It began in pregnancy- wondering if there could possibly be a pair of pants out there that neither dug into my ever expanding belly nor fell off of my rear in an effort to sit “under” a belly that slipped lower every day. If such a pair existed, they only fit for a few days or hours before something shifted. Then, nesting combined with an almost primal urge to create, and I waddled through novelty stores and clothing shops looking for inspiration for the few sewing nights I had left before my evenings would be filled once more with diapers and milk leaks.
It was amidst racks of silken imports on one of these nights when I found them. Wrap pants. It was like the Holy Grail of clothing for pregnancy. Not labeled for maternity with some cheesy title trying to make “big as a house” sound nice, but not cut for the body of a twenty-something runway model, I spread out the fabric and watched in awe as it kept coming. My eyes probably welled up a bit, and I took in all of the information I could before waddling out quickly (read: awkwardly), grabbing my family and buzzing with shapes and numbers all the way home.
What emerged that night, from a yellow-flowered hand-me-down bed sheet from the 1950s, was nothing short of life changing. If you can sew a straight line and have grown weary of hiking your pants up every time you breathe, this tutorial is for you.
MATERIALS:
-2 Large Rectangles of fabric. Stretchier fabrics will need to be retied throughout the day, and stiff fabrics will not lay smoothly. Fine a happy medium for what you are wanting. Cotton jersey works nicely, as does that swishy fabric that hippie skirts are made of. Whatever it’s called, I like it. I make mine about 35” wide to last in pregnancy and not be too wide afterward. If they weren’t for maternity as well, I’d probably make them a bit narrower. Hold it around your waist, and you’ll want to see it wrap around to your mid thigh on either side. Both rectangles should be the same width. Length varies depending on whether you want pants, capris or shorts.
-4 Long, Narrow Rectangles of fabric. These should be about 3-6” wide and long enough to wrap from your hips or mid thigh to the front to tie. If you’d like, you can make two of them shorter to differentiate the front from the back. I find it super comfortable to wrap the front straps all the way around my body and tie in the front (see video below), so you may want to take that in consideration for the longer ones.
-Thread, sewing machine, scissors, measuring tape and about 30 minutes.
INSTRUCTIONS:
In order to make the fit just right, stand up with your measuring tape. Put one end in the middle of your waistband in the front, and pull the back end up to the middle of the waistband in the back. This is the “rise”- how much space you need from the waistband to where the legs start. Add a couple of inches for a waist allotment. For me, this translated into a 36” rise plus 2” allotment- 38”. Halve that number, measure down that far into the middle of a large rectangle and mark it. (18” from the top for me.)
1. Cut right up the middle of the rectangle to the marker, then do the same thing on the other rectangle.
Your two rectangles should now be shaped like very, very large pants.
2. Place the two pieces together, with right sides facing each other. You are going to sew around the lines you just cut, in that “V” shape. This will be your inseam. You can start at the top of the V and go down, then go back and do the same at the other side. Or, you can start at the bottom and go up and then down in one shot. Either way, be sure that your turn at the top of the V is even. You don’t want to have a hole there, or a bunchy crotch. Once this is done, you will have a pair of “pants” that are open on the outsides.
3. Next, you want to make your straps. Grab a narrow rectangle, fold it in half with the right sides in, then sew from top to bottom about ½ inch from the open edge. Do this for all four.
Fold a strap in half, then sew straight down it from top to bottom. Then, turn it inside out.
4. Now, you need to turn them right side out. The wider the strap, the easier it is.
If you made both short and long straps, grab a matching pair and gear up to make the waist bands.
5. Fold the waistband down, and if you like to pin, now is the time to do it. Stick one strap about one inch into the side you are starting on, and sew the waistband down. Before you get to the end, stick the other strap into that end. Finish it up, then repeat on the other side..
Slide your straps inside the edge as you sew the waist band down
Your pants should now have straps attached to the waistband, a joined inseam and open sides….and, if your fabric is one that won’t fray, that’s it! If your fabric might fray, you will want to hem down the sides of the open edges.
I store mine like this, with all four straps tied together:
Enjoy! Oh, and before you spend 20 minutes in the bathroom trying to figure out how to wear the things, you might just want to spend just a couple watching this video:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruHr_5ZlKDk[/youtube]
