When I was in junior high, we had an hour of electives. Every quarter your elective would change. Spanish, keyboarding, computers, shop, and home ec were all choices. Do they even have home ec in middle school or high school anymore? I’m pretty sure between home ec and keyboarding, I’m dating myself.
Anyway, when I took home ec, we had to do a sewing project. Although I had never sewed before, I really enjoyed making a cat pillow for my little sister. A stuffed cat. Yikes. At least she liked it.
I come from a family of crafters. My Granny sewed, crocheted, embroidered and made all kinds of things out of beads. My mom sews and does cross stitch. My aunt quilts. My sister knits and crochets. That home ec class didn’t really inspire me to take up crafting at the time, but there has been a lot of crafting influence throughout my life.
Additionally, over the last few years, a crafting movement has emerged. Sites like Etsy allow crafters to sell their wares online and countless bloggers post their projects and tutorials for all to see. What I love about all of this is the ability to make things for yourself and reuse items that would otherwise be tossed in the donation bag or the trash. So, after borrowing a sewing machine from a friend, I started stumbling for my first sewing project. I wanted something easy that would allow me to be successful from the start.
At Rookie Moms, I found a tutorial for making baby pants from an old t-shirt. Tim had just cleaned out his dresser, so I had a pile of t-shirts just waiting to be repurposed. During nap time one day, I decided to dive in. Here’s how to make them….
First, choose the t-shirts you want to use. I didn’t use anything too thread bare or that was a funky color I didn’t think Olivia would wear.
Then, grab a pair of baby pants your child currently wears to use as a pattern.
After setting up the sewing machine, gather the other materials you will need. Scissors, thread, pins, and elastic.
One day, maybe I'll have a place to work other than the kitchen table...a girl can dream!
Lay out the t-shirt on a flat surface. Then fold the baby pants in half lengthwise and be sure to pull out the crotch. Lay the baby pants on top of the t-shirt, lined up with either the left or right side. Cut around the shape of the baby pants, leaving 1/2 inch of extra fabric. I wasn’t paying very close attention and could have done better with this step.
Next, take the piece of t-shirt that you just cut out and flip it over and line it up with the other side of the shirt. Cut around the edges. Since you already allowed for a 1/2 inch extra the first time around, you don’t need to do that here.
You now have the front and back of the pants. Lay them out flat and line them up so the outsides are facing each other and the existing seams are aligned. Then, pin along the edges that will be the waist to crotch seams and sew. (Note: I’m not really sure why my two pieces weren’t the exact same size or if I am pinning correctly. Feel free to comment and offer advice. Obviously, I need it. :))
Next, reposition the pants so you can see the legs. Do this by pulling on the original shirt seams and laying the pants flat. The seams you just sewed should now be in the middle of the pants and you should see two legs. Make sense? Now, pin along the inseams and stitch those.
All you have left to do is the waistband. Little babies who are not yet mobile probably don’t need elastic. Bigger babies do or they will lose their britches. Fold down the waistband and stitch nearly all the way around. Leave yourself a little hole to insert the elastic. I measured out the elastic by just wrapping a portion around the pattern pants. Run the elastic through the waistband, stitch the ends together, and stitch the waistband closed.
And, voila! You have a pair of baby pants!
Now, go put them on the nearest cute baby.
There are a lot of things wrong with these pants, but for my first sewing project since junior high school, I’m pretty pleased with myself. If you decide to make these, please leave a comment and let us know how it went.
Freckles and Sunshine 