Now you all consider me a pretty snappy dresser
of course.
But being that I have the top half of the
wardrobe all dialed in, I started thinking,
I’ve got to have something great to wear
below.
And I thought, hey, what about hot pants?
But even though I’m a big fan of 70’s
music, I wasn’t into pleather.
But look what I came up with.
Can you believe it?
See I told you they were hot.
And of course, this new fantastic fabric from
Michael Miller.
It’s a border print called flames.
It was my inspiration.
And I just couldn’t resist making this cool
pair of pants out of it.
Now, I want you to focus in today’s tutorial
on the actual construction.
Of course you’re going to need some sort
of a PJ pant pattern.
If you’ve got one you like, just use that.
Like I said, we’re talking construction
today.
And this is the one I’ve used for years.
It’s from Cindy Taylor Oates.
And it’s Sew Easy Pajama Pants.
And the thing I liked about it was all the
sizes were in the book, right?
You’ll also need a little bit of a non-rolling,
let me say that again, a non-rolling elastic.
That keeps it comfortable on your waistband.
And don’t worry, I’ve already filled out
your shopping list.
All of these supplies are available at MSQC.
And there’s a link in the description below.
Let’s get moving into the actual pattern
so you know what to do next.
Let me get this stuff out of our way.
The fun thing with Cindy’s book is all of
the pattern sizes are all full size but in
order to save them all, I’m going to encourage
you to go in and pop your staples out if you’re
working out of a book.
And go ahead and remove the pattern entirely,
right?
And safely without damaging the book.
Once you’ve got that taken care of the next
key is to find it.
Now PJ pants come with a front leg and a back
leg and the cut is different so you’re going
to be making them individually.
And for me, I am a size medium for this particular
pant.
And I actually took a pair of PJ’s that
I love and laid it on top of my pants first
just to kind of get an eyeball.
Something that I already knew fit versus something
I’m going to try to make fit, right?
Of course this is not a pair of suit slacks
either so we have a little bit of wiggle room.
Now once you have it all taken out of the
book, this would happen to be a two page,
so you’re going to find the lower back and
the upper back.
There’s a nice grain line and then mark
these together.
You can tape them or pin them if you need.
What I really, really want you to hear is
don’t cut into this.
Please do not cut into this.
The best way to do this is now to take a piece
of butcher paper or the wonderful pattern
tracing paper.
Lay it out on top.
You’ll notice I even put the straight of
grain mark.
Straight of grain, while working with garment,
is very important because it keeps everything
flowing correctly.
Especially if you’re dealing with print
and/or stuff that has nap.
So something else to consider being that we’re
focused on construction today, right?
So I’ve got my straight of grain.
I’ve got this all traced.
This now becomes the working pattern for the
size medium.
This I can put all the other sizes still together
which is fantastic because my kids want PJ’s
too of course.
Now once that’s done, check this out.
Now that you have your particular size already
prepared, and as I said, you have a back and
you also have a front.
We’re going to go ahead and cut out both
legs at once on our fabric.
So let me just go ahead and slide this part
now out of the way because I’ve already
got those ones cut out.
I’ll bring them into camera in just a moment.
Something kind of important here.
You want to go ahead and fold your fabrics
right sides together.
As you can see we’re looking at the back
side of this fabric, right?
And then I’ve also laid it straight of grain.
Here’s my grain line.
And I also have the straight of the pattern
along the straight open edge and the fold
over here to maximize scraps.
Sometimes these scraps could be used for pockets
or other parts of any kind of project obviously.
One of the things I actually really like about
PJ pants, these ones have no pockets and no
fly so I don’t even call them PJ pants.
I call them my yoga pants.
Now, I’m just going to go ahead and cut
this with my rotary cutter.
Of course, scissors work nice.
And if you’re using a pattern at home that
has little notches or triangles along the
edge, don’t cut those off.
Those are there for a reason.
It helps you get things lined up.
Ok, now one of the things we’re also going
to be doing in today’s tutorial, is we’re
going to be setting up to do French seams.
So as I’m cutting this a little bit wonky,
it doesn’t have to be exactly perfect on
the edges because it’s going to be hidden
and bound within those French seams, ok?
Something else to point out real quick.
I did pin my pattern to my fabric so it wasn’t
shifting as I was working.
And the last thing I want to do is I’m going
to go ahead and grab myself a sharpie marker.
And on the inside or the wrong side of the
fabric, at the very top, I’m going to go
ahead and label FRONT or at least an F and
FRONT again.
I once made a pair of pants and it had such
a high waist set up for the elastic, I accidentally
stitched the pockets down into the calf.
That will be a tutorial for another day.
Not one I recommend doing.
But once I have that all dialed in and labeled
so that I can keep all my parts and pieces
together, we’re going to start by stitching
our inseams together of a front panel and
a back panel.
And so we’re going to do it because we’re
doing French seams we’re going to start
with our right sides out.
So check this out, I’m going to set aside
one of my fronts right now, ok?
And then I’m going to find the matching
back piece.
It comes in here, and when I say matching
I mean it’s going to match in the crotch.
And because this is now both right sides up,
that is the wrong piece.
This is.
So this comes in real nice like here, ok?
And I’m lining up both the bottom edge and
the crotch.
We’re just going to do just from the bottom
up to the point where it would meet.
We’re going to come over here and with a
quarter inch seam allowance, I’m going to
stitch on the right sides of the fabrics to
create that French seam start up.
Ok, so just a nice, really petite seam allowance.
And I’m going to go ahead and stitch this
on both legs.
Now that the second leg is done, we’re going
to go ahead and join both pieces to build
that front or rear crotch seam.
So when we did a front and back the first
time, now you’re looking for your front
and front.
And it’s going to be this horseshoe in here.
And yes, you’re doing all of the raw edging
first and then we are doing the French seam
final.
So by laying in here, it looks correct but
my double check is, it says FRONT.
It says FRONT.
It says BACK and BACK.
So I am actually sewing the correct pieces
together.
Still with that quarter inch seam allowance
and still on the right sides of the fabrics
or wrong sides together right now.
So we’re still prepping to be able to do
French seams and that’s going to be the
next step right after this.
Alright, I have that crotch seam all joined,
front and back now.
And this is where it starts to form like a
giant H. And we’re going to go ahead and
do our French seams.
So one of the things I want to go ahead and
do is press nice and crisp.
And the French seam is done by sewing now
the right sides together with a larger seam
allowance.
So let me see if I can get you a good angle
on this, ok?
And I’m getting my iron nice and heated
up.
And I’m kind of rolling with my fingers,
kind of pre-pressing this to the edge here.
Just like that.
Now a lot of times, and of course you all
know that I’m much more of a quilt maker
than a garment guy, that’s why we’re starting
on pajama pants, right?
But garment construction is really best suited
at a little slower pace, lots of pins, lots
of pressing, lots of clean cutting, right?
So if you want your stuff to really fit nice
you should take the time and do it correctly.
Ok, so I’m setting that seam.
Now that I have it all pressed nice and crisp,
we’re going to do that French seam with
a half inch seam allowance.
And we’re going to up the inseam back around
first and then we’re going to press and
do the crotch second.
So it’s a two-part format.
And I’m just using the stitch plate on my
machine so that I have now about a half of
an inch.
So as I start going here.
Let me show you how this finishes out.
Here’s a good close up of those French seams
already finished.
Now you can see, it’s enclosed all of the
raw edge something and as I wash these, they’re
going to wear perfectly.
So again, up the inseam first.
And then I came around the crotch seam of
course.
And you can see that I’ve even caught that
in there.
That doesn’t make anything that will be
uncomfortable or anything.
So that is all done.
The inseam, crotch, all finished, ready to
go.
Next step is going to go ahead and this trick
I love.
We’re going to the bottom of the legs before
we put them together so we don’t have to
use the free arm of the machine later on.
So what I’m trying to say, and because I
was doing a border print I maximized the length
of my fabric for my pattern.
I’m using the selvedge.
Of course, a lot of folks, your pants will
finish looking like this.
You won’t have used the selvedge but I needed
it for my size.
The selvedge is not going to unravel so I’ve
just folded it up and I’ve double stitched
it here.
Let me show you.
So I’ve taken that raw edge, once the French
seam was done.
And I like to, as I said, press with every
step when I’m doing garment.
So we’re going to give this a nice little
security push there.
A little heated push.
Now I’m going to go back to the sewing machine.
And I first do a stitch across the top edge.
And then I’m going to do a stitch across
the bottom edge and that is simply just to
make it look cool, a little decoration there.
Now one of the wonderful things about some
sewing machines, you’ve been asking in the
comments, I’ve seen it.
Look at this thing.
I’m talking at regular pace but I’m sewing
in caffeinated mode.
That’s right the Baby Lock Jane comes with
a built in caffeinated mode.
The button is not labeled correctly but I’m
pretty sure it’s caffeinated mode.
So again, back to the bottom here to make
it look cool.
And this will definitely finish the bottom
leg.
And the bonus thread cutter.
So just like that it’s finished.
Super, super easy.
Next step of construction and take the time
to unpack it all so you get it right.
Is going to be set up for French seams on
the outer leg seam well.
So I’m turning it again right sides out.
Or wrong sides together.
And I’m going to join down here starting
at the bottom.
And this time I’m going to be able to go
all the way from the bottom of the leg and
all the way up to the top so it ends up right
here.
I’m just kind of organizing it as I get
ready to put it into the sewing machine.
And again because it’s a French seam, it’s
that narrow seam allowance, like a quarter
of an inch to start and we’ll finish with
a half inch seam allowances.
Here we go.
Ok, now that the second leg is all stitched
together as well, you should have something
that looks an awful lot like this.
We get to turn it back to wrong sides out
to finish the outer seam with a French seam
again.
And then all we have to still finish up is
our waistband, which is going to be super
easy as well.
So the French seam, as a reminder, is going
to be that half inch seam allowance.
Alright as I’m finishing that second outer
seam with a French seam, I don’t know if
I pointed out earlier or not but we are certainly
using polyester thread in today’s tutorial.
I like poly threads for my garment work, correct.
Now it is time for the waistband.
And the waistband is going to be two simple
steps.
The first step, I am going to finger turn
and then press with my iron here in a second.
Just about a quarter inch under.
That’s going to hold that raw edge in place
while I build the casing for the elastic.
A lot of you may have, I’ll be talking while
we’re pressing here.
A lot of you may have a PJ pant pattern which
actually allows for a drawstring as well.
So at this point if you’re using a drawstring
in the construction of yours, you’re probably
putting in some sort of buttonhole.
That buttonhole will allow the drawstring
to come out.
Make sure you’re putting it in the front
of your pants.
Nothing is harder than tying your pants behind
your back, right?
And there’s also some other fun elastics
out there I know especially with some of the
ladies pants, they’re actually joining the
elastic on the outside nowadays of the pants.
So there’s all kinds of ways to do your
waist.
And again I’m just setting this little seam.
It’s just going to hold everything in place
while we get ready to build that casing to
put our elastic in.
Once we have that tacked in most places, we’re
going to head back over to the sewing machine
and we’re going to go all the way around.
We don’t need to leave any openings in this
part.
It doesn’t have to be too pretty either.
The top edge should be prettier than the bottom
edge.
The top edge here better than the bottom edge
down here.
The other things that this stitch is doing
is helping secure those side seams so they
won’t get in the way of our elastic and/or
our drawstring when we’re feeding them through
later on.
So that’s another reason I like to do this.
And also sewing around this top band is kind
of like the great equalizer to areas where
maybe it was a little bit longer at the finish
than one of the other sides.
Again, this will never show as the finished
product but it’s a nice way to make it all
nice and smooth.
As we’re getting ready to set that top casing.
Ok, and while we’re having follow up information,
I bet you I forgot to tell you I pre-washed
this fabric twice before I ever cut it out.
And that’s also another fantastic rule of
thumb when you’re doing garment as well.
So you want to find about an inch and a half
roll down.
I’m using about an inch wide elastic.
I don’t want it real tight in there.
I want it to be able to gather nicely.
So I’m coming down about an inch and a quarter,
inch and a half.
And my thumbs and my fingers right now are
grabbing the seam allowances on the sides
of the legs or those outer seams.
So that’s helping me keep everything nice
and secure.
Then I’m going to come over here to the,
the machine.
Now if you have a free arm on your sewing
machine, this would actually be a great time
to go ahead and have that free arm off so
it’s a little easier.
I don’t have a free arm on this machine
so what I’ve done is I’ve tucked the bottom
fabric underneath.
I want to make sure I only am sewing the layers
I want to be sewing.
I’ve gone about an inch down from the casing.
And I’m going to leave an opening to slide
the elastic in in the front of the pant.
And I’m actually adjusting myself right
now because I don’t want to leave the opening
over the inseam for the crotch because it
just makes life a little difficult later on
when I’m pulling the elastic through.
Ok, I am ready to now build the casing.
I’m going to take a couple stitches.
And we’re going to be trying these on.
So I backstitch to hold it secure.
And this seam really does count.
Notice the pace I’m stitching at is definitely
slowed down.
This one is important so we want it to look
really nice.
We’re getting ready to approach the opening
that we’re going to leave to slide our elastic
in, just to point out one of the things I’m
really doing with my fingers is making sure
that my seam from the French seam is pressed
nice and flat as I stitch over it so I’m
not creating a wall inside of there so it’s
hard to push the elastic through.
And I’m going to leave about a two inch
opening.
And I’m going to do some backstiching and
cut that thread.
And now it is time to go ahead and put the
elastic in.
Once the elastic is in, I want to try these
on so I’m turning them right sides out.
Let’s do it like this.
And then I want to go ahead and open my elastic.
Now for sizing your elastic, and you never
ask a lady her age, and you don’t ever ask
anyone their waist size so simply take the
size pair of pants you like, cut your elastic
to that length.
You don’t have to put that in the comments
below.
You’re going to start with it long so it’s
easy to fit.
And then we’re going to size it down on
location.
I will take them back off to stitch it closed
of course.
So our big old safety pin.
Here’s a two-part trick, if you’ve never
fed elastic into a casing before, I would
like you to try this trick as well.
First we’re going to start by pinning the
elastic that you’re not using that side,
to the outside of the pant.
So that you don’t pull it all the way through.
Now I’m going inside of the casing with
the bigger safety pin and I’m just going
to start working this through.
And it’s ok if it bunches up and pull.
Bunch and pull.
We’re going to go ahead and try these on.
Size them just right.
So remember I told you to start with your
waist size.
And if you start with elastic at your waist
size, it’s not going to hold your pants
up, ok?
So once you have it there, you’re going
to sneak into your pants.
Once they’re on, come back to the front
and get that union of the two pieces of elastic.
And now you can start to cinch it up until
it fits nicely, the way that you want it to
hold, alright?
At that point you will be making an adjustment
to the elastic itself.
And so what I do is usually it’s about three
or four inches that you’re going to lose.
So I’ve already figured it out, I need that
much cut off, ok?
Now what I’m going to do is I’m just going
to put these two seams.
Make sure that your elastic has not twisted
around, ok?
I’m going to come over to my sewing machine
and secure these two pieces of elastic.
If I can reach it, oh ya, thumbs down and
everything.
Just need a little stitching at first.
Of course I’ll backstitch to really hold
that.
And I’ll do it on the other end of the tail
also.
Right here.
Drop that presser foot again and just stitching
the elastic only I’m hoping.
And a backstitch, fantastic.
So the elastic is now secure at the perfect
size to hold your pants up.
It goes back into the casing.
I take all the extra fabric and massage it
out of the way.
And now I’m just going to finish this stitching
by machine.
And I’m doing my best to not stitch on the
elastic itself.
I want my elastic to be able to travel nicely.
Topstitching this closed.
Now that that casing is closed, you have one
of the coolest pair of hot pants in town.
As a matter of fact, not only could you wear
these all around town but feel free to slide
into them, kick back on the couch and we’ll
see you next time here at Man Sewing.