kojotutorial: pieced jersey pants for celebrate the boy!

It's that time of year, y'all... time to Celebrate the Boy! Can I tell you a secret? I think this is my favorite series in blogland. Dana and Rae are geniuses!

Since I always kind of saw myself as a 'girl mom,' I'm much more comfortable making dresses and accessories and goodies for GIRLS (just ask my sister/sister-in-law who receive way. too. many. dresses for my nieces). Celebrate the Boy is the perfect catalyst for branching out from my natural tendencies to make things for boys instead! How fun!

Which brings us to today's tutorial! Recently, I was making a little pieced jersey dress for Piper Jane (surprise, surprise). When I looked at the pieced jersey patchwork, I decided to put together some pieced jersey pants for Burke as well.

And I love the way they turned out! The soft jersey from the t-shirts makes them extra cozy, the drawstring makes them cinch-able on Burke's little skinny waist, the exposed seams and color make them bright and modern. Plus he loves them- always a huge bonus!

To make a pair of pieced pants for a little man in your life, you'll need:
-a pile of thriftstore bound t-shirts (when they're pieced together, the rectangle they make is just short of a yard)
-fabric pen
-sewing machine and sewing supplies

1. Cut out rectangles/squares of jersey. Lay them out, matching up the pieces so that when they're pieced, they make a rectangle. Pin in place. Note- to make the seams show, pin together with the wrong sides facing each other.

2. Sew into pieced patchwork rectangle. A good thing reminder to ensure exposed seams is that you'll be sewing onto the fronts of the t-shirts.

3. Fold the pieced rectangle in half. Lay a folded-in-half pair of pants that fit your little guy on your doubled over rectangle. Trace around the perimeter of the pants.  Now flip the pants over and do this again (so you'll have two pairs of pieces when you cut everything out). When you're tracing the top of the pants, stretch out the elastic and trace. Add at least an inch to the top of your tracing and the bottom of your tracing.

4. Cut out the pieces you traced. They'll be exactly the same at this point (we'll make the front a little lower when we sew the drawstring casing).

5. Pin the 'front' and 'back' pieces of each pant leg together). At this point, you'll have a pinned together right pant leg and a pinned together left pant leg. Sew the outside seams of each pant leg together. Note- these seams aren't supposed to be exposed (it just looks cleaner), so pin and sew together with the 'right' sides facing in. Then sew up the inside seam of each pant leg. 

6. Once the outer and inner seams are sewn, pin the crotch pieces together (again, right sides facing in). Stitch down the curved seam where the crotch meets up in the front and then in the back.

7. With the pants still inside out, roll over the top seam. Pull the front seam down a little lower than the back seam and pin in place (so the finished pants dip a bit in the front). Sew this drawstring casing in place. Trim the excess jersey off, close to the line of stitching

8. Make two little teeny slits in the front of the casing (since the fabric is jersey, these don't have to be finished). Cut a long, thin strip of jersey to act as your drawstring. Attach a pin to one end of the drawstring and pull it through the casing. You might want to try them on your little one at this point and either hem the bottoms (this will make them last longer because you can let out the hem later) or trim to the appropriate length.

 9. Done! A new pair of cozy, comfy, bright, modern pants for your little man!

Thanks for joining us to Celebrate Boys! 

While you're here, want to check out a few other fabulous boy projects?

1- Burke and his friends LOVE his hanging tent!
2- Bow tie for little guys.
3- Reading nook made from palettes- the perfect spot for cuddling up with a good book.
4- This felt book has been more helpful on airplane rides and car trips than I can tell you. Every time Burke has a new 'love' (walruses, Elmo, gorillas, etc.), I make one for his felt book.
 5- Upcycled linen beach pants.

Cheers, friends!