Harem Pants??

I recently read a post by Grace over at Camp Patton, and ever since then, I haven't been able to get the idea of Harem Pants out of my head.  I've seen some versions that I don't love at all, but I really liked Grace's.  I was convinced that you had to look like Grace (tall & thin) in order to wear them, but I might have changed my mind...

Yesterday, I had the combination of wanting Harem Pants, and really wanting to sew something.  So...those two things came together to form these:

Now, in anticipation of these being a massive failure, I didn't really take any pictures of the process, but, if you're interested in doing it yourself, it's SO easy  It took me 10 minutes, and 5 of that was spent refilling the bobbin.

DIY Harem Pants

1.  Get yourself a pair of really super-relaxed pants.  Mine are these, given to me by my mom right after I had Grayson (bless her for that).  They're also a size bigger than I would normally get.  I only ever wear them around the house, so if they ended up looking funny, it wasn't a big deal.

2.  Cut off the bottom 4-5 inches from both legs.

 3.  Using the part that you've cut off, measure around your ankle.  I used one of the leg pieces, cut off both side seams, and sewed it into a circle.

  4.  Using a loooong basting stitch, sew around the cut leg opening, and then gather so it's the same size as your ankle cuffs

5.  Place the ankle cuff and gathered pants right side together.  Using a zig zag stitch, (you're definitely going to need it to stretch), sew them together at the top, retaining the original hem of the pants at the bottom.  Flip the cuff down, and you're done!

My verdict on them--I LOVE them.  I am fully aware that I probably look a little ridiculous (Nate couldn't stop making Aladdin jokes) but they're so different than anything that I own, and they kind of make me want to dance all the time.  In the spirit of this fabulous post, I think I'll keep wearing them, and loving them, as silly as I might be.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to learn How to Do the MC Hammer Dance.