Katie Skoog is the head of our baby girl's department at CKC, and today she has a tutorial for us that has been requested many, many times! And this one's not just for the little girls - it is perfect for you and me too! Here's Katie:
Today I am going to show you how to turn Bridgette’s Palazzo pants into yoga waist band shorts (and straight leg pants). Being pregnant during the summer and only having one pair of shorts (with paint all over them) was not going to work for me! I love my stretchy pants, it is pretty much all I wear these days but I really wanted some comfy shorts to wear. I knew I wanted a yoga waistband style so what did I do????? I took Women’s Bridgette’s pants and used the measurements for the waistband from Women’s Wendy’s – BAM – comfy perfection!!! Now, it didn’t come without mistakes so I am here to show you how I made them and some tips / advice I had to figure out along the way. These are great for maternity shorts and pants but they are not just for pregos! Using the Wendy’s waistband, you can fold the waistband over or if you are like me when pregnant, I love having it cover my whole belly…. Everyone loves a cute pair of yoga shorts & pants! Now you can make them using your favorite fabrics, even wovens!
First, print out your pattern pieces for Bridgette’s Palazzo
pants (they will look like shorts). Using the size chart as a guide, figure out
what size you need to make. My measurements were right between medium and large
so I went with the Large as I am pregnant and we all know I am not getting any
smaller the next few months….
Once you have your pattern pieces printed out, fold your
fabric so you are cutting 2 pieces on the fold. Now, we have the option to slim
them a bit. I of course decided to slim them using an older blog post on how to
slim kids leggings, but for some reason I decided to do an entire inch (which
is really 4” when all said and done). BAD IDEA if you don’t prewash and have
hips….. haha. The final shorts fit perfect but I washed and dried them and of
course they shrunk up (no, it couldn’t have been me getting bigger!!!! Okay –
maybe a little…) I did learn on my second pair that slimming .5” is okay but
wouldn’t recommend doing more (remember, you can always take in, it is harder
to add more fabric!!!) Also, as you can see in my shorts picture, my shorts are
pretty short, I took 2” off the bottom of the pattern for those shorts, they
ended up too short for my liking so on my other ones (which have mysteriously
disappeared….) I just used the bottom of the pattern for the length and it was
perfect.
Next, on the Bridgette’s, you can see that the inseam is
curved, we cannot have that, it needs to be straight up and down otherwise
trying to sew your hem will be a pain in the booty (and end up wonky). So,
using the picture below as a guide, just make your inseam cut straight, no
curve.
Okay, how you should have your patter pieces all cut out the
way you want them. We are now going to lower the waistline for the yoga
waistband. This is optional but I REALLY recommend it, if you don’t, then you
will end up with a really saggy crotch area… not pretty. To do this, open your
fabric pieces and lay them flat with wrong sides touching. I wanted the fabric
portion of the shorts to end right under my belly, then that is where the knit
band will start. After making a few, I found that the best measurements for me
was tapering it 3” and 6”. So, on sides
that will be the back middle seam, measure down 3”. Now on the other side,
measure down 6”. Using a large ruler, match up your marks with the ruler, this
will give you the angle you need to cut. If you want the fabric portion to be a
little higher, you can do 2” and 5”. The picture below shows those shorts with
a 2.5” and 5” taper, I found that the fabric still came up a little higher than
I wanted, I wanted the yoga waistband to start right at my belly crease and
this put the fabric portion of the shorts in between my belly button and belly
crease.
YAY!!! Now it is time to sew them together, sew the shorts
along the two curves.
Now sew the inseam closed.
Now, we are going to hem up the legs, fold the fabric back
1”, then turn the fabric back an additional 1”. Sew the hem.
Okay, let’s get that yoga waistband on the shorts! Use the
measurements from your Wendy’s pattern for the waistband and cut out your knit.
Now, fold in half widthwise (right sides together) and sew up that seam.
Fold the yoga waistband in half with wrong sides together
(so the right sides will be out and your seam you just sewed will be on the
inside). The seam you sewed will be the center back, fold the waistband to find
the center front and mark with a pin (you will be pinning both knit layers to
the shorts). We want the front to lay flat, so measure about 3” on each side of
the center front pin, mark those with pins. We will start pinning the waistband
to the shorts, starting in the center front. Match up your center shorts seam
with your pin for the center front waistband. Now without stretching the knit
too much, pin the shorts 3” on each side (again, don’t stretch the knit or the
front won’t lay flat). Next, match up the center back shorts seam with the
center back waistband seam and pin. Now continue pinning the shorts to the
waistband, you will have to stretch the knit to fit the shorts. Once it is all
pinned, sew them together using your standard 3/8”. I prefer to use a triple
stretch stitch when using knit. It is more durable.
You are now done and have an amazingly comfortable pair of
shorts.
I also took Bridgette’s Palazzo pants and made just regular straight
leg pants from them. To do that, measure your inseam and add 2” (for the hem)
and just cut straight down that length.
Thank you, Katie! What a helpful tutorial that we can all use.
Isn't Katie adorable with her belly? (I hope she doesn't mind me saying that but it's true.) I hope you all go out and make yourself some comfy shorts or pants of your own.
Let's Create! ~ Kristen
