We are so excited to have a boys' woven skinny pants pattern at CKC now! I'm sure Ryker's will quickly become a trendy staple for your little guy! Today we are going to show you how to get exactly the right fit for your boy, even if he is not standard sized.
If your boy has wider-than-average legs, you will want to make the pants one size larger for the width and then follow the tutorial below.
And if your boy has thinner-than-average legs, you will want to make his usual size and then follow the same tutorial below.
So either way, you're going to get what you need from today's tutorial!
To begin, you will sew Ryker's pants for your boy as instructed in the pattern. You may finish the pants completely before doing the steps below, or you may choose to make the adjustments before adding the waist band and hemming. It is more traditional to make adjustments before finishing the pants (and you will want to if you sized up), but I often like to complete the pants first so I will know exactly where they will sit on his hips. If you make the pants according to his size on the chart, you shouldn't have to adjust any of the waistband.
For our tutorial today, I purposely cut the pieces for my son's pants extra wide at each side seam (except for the waist) so we would have something obvious to work with. The changes you make to your pants may be more subtle that what I will show below.
The first step is to put the pants on your child. If you are happy with the fit then you don't need to do anything. If you want them to be a bit slimmer though, go ahead and pinch the sides of the pants to decide where you want them to be more slim. You will want to leave some room for your child to move around and play, of course.
Now take the pants off, turn them wrong side out, and put them back on again.
Pinch the top of the first area you decided to slim and then place a pin that holds that excess. See photo above. Do not make the fabric skin tight; just snug.
Continue pinning down the pants wherever you want to slim. You may be slimming only at the calves, or knees, or entire leg.
You may also choose to slim from the inside of the leg using the same method, but it is usually fine (and easier) to slim just the outside.
Repeat these steps on the opposite leg, trying make the sides match as closely as possible. Make sure you leave enough room at the ankles to get the pants on and off!
When you are happy with the fit, have your child carefully lie down so you can gently remove the pants without turning any of the straight pins in toward the legs! It may seem easier to do standing up, but trust me, it's not. You don't want to bend their legs at all while removing the pants!
(You should probably use safety pins or fabric clips for a younger child. Mine is old enough to hold still so I prefer straight pins.)
This is the important part! Using a long basting stitch, sew just along each row of pins, as shown in red. You can choose whether you sew inside or outside of the pins; just make sure you do the same thing on both sides, removing the pins as you go. You will begin and end each set of stitches right at the original seam line so it will be a neat finish on the outside.
Turn the pants right side out again and try them on your model. They should be a slimmer fit now! If you are not happy with the fit, remove the long basting stitches and try again, leaving more or less room than before.
Once you are happy with the fit, turn the pants wrong side out again and go back over the basting stitches using your regular sewing stitch so they will hold. You may trim the excess fabric and finish the edges inside, or just leave it.
Now you can put the pants on your child one last time and admire your work! There's nothing better than a pair of woven skinny pants that fit just right! Enjoy your Ryker's!
Let's Create! ~ Kristen
