trendy harem pants. They are basically like making a pair of leggings so if you have done that before-I think you will be able to make a pair of harem pants, with no problems. So don’t get discouraged by how many steps there are. Plus, because they are a bit baggy, it leaves room for imperfections-not that you would ever have any 🙂 You can check out yesterday’s post on how to style harem pants.
Materials:
1 and 1/2 to 2 yards of jersey knit fabric or fabric with a stretch (2 yards if you are making long pants)
wide elastic for the waistband
matching thread
To make:
1. You need to cut your four pieces of fabric. I actually used another pair of harem pants to make my pattern and if you have some harem pants, you should just do that because it will be easier, but if you don’t have a pair already to work with, then here are some guidelines to follow when creating a pattern.
Cut four pieces of fabric like this: WARNING- there is some math ahead!
2. Sew the bottom hem. To do that, I used a twin needle, folded over the fabric and sewed on the right side of the fabric. Go here to my leggings tutorial to see how to do that if you need a visual-steps 4-6.
3. Lay two pieces of fabric together, right side of the fabric in and sew like this:
Sew remaining two pieces of fabric together the same way.
4. Lay the front two panels on top of the back two panels right side in. Sew the inseam (as shown below).
5. Then I sewed in the pockets, here is a great tutorial on how to sew in your pockets (I just skipped the parts about serging or finishing the edges of the fabric because the knit fabric won’t fray, so you don’t have to finish the edges if you don’t want to-plus it’s inside so no one sees them. While sewing in your pockets, sew the outside seam of the pants also.
6. Now you are in the home stretch! For the top of the harem pant, there should be excess fabric. If you’re looking at your pants thinking the waist is huge, that’s okay, it’s supposed to be. But in order for them to fit, you need to add the elastic band and take in some of the fabric. I chose to make two loose pleats in the front, by simply folding over the fabric and two tucks in the back-where you pull together some fabric and sew a straight line on the inside of the fabric-like in the picture below. Once you sew the tuck, you can cut the excess on the inside of the pants.
7. To add the elastic band follow my leggings tutorial steps 9-15. And that’s it!
I am looking forward to making some harem pj’s and harem long pants. Maybe I’ll even make some for the kiddos!
Your harem pants are fabulous! Good tutorial too! I pinned it, to try it later. Thank you, Carmen http://filodimiele.blogspot.it
Wow!! Super cute!!! Come link up this week at The CSI Project. This is perfect for our sewing challenge. http://thecsiproject.com/2013/11/06/time-to-link-up-for-the-fall-sewing-challenge/#axzz2jv91McvjCheers!!!
These are great! So cool!
LOVE THESE! I like how the crotch line is not so deep you can’t wear them out. I was recently about to buy these ( http://www.modcloth.com/shop/leggings/land-a-jodhpur-leggings?utm_source=pinterest&utm_medium=share&utm_campaign=pdp_share) but I thought too long about it, and it was the last one, so it got sold:( I might use this to try to recreate them!
Anyone done this? What does the back look like?
Great reading thiss
Very impressed! My body shape is really different from the photos, but this pattern worked so well. I made full length and next time I’ll do the shorter length. I can see myself making multiple versions of these in different fabrics. Really happy with the pattern and the outcome and would recommend to others.