I made a pattern after being too lazy to find a good one online for free to follow so I thought I would share how I did this.
I googled measurements for newborn and took the averages from each place to come up with good measurements. Bearing in mind, I got told I will be expecting another large (9-10lb) baby again. He's a little chunky bum already (only 21 weeks).
You will need:
-Knit fabric (mine was only 1 way stretch, it worked fine)
-Ribbing (mine was from the bargain bin for cheap, YAY)
-Sewing essentials (sewing machine, scissors, pins etc...)
PATTERN:
First make your pattern, since I don't know how to upload a file in the right sizing percentage. I might figure it out one day.
If you make it look like my one, drawing it planning to cut on the fold. The full waist measurement will be approx 13" so the bit you draw for the waist needs to be about 3.5" I did not include seam allowance into my pattern, I find it easier to just cut it, especially when using knits.
Drop the crotch down as much as you like, I will be using cloth diapers so I dropped mine down 6.5". There is no way to get a full harem pant look when using cloth diapers, I'm sure.
The total length of my pattern is 11.5" so go down from the bottom of the crotch approximately 5" to the ankle (on a slope). Check below for the kind of angle you want. Modify to your liking though.
For the ankle measurements, I just winged it. It looks about right when finished, if you have a baby to measure though, do that. I did mine 3" Remember, that's not including seam allowances.
CUTTING:
Cut out your pattern, obviously. Fold over your fabric, you only need a tiny bit folded over as these are pants for very little people (: 6 inches should be plenty for 1/4 inch seam allowances.
Place your pattern onto the fabric with the crotch side on the fold. Pin it, if you find that easier to cut (I do).
Cut 2 of these pieces, keeping the pattern the same way. There is no need to flip it over, these are simple little pants.
You should now have 2 pieces cut out that look something like this:
Unfortunately at the bottom there must have been a little snip in the fabric so I will end up having a shorter leg or band around the bottom, but hey, things happen.
Now place right sides together like so:
SEWING:
Pin and sew along the legs and inside the crotch area. (Black lines) Remember to use a ball point needle and do a zig zag stich. I only just invested in some new needles, some of which are ball point and I don't want to cry every time I sew knits now, hooray!
Trim the edges as much as you like and turn in the right way now.
This is where it gets a little confusing. I am new to working with rib and might do some things wrong, if you know how to do this better, go for it!
You will need 2 pieces of ribbing for the ankle bands. I just cut one piece about 5.5" long and 2.5" wide if you understand that. Now cut that in half about where my tape measure shows about 2.75".
Turn both pieces so right sides are facing together and sew along the raw side opposite the fold.
Now fold in half so the right side is face up on both sides. Ignore the chubby, swollen pregnant fingers.
Place the pieces of ribbing onto your pants so the raw sides are near each other.
Place the pants inside the ribbing, matching up the seams. Stretch out the fabric, making sure each half way point matches up and pin it together.
Didn't realize all my pins were blue, that never happens! Anyway, do this to both sides.
Sew around them, this is pretty tricky because they are so little. Remember to stretch your fabric as you go so the pant fabric and the ribbing match up when finished.
Unfortunately mine look a little silly because the ankle band is very little due to that little snip in the fabric. Make sure to use not much more than a 1/4" seam allowance when sewing. It will look nicer than mine do.
This is the comparison between the two different pairs I made, the smaller band looks a little silly but will still do the same job.
Now it's time to do the waistband. I cut out 6.75" of the ribbing. Making it 3.75" wide, sew along the short side with a small seam allowance, making sure right sides are together. I don't know if most ribbing matters which side shows, but mine has one side that looks nicer than the other. I am not a ribbing expert, like I said!
Just like the ankle bands, pin the pant fabric inside of the ribbing, raw edges near each other. Match up the hems on each side and pin at each half way point with which ever method works best for you. I added my new little labels I made myself this morning.
Tidy up any raw edges as you would like to. But I am tired so I just make sure there are no loose threads that could cut off circulation to toes or legs or anything. Your little pants should be finished now! I hope they fit your wee one. Cloth bum or regular nappy bum. I also hope they fit my little fatty when he arrives!
Let me know how these turned out for you, and if there is anything to change for the next attempt.
Oh my goodness, I can't wait until there is a little (or not so little) baby sitting inside those pants and diapers I made! I will be counting down the days. 134 days to go!
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