Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Joggers from Skinny Pants - Tutorial

Harmony here again with a fun and easy tutorial to make some cute joggers using the Jocole Skinny Minnies for girls or Skinny Pants for ladies. This is the first pair I've made, and of course they were for my 5 year old since she takes less fabric for experiments! I absolutely plan to make a couple more pairs for her as well as a pair or two for myself and for my 14 year old using the women's pattern! I just LOVE the way these turned out and how quick and easy they were to make.
                                                    
First step is to pick out your fabric. I know joggers are typically made of a sweatshirt like material...but we live in the heart of Florida where even the cold days aren't really all that cold. So I chose a light weight satin-like material for the main pant. Since the skinny pants are made for a woven material you don't HAVE to use a knit for the pants themselves. (Bonus for those of us that have oodles of woven in our stash and are running low on knits!) However, the pant cuffs and waistband DO need to be made from knit. I also opted to do the pockets from the same knit material just to add a little interest. (Have you seen the pocket tutorial??  it's awesome)

When cutting out the pants you need to make them more of a straight leg. Cut out the proper size through the waist/hip/butt and starting down the thigh, but then as the pant pattern tapers you have to just keep going straight down. Do the same thing with the front as well as the back. Make sure to cut the waist down so that you can do the knit waistband and it's not too high up. I initially cut off approximately 1.5" from the waist (as you can see in the pictures below), but then ended up cutting another 1" from it before attaching the waistband.  (Here is our yoga waistband modification tutorial)

                                     
Once you have both the front and back cut out, put the back to the side and focus on the front for a minute. It's time to cut out the pocket opening. (OR use the Jocole pocket tutorial, linked above). If you have a pocket pattern for this part, GREAT!!! ...I couldn't find mine so I had to improvise. Which, honestly is not that difficult to do. Keep your two front pieces stacked to cut so that they are equal.You want to come down just far enough that it makes a decent pocket opening. About 3/4 of the length of my child's hand is how far down I go. And you don't want the pocket opening as wide as it is long. Then just do a gentle curve cut out similar to the rise curve but angled in towards the center more. (See picture below.)
                                                             
Then you need to cut out the two pieces for the inside of each pocket. You want the lining piece that you see to come below the pocket opening so that there is room for the hand to rest. (Or for treasures to be held.) And the lining for the part that you don't see needs to be exactly the same size/shape but with the cut out. And don't forget to make them mirror images!

Sew the pocket lining to the pant along the opening curve with the right sides facing together. Repeat with the other side. Turn right side out (so the pocket lining is now on the back/wrong side of the pant and you see the pant part) and top stitch.

Then sew the pocket lining to the other pocket lining with the right sides of those facing together. Repeat with the other side.
                                         
Sew together the side seams of of the front and back pieces, then open up and top stitch. Repeat with the other side. (Doing it in this order just makes it easier to top stitch. There's no circle of fabric to mess with!) Then sew together the center rise seams front and back followed by sewing together the entire inseam of the pants.
Next you need to cut out the waistband and pant cuffs.
For the waistband you want to take the measurement for the waist elastic you would use with the regular pattern and instead cut a strip of fabric that wide and twice as tall as you will want the finished waistband. With the right sides together sew up the height of the waistband, then fold over to be ready to attach to the pants.
For the cuffs you want them to be just slightly narrower than the bottom of the pant pattern opening. Remember - the cuffs are made of knit so they are needing to be snug to hold the bottom of the pant in place like a cute jogger pant does. You want to make the cuff twice as tall as you will ultimately want the finished cuff to be. Make sure to cut the cuff on the fold width wise so that you only have one seam along the inseam. Cut out a second one just the same.
                                                         
Sew the cuff along the length of the inseam to close it up and make a circle. Then fold the cuff in half to be ready to attach to the bottom of the pant leg.
                                           
Do a gathering stitch at the bottom of each pant leg and at the top of the waist of the pants. (This is a do as I say and not as I do step. I didn't think about gathering the waist of the pants of mine until I was already starting to sew the waistband on...so I hand gathered as I went...and not very evenly. OOPS! Lesson learned!!) Attach a pant cuff to each pant leg matching up the seam of the cuff to the inseam of the pant. Attach the waistband to the waist of the pants matching up the seam to the center rise seam in the back of the pants. Voila! Adorable joggers!!!

Aren't they cute!? Now put them either on your little model or wear them yourself if you made them for you!! SO fun and comfy!
           


I hope you enjoyed this latest tutorial!! Now go make some cute pants! :D

Thursday, December 17, 2015

Jocole Basic Leggings into Pajama Pants

Jocole Basic Leggings

I am so happy to share a tutorial from Skirt Fixation with you today.  If you've never visited Skirt Fixation, you should go check Audrey out.  Audrey made a pajama set from the Basic Leggings and Peplum top.  I love that Jocole patterns are so easily modified for just about anything you want to make.  Without further ado, Audrey has some tips to share!


Hi Jocole pattern lovers from a fellow Jocole fan! This is Audrey from Skirt Fixation, and I’ve sewn up ALL (but one...gotta work on that) of the Jocole skirt patterns, and the Peplum top multiple times. Today I have a tutorial for you on how to convert the Jocole Basic Leggings pattern into pajama pants. Because everyone’s making pj’s this time of year, and you deserve some pretty new ones too. Let’s get started.

Step 1: Cut out a 2 cuff pieces. This is sort of play it by ear. I tried on a shirt I’d made around my ankle to see how a wrist cuff worked on my ankle. Turned out perfectly, so I just used the wristband piece from another pattern. If it’s too tight, add width.  You will also want to shorten the length of your leg piece by 1/2 the amount of your cuff piece. Just do this right at the bottom of the leg.Pajama Pants tutorial by Skirt Fixation   Step 2: Fold cuff piece in 1/2, WRONG sides together. Pajama Pants tutorial by Skirt Fixation Step 3: Pin cuff to bottom of leggings. The cuff will be smaller than the leg, and need to be evenly stretched to fit. Pajama Pants tutorial by Skirt Fixation Step 4: Sew cuff to bottom of leggings. You will need to stretch the cuff slightly as you sew. Pajama Pants tutorial by Skirt Fixation Step 5: Stitch the inseam on the leggings and the cuff. Pajama Pants tutorial by Skirt Fixation Step 6: After you stitch your inseam, I recommend topstiching 1/8 from the seam allowance as recommended to catch that seam and make those pajama pants nice and cozy! Complete the instructions to assemble the Basic Leggings pattern. Pajama Pants tutorial by Skirt Fixation That’s it! Simple, right? If you want to see the matching top I made and the other pair of pajamas I made for my daughter, please visit us at Skirt Fixation. Sweet dreams!

Tuesday, November 10, 2015

Skinny Pants Sew Along Day 4

Skinny Pants Sew Along

Day 4

Today we finish the Skinny Pants.  I hope you have enjoyed sewing with me and are loving your Skinny Pants!

Simple steps for today:

1.  Sew leg side seams.

2.  Sew crotch together.

3.  Add waistband and hem pants.


You are finished!  Congratulations!  Now, lets see some photos of Skinny Pants in the sewing group.  See you soon.

XOXO,

Kara

Monday, November 09, 2015

Skinny Pants Sew Along Day 3

Skinny Pants Sew Along

Day 3

Hello again!  I hope you were able to get your practice pants absolutely perfect.  We are now ready to sew up the pants.  This is going to take just a few steps and less than 15 minutes!

First, cut out your pants and pocket pattern pieces.  You can also see some modifications for High Waisted and Flat Front Skinny Pants below.  If you want to make modifications now is the time, before you cut out the pattern pieces.

Let's start with the pockets today and finish the pants tomorrow.

If you are making the patch pockets for the front, it's as easy as:
1.  sewing the 2 pieces (for each pocket) together
2.  flip them right side out and iron
3.  topstitch the curve if desired
4.  place pockets at markings.

If you are making the back pockets:

You can find very detailed instructions and photos for the back pockets here.

You can also find instructions for Inset Pockets here.  Below is an example of inset pockets.


Here are a few more pocket tutorials we have done in case you want to read more:


We'll finish up the Skinny Pants tomorrow.

XOXO,
Kara

Thursday, November 05, 2015

Skinny Pants Sew Along Day 2

Skinny Pants Sew Along Day 2


Day 2 Muslin

Today we are working on the muslin for the Skinny Pants.

1.  Use any old fabric that is something you wouldn't use for anything else.

2.  Cut out pants legs according to the pattern pieces.  I traced the pattern in my size onto freezer paper.   If you are unsure of the size, make the bigger size.  You can always cut more off but we can't add any on.



3.  Baste pant legs together at the sides, inseam and crotch.  Be sure to use a long stitch length so that you can rip it out later.

4.  Try on the pants.  

5.  We are looking for areas of the pants that do not fit properly.  Pinch the fabric together at the places that are too big.  

6.  You can see that I used a fabric pencil to mark the areas that are too big.  You can also use pins or fabric markers.


 Be sure to mark on both front and back pattern pieces.


The waist was big on me so I pinched the sides and back together to get them to fit better.  Be careful not to make them too tight so they can be slipped on and off easily.



7.  Carefully remove the pants if you have pins in them.

8.  You can use a pair of your favorite jeans to be sure the Skinnies look right.

9.  Seam rip all seams so that you have just pieces.


10.  Transfer all markings onto the pattern.  You can see that I have marked on the waist and outside of the leg pieces.


You now have the perfect pair of pants, it's that easy.  If you only want to tackle part of this project today, you can pick back up tomorrow, we only have the pockets to do.

Wednesday, November 04, 2015

Skinny Pants Sew Along Day 1 Planning

Skinny Pants Sew Along Day 1


Are you ready???  Did you buy the Jocole Skinny Pants pattern?  If not, hurry and go purchase the women's version here or the girls version here.

And just so you don't forget, look how cute the Skinny Pants are......

 

Schedule for Skinny Pants Sew Along

Day 1:  Purchase fabric and pattern.  Put together pattern and cut fabric.

Day 2:  Make muslin.

Day 3:  Cut and Sew pockets.

Day 4:  Sew Legs and Waistband

Day 1

1.  Purchase pattern and fabric (be sure you have fabric to make a muslin).

2.  Cut and tape pattern pieces.  If you are unsure about sizing, go up a size so that you can fit the pants exactly to your body.

3.  Cut muslin fabric.

Tomorrow we will put the muslin together.  This step is SUPER important because skinny pants fit everyone differently.  We don't want to waste fabric so let's be sure everything fits before you use the good stuff.  :)    See you tomorrow!!!

XOXO,

Kara


Thursday, October 29, 2015

Jocole Skinny Pants Sew Along

Jocole Skinny Pants Sew Along

and coupon code!


Are you ready for another sew along?  Let's sew the Ladies and/or Girls Skinny Pants.  We will begin the sew along on Wednesday, November 4.  Be sure to grab your pattern/s and check back here Monday for the schedule.  Need a coupon code?  Here are the details....







Save up to 25% with Jocole's Skinny Pants Sew Along.

Your entire cart is 25% off, excluding the Ladies Classic Knit Tee.  

Starts:  Thursday, October 29

Ends:  Tuesday, November 3rd at 11:59pm PST.

Use the code "MamaWantsSomePants" during checkout.  See you back here next week!



XOXO,

Kara