Tag: pants

Mending Diaries: Transforming Joggers into Moto Pants

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I’m a boy-mom…a two boy-mom, actually.  So when my youngest gets all of his brother’s hand-me-downs, they have already been “well loved.”  Half…okay…most of me is happy to save the money and landfill space to reuse these clothes.  But, the other part of me is sad that he always has to wear clothes with threadbare spots and plenty of grass (among other) stains.  I’ve been trying to think of different ways to mend and patch up his clothes so they look fresh instead of worn.  When I pulled out these pants for my little guy, I knew these would be great patched up as some moto pants.

Before the patching, I assessed the project.  These pants have the jogger style that is still very hip and the neutral fabric is a great ash gray thick fleece.  All of the other parts of the pants are in nice shape.  The elastic waist is still strong and there are no popped stitches.  All in all, these were worth the extra love.  I mended another pair of pants one time only to notice it was threadbare in other spots.  I wish I didn’t waste my time knowing the entire pair of pants were going to fall apart (they were thrifted years ago with several previous owners.)

The damage to this one knee is pretty substantial.  There is the obvious hole, but then the fabric is worn out even further beyond it.  There is even still has a faint ring of deep set dirt.  (My oldest must’ve fell hard in the mud a few years back!)  With such a large area to cover and the fact that these pants are knit, I had to be a bit innovative.  I didn’t want a glaring patch, but knew I needed it to cover this spot…..and that’s when the motocross lightbulb went on.

To get an idea of how the patches would look and create my patttern, I used washi tape to make the shape on the knee.  I made sure to add ample room above and below the hole, while balancing the patch size with the rest of the pants.  I changed my angles a bit, but settled on having the top of the patch angle outwards verses straight knee-caps.  It’s a bit more modern and stylish this way, IMO.

Next I grabbed scraps of Swedish Tracing Paper, a ruler, and a marker to trace my pattern.

As you can see, I traced within the tape and used my fingers to make sure I was within the existing side seams.

After I labeled and cut the pattern out, I cut two pieces of tricot knit interfacing (mirrored) for my patches.

With just a scrap piece of jersey knit, I fused the interfacing following the manufacturer’s instructions.  It’s a bit delicate, so I always use a pressing cloth.

With my ruler, I cut the patch pieces and also stacked them to make sure they matched, trimming as needed.


I laid the patch back in the washi tape marked spot to double check the size.  It’s ok if it’s slightly smaller or larger since the pant leg can be stretched to match.

The patch was pinned in place, but I would definitely use Wonder Tape next time.  (The pins shifted so much while I was sewing and stabbing me in such a confined area of space.)  I matched up the other leg by aligning the cuffs and then eye-balling it.  I know my kid won’t be too critical 😉

As you can see, I had to flip the pants inside out and scrunch the knee area up to the waistband to sew down the patch.  You can see how all the pins can be problematic.  Most of the pins completely moved out of place, so you can see an alternate method to secure the patch is probably better.  I used a straight stitch since that’s the machine I had set up but a nice zig-zag or blanket stitch could work for the applique.

Voila!  It’s like a new pair of pants.  The first time my son wore these, my husband even asked when he got these “new” motocross pants.  You know that great feeling when you can say, “Oh, I just made them!”   I love that you can’t even tell these are patched and just look like a design element.  Most of all, my little guy loves that he got a special pair of sewn pants AND that’s the best feeling of all!

There are a pair of designer yoga pants I may try to patch with this technique.  Would you try this on your next mend job?  Let me know if you try it out and how it works!

Project Details:

 

Go get than mend on!

Cristy

 

 

Luna Pants {Pattern Review}

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LunaPantsReviewTitle

It’s all about the “jogger” pant these days and even as a stay-at-home-mom, I try to be somewhat hip.  The yoga-pant rut is easy to fall into (rightfully so!) but voile pajamas disguised as the new athleisure look?  Uh, yes please!!!  This is a trend I can definitely follow 😉

When I saw Made by Rae‘s new Luna Pant pattern, it was exactly what I wanted in a jogger….because it was designed for more drapey wovens like voile, lawn, and rayon.  By making these pants myself, I could slim out the silhouette to tailor to my short stumpy legs.  I am thicker in the thigh area and there are many ready-to-wear jogger styles out there that really accentuate the hips.  Nope, that is definitely not for me!

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The Luna pattern is currently only available as a digital PDF, and as someone who would rather buy the one-piece printed version, this wasn’t so bad taping together.  I love how Rae has several different registration marks on all sides of the printouts to help you match up the pattern.

LP Taking in the leg

Based on the pattern measurements, I was at the higher spectrum of a small.  I read some other reviews that the fit is pretty generous, so I was comfortable cutting out that size.  After initial fit, I definitely wanted to taper the leg in a little more.  I eased from the hip/pocket into toward the leg about 1/2″ all the way down to the ankle.

LP Muslin

It’s kind of hard to see in this shot, but the right left has been taken in and I had already shortened both legs to fit my 5’3″ frame.  I used a basting stitch at the bottom hem to see how the pant would gather around my ankle.

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To make sure I had that athleisure look and not a pajama one, I used 1.5″ elastic around the ankles and ended up using the same for the waistband.  The thicker ankle gather just looks more  on trend to me.

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I sewed all the seams on my regular Juki TL-2010Q and finished the raw edges on my hand-me-down Singer Serger.  Changing the threads on my serger is such a pain, but to have the right matching colors, is SO worth the effort.  It really makes the garment look professional.

LP Back Profile

I love the contoured waistband which really allows for a nice gather.  There is room around the seat, but not so much that it would give a saggy rear-end.  You can adjust the gathers around however you like and make a few stitches along the side seams to keep them in place.

LP Styled Casual

These pants are just magical and so incredibly light.  The Yucca organic voile in Arbol by Leah Duncan for Cloud 9 Fabrics is just amazing for the warmer months ahead.  They can be worn with flat sandals (Merona) and a cute jacket (J.Crew) for just running around town.

LP Styled Dressy

With this black and cream design, the Luna Pants can also be dressed up with heels (Nine West) and this loose tank (Merona) for a jumpsuit look without the jumpsuit hassle (a la having to take off the entire outfit to use the restroom…no thanks!)

The styling possibilities are endless for my secret pajamas!  I’m excited to wear them all summer and make a few extra pairs for lounging…errr…being fashionably hip 😉  What do you think about the jogger trend?

 

Hugs and Stitches,

Cristy