even though i'd love to dress isla in skirts and dresses forever, as the temperature here continues to plummet, i thought i would sort of face reality and start making her a fall/winter wardrobe. so my first project i thought should be a simple pair of pants with an elastic waist. a pair of jammie bottoms meant to be worn at home so nothing that requires any impressive skills.
this was a trial pair to kind of test things out since i've never made pants before (not counting a pair of shorts i made in high school home ec class, which i have not even vague memories of the process). i didn't want to use the most expensive fabric for this since the likelihood of messing up was high. so i used this fabric, which my mom gave me. it's probably vintage, but at least it cost me nothing. it's a soft flannel-like fabric which i think is perfect for pajamas.
so, the details of how to make them, if anyone is interested (ha! me giving out sewing instructions; that's a hoot! but i tried it out and it worked, so maybe it'll work for someone else who's on the newbie-sew-er trail like me. care to join in, anyone?):
1. pick a pair of pants you like or that fits baby well to use as a template, and cut around it, leaving space for seam allowance. i like baby pants sort of wide-legged, so i cut the fabric quite wide (extra 1 inch). make sure to also leave extra 1-2 inches or more lengthwise for elastic casing, bottom hemming, and if you want pants extra long, etc
2. cut another 3 pieces same as above. one key thing for baby pants, i think, is making the bum area extra big to allow for diapers (i think there is a difference between front and back pieces for normal pants, but i think baby pants are rather forgiving in that nobody notices things like this. so...)
3. serge together all 4 pieces, using your existing pants as a guide. make casing for elastic (measure baby's waist/tummy for this), insert elastic, close up casing. also, hem up bottom of legs and that's it!
if those instructions make no sense at all, then please let me know. i don't try to pretend i know what i'm talking about when it comes to sewing.
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