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Activity #361: Make some easy kids pants
First, I’ll give credit where it’s due:
The author of redcurrent.com gave a clear tutorial for how to make these pants, and the author of tinyhappy displayed inspiring before and after pictures of her tshirts made into pants.
Now, let’s celebrate my success, people. I took this long-sleeved t-shirt belonging to Ryan, and while Julian was asleep, I cut the two required pieces to make pants. About 5 minutes. It’s just a left leg and a right leg. Then, I sewed them together. Now ten minutes have passed. The kid was still sleeping! Then, Heather and Holden came over. Julian woke up, and while the boys wreaked havoc in my bedroom, tossing plastic shovels, cotton balls and Cheerios this way and that, Heather made 75% of a pair of lounge pants for Holden while I coached her and wrangled her baby. Sure, he had to sit in the Pack and Play for a few minutes, but we had a good time. Later that night, I sewed my elastic waist in. The whole project was about 40 minutes. The full tutorial is here.
1. Identify an appropriate t-shirt or sweatshirt.
2. Fold a pair of baby’s pants with crotch sticking out and trace. I have outlined what it should look like for you. With this placement of the cut, you will not need to hem the bottom.
3. Cut on your traced line.
4. Cut a second pant leg from the other side of the shirt. Look for the arrow on the left in this picture to see how I used my first pant leg as a guide.
5. You have two pant legs now, right?
6. Place right sides facing each other and pin. Sew along curves.
7. Reorient the pants and you’ll see that you just have a crotch to sew up and a waist to fold over and sew. Leave a space to thread the elastic through.
8. Insert elastic, sew waist closed, and you are done!
by Whitney in Crafty, Green, Month 5, Toddler |
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(24 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)
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June 22nd, 2006 at 9:20 am
i love it! i totally don’t sew, but i’m going to try it.
June 22nd, 2006 at 1:14 pm
I’ve just started sewing and have just done pj pants for my toddler. This is a great idea and I can’t wait to try it.
June 22nd, 2006 at 3:36 pm
COOOOOL! A useful comment, I know, but it’s just so…cooool!
June 22nd, 2006 at 4:01 pm
I can’t do anything crafty except with glue and scissors. But, geez, that would be great if I could sew. Who’s that cute little guy? Someone should put him on a CD sleeve!
June 23rd, 2006 at 11:36 am
Who needs to sew…have you tried Stitch witchery….its an ironable tape that sticks things together instead of sewing…doesn’t last quite as long but I can’t wait to try this and I don’t sew!
June 28th, 2006 at 6:22 am
I love it! Just adorable. I’m the world’s worst sewer, but it looks like I can’t mess this up.
P.S. I have the same shoes you’re wearing in the photo. Love them!
June 28th, 2006 at 8:12 am
WOW! thESE ARE WAY COOL! I’m going to give this a try.
June 28th, 2006 at 8:41 am
FInally! A use for all my husbands old shirts! This rocks.
June 28th, 2006 at 12:23 pm
[…] These are the cutest toddler pants ever. I wish I had time. And a sewing machine. […]
June 28th, 2006 at 10:19 pm
I’m a grandma of 6 and can’t wait to make some of these. Ingenious!
Thanks very much for the imaginative use for those ubiquitous t-shirts.
June 30th, 2006 at 1:27 am
Those are fantastically cute! I’m going to try that out!
July 1st, 2006 at 1:29 pm
Wow! How adorable he looks in his cool new pants!! I LOVE recycled clothing projects, they’re so much fun!!! I have a site with free patterns for baby clothes, all based on recycled stuff (there even is a simular pattern up there for making baby-shorts!) and I find it very inspiring to see what other crafty moms come up with!
July 2nd, 2006 at 3:16 pm
I am not the most accomplishes seamstress by any means and I whipped up a pair of these in about 15 minutes for my daughter and they are too cute. Like another poster said, I finally have a use for my husband’s ever-growing pile of old t-shirts.
Awesome job!
July 6th, 2006 at 8:30 pm
What a smart lady you are! They are just adorable.
July 10th, 2006 at 12:37 am
these rock! I love sewing w/out a real pattern yay!
September 11th, 2006 at 4:49 pm
What a clever idea. Does anyone happen to have a pattern for making onsies out of t-shirts.
September 11th, 2006 at 8:12 pm
Mary, we don’t have one (yet!) but you can send a cool t-shirt to Nancy Dene and she’ll do it for you. Let us know if you find one.
October 26th, 2006 at 10:33 am
I tried this pattern and love it. It takes literally 12 minutes to make a pair of pants. Now I made them for friends family etc for all occasions - halloween, christmas, easter, thanksgiving etc. I’ve even made them for kids party favor gifts.
November 2nd, 2006 at 4:03 pm
this is the best pattern I’ve seen since sliced bread I have several shirts I can’t wait to recycle.
November 19th, 2006 at 8:20 pm
so cute…………!!!!
December 12th, 2006 at 10:26 pm
[…] Cover Your Butt: Four Sustainable Ways to Pants Your Kid My girls are deep into a dresses-only phase–at least, my four year old Molly is, and 2.5 year old Daisy just wants to do whatever Molly does. So even though I’m a little skirtsy myself, I sometimes find myself fighting pants envy. Katurah of Luckybeans started me down the road today with her beach pants tutorial. As a devoted teeshirt surgeon, I am always relieved to find a new way to chop up old dot.com freebies, and when it’s a kidcentric project it’s even better (how many halter tops do I really need?). I love the idea of these soft, comfortable shorts and can’t wait for summer (although, who am I kidding? I’ll be making beach skirts). But what with the weather outside being frightful and all, I had to hunt down some winter warmth. Kath’s pants instructions at her Handy Home Projects blog (currently not updated, but you can find her posting at whipup.net) are easy enough for a novice seamster to follow. At right, Whitney of rookiemom shows off a successful version of Kath’s pants pattern made from a recycled teeshirt (hey, maybe I don’t have to wait for summer to burn a few shirts!). Michelle at Green Kitchen serves up some wicked cute trousers made from the arms of old sweaters–cute, cozy, and environmentally sound. I think these might pass girlie-girl muster in my house, since they could almost pass as the only type of pant with the Four Year Old Girl Stamp of Approval (that would be yoga pants, because Molly has apparently gone Hollywood). Make them from 100% wool sweaters and they’re also great covers for cloth diapered kids. So, if the Doctor Huxtable sweater Aunt Jane sends for Chanukah this year just “happens” to get shrunk in the laundry…And the pants de résistance?: Tammie at Head Full Of Pixies empowered her son Jack to design his own underpants. Now that, I think my little skirts will buy. […]
January 1st, 2007 at 10:28 pm
[…] Kath’s pants instructions at her Handy Home Projects blog (currently not updated, but you can find her posting at whipup.net) are easy enough for a novice seamster to follow. At right, Whitney of rookiemoms shows off a successful version of Kath’s pants pattern made from a recycled teeshirt (hey, maybe I don’t have to wait for summer to burn a few shirts!). […]
January 19th, 2007 at 8:12 am
[…] I love this site, RookieMoms. It’s two cool moms in Berkley who post activities to do with your little one. (Their site description is 300 things more fun than cleaning someone’s tushie. ) They range from the mundane (go look at the animals in the pet store) to crafty (make baby pants out of a t-shirt). I think even a reminder that entertainment is as close as your local pet store is great. […]
January 24th, 2007 at 4:26 am
Hi, i am a 14, and this a really helpfull tip. I am starting to sew. Thankx
March 2nd, 2007 at 12:46 am
Hi, I just learned how to use my sewing machine, and found this very simple and a great way to use up some old material… perfect for beginners…
March 24th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
i made some of these!!! i posted them on my blog, check them out they are super cute!!!!! thanks for the AWESOME idea!
April 20th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
thanks so much for this clear tutorial. i am officially addicted to making these cool little pants for my son! i only wish i had known about this sooner.
May 1st, 2007 at 8:29 am
What a great project! Don’t have any little ones to make these for, but will be sharing your pattern and blog with others through my site.
May 11th, 2007 at 8:09 am
What a great idea! I am going to use this idea to make my pyjama’s.
May 17th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
This is so much easier than trying to follow a pattern. Thank you soooo much!!!!
May 18th, 2007 at 8:12 am
[…] 7. Once I get a new sewing machine, this project is first on my list (ok, maybe second or third). […]
June 3rd, 2007 at 9:25 pm
[…] It’s summer time yeepee! We love summer and even more, we love wearing nothing but shorts and flip flops all the time. As money has been especially tight lately, we have been trying to come up with creative alternatives to spending money, so converting some of Chris’s old boxers into a pair of shorts for olee is great fun and economical. I got the tutorial from rookie moms. I made another pair out of some pants I found in the back alley:) I love dumpster diving. […]
July 14th, 2007 at 6:00 pm
wonderful, looks super easy, i am not a sewing person, but truly believe i can do this. thank you, looking forward to more ideas.
rhonda
john 3:16
September 11th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
I did this ! You made the instructions clear and the job was so easy! I made 6 pair of pants for my boys. Only thing, though, is that I didn’t leave enough room at the waist at first, so they were plummer pants.
Thanks!
September 27th, 2007 at 11:20 am
This is fantastic. Just made a pair in 15 minutes. Thank you.
October 7th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Thank it worked for me I did it! I am a just took up sewing and have a toddler he’s 2 years old and used a fleace jumper 6x used your idea made it to a to 3t. The sweat pants looks so good thanks for the idea. I I can’t stop showing it off to my family!
October 8th, 2007 at 2:18 am
[…] Hose aus T-Shirt […]
October 11th, 2007 at 8:01 am
That is a great idea! Thanks for sharing. I am thinking of doing this with plaid fabric and sew a zipper down the side for punkrock baby Halloween costume.
October 11th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I made them… Thanks for the wonderful tut!
November 5th, 2007 at 12:42 pm
[…] A pair of pj-style pants for your favorite kid out of a discarded t-shirt. (Tutorial here.) […]
November 14th, 2007 at 10:57 am
[…] And, I made these pants for Dimitri this morning, in about 25 minutes, or so. I got the tutorial from here : Pants. […]
November 15th, 2007 at 7:27 am
[…] I raided my closet yesterday to find all of the old t-shirts that no longer fit me or that I just didn’t like anymore. I used this tutorial to make a couple pair of pants for Grace. I also used an old t-shirt to make a shirt for her too. Today, I used some scrap fabric and this tutorial to make a pair of pink cordoury pants for her. […]
November 17th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
Oh wow. That is awesome. I’m gonna have to try that!!
December 24th, 2007 at 8:32 am
Just wanted to say that I thought that this was a really neat idea. I like that it is very simple. Keep up the great ideas.
January 24th, 2008 at 6:24 pm
[…] post. She shows how to make some easy kids’ pants out of old t-shirts. Visit her tutorial here. Whitney and Heather’s blog, Rookie Moms, has the tagline: Two geeky girls’ guide to […]
January 26th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Thanks so much for this idea! I just made some pants for carnival for my son and, even though I used plain fabric instead of a t-shirt and just used a pijama trouser as template, they took me a max of 15 minutes Wow. This is right up my alley
February 4th, 2008 at 1:09 pm
Simply put… GENIUS! Thank you!
February 7th, 2008 at 5:11 am
[…] When we got home, he slept for nearly two hours! I decided to use the spare time to try out this recycled pants project with an old t-shirt I got from a market in St Kilda when we were living […]
February 15th, 2008 at 5:35 am
[…] Moms teaches how to make easy kids’ pants our of old […]
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Man, thank you so much! This was a great help to me. I am potty training my 2 1/2 year old son and wanted him to have a few short/pants that he could take on and off by himself. I whipped up few while he napped. I also took some flannel that I already had and made some out of that. Awesome!
February 24th, 2008 at 10:59 pm
Thank you so much for putting this up! I had an idea to make little capri pants to go with an eastery dress that I just made for Katie (my 9 month old) but I had no idea how to do it! The pictures are super helpful and very easy to follow- yay!
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:48 pm
thank you very much
my son loves them.
http://www.tapuz.co.il/blog/viewEntry.asp?EntryId=1223758
April 9th, 2008 at 10:19 am
Wow that is great! I really liked the step thoughs. I think I CAN do this.
April 17th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
[…] Make some easy kids pants » Rookie Moms Refashion old t-shirts into stylish baby, toddler, and kid pants. (tags: Sewing Recycling DIY Patterns HowTo) […]
April 21st, 2008 at 8:27 am
I’m not a sewer. Can someone help me with Step 6? What is the ‘right’ side, and which bits am I supposed to be pinning to what? (And when do the pins come out?)
April 25th, 2008 at 6:46 am
[…] Easy kids pants (rookie moms) […]
May 9th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Linked to you this Tuesday (05-06) as part of my “Tackle It Tuesday”. I had completed some dresses but had your pants and some reusable grocery bags to go from a box of old t-shirts.
Doing the pants today (Friday) and I’m LOVING how they are coming out!! They are all done but the elastic (thought I had some but don’t). Thank you SO much for this post…even a rookie sew-er like me felt competent doing this! LOL
May 12th, 2008 at 8:45 pm
Thank you for such a great tutorial. My pants turned out great! Here’s a link to my Flickr photo. http://www.flickr.com/photos/maryconner/2487441463/in/photostream/ I’ll surely be making more!
May 14th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Okay those are too cute. I’m going to have to give those a try!
May 14th, 2008 at 10:58 am
Do you have to use a special needle in your machine to sew these since it’s stretchy knit fabric?
June 12th, 2008 at 2:00 pm
[…] pants! Another great execution of our Easy Kids Pants post from On-Hand Modern. And another from Angel Bird […]
June 14th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
This tutorial helped me save a beloved old t-shirt that had begun to fall apart. It was a jazz festival shirt with a picture on the front and the list of performers on the back. Now it is a pair of long shorts for a seven year old child, with the art on one leg and the list of performers on the other.
Most t-shirts have the design higher up, and since the top of the shirt is the part which wears out first, it may be hard to make a sturdy casing for the waist. I took fabric from the hem of the shirt and sewed it to the top of the shorts to form the casing.
The shorts are sure to be a hit at this year’s festival. Thank you!
June 19th, 2008 at 7:06 am
[…] just come out and say it. They’re shorts, shorts that I sewed, from t-shirts, (using this tutorial), with help from the ever talented Marina (see, I’m getting to the meme), dye job by […]
June 19th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
This is just what I was looking for! i have tons of old tees that I wanted to recycle into clothes for my little one on the way and this is just what I needed. Thank you!!