Sewing Tutorial: The easiest 10-minute stretch pants for kids

It is March here in Brisbane and the weather should soon be cooling down again after a long and very hot summer. Being such a temperate climate though, it never really gets "cold" here, especially during the day, so some light long pants are perfect for little kids who are always on the move.

Last year I made two pairs of these simple and cute little pantsfor my son and he has worn them more than any other item of clothing he owns! Perfect for active play at the park or at childcare and so comfy for daytime nap time. Best thing is that they are so easy to make.

STEP ONE

If you have used any of my other sewing tutorials, you will know that I like to keep them as simple as possible. For pants, that means they are made out of two pieces of fabric - one for each leg. So take a pair of existing pants/shorts, and your stretch fabric folded in half. Place the side of the pants along the folded edge and cut out one leg, remembering to add in seam allowances for the inner leg, centre and waistband - 1.5cm should be plenty, although for the waistband you will want to leave about 2cm depending on the width of your waist elastic.

You can see pictures on my other pants tutorials that show how this one leg is cut out. There is also a printable pattern on that page for the dinosaur pants, which will work for you if you do not have any good fitting pants to use as a guide.

STEP TWO

Take one of the legs and fold the fabric so that the right sides are together. Sew up along the inner leg to the groin and stop. Then do the same for the other leg.

STEP THREE

Keep your two legs right sides together and join the centres together - front centre and back centre - from the waist down to the groin.

STEP FOUR

The beauty of knit fabric is that it doesn't fray. This means that you're already almost finished! Unless you want a more finished look, you will not need to hem the ankle edges, and the waist band will only need to be folded over once.

So fold the waist band over about 2cm and pin along the seam edge. Sew, leaving a gap of about 2cm. 

STEP FIVE

Measure your child's waist with the elastic you plan to use, pulling it as tight as you would like it to be with the pants on. Cut it off, allowing an extra 2cm for seams and thread it through the waistband. Attach a safety pin to one end and use that to thread it through the band. Sew the two ends of the elastic together until secure, then close off the waistband by sewing the gap closed.

You are now finished! You could vary these by adding pockets or using a tie waist if you like. See my tutorial for adding pockets here.