Bandana Pants Tutorial

My girls were in need of some new pants and shorts for summer - so I started in making Bandana Pants.  They're cool, they're comfortable and definitely fashionable!  My girls love them - and enjoy choosing their colors of bandana for their new duds.

Pants and shorts are both easy - I'll include a quick tutorial for each.

For Pants:
2 bandanas
elastic
sewing machine
scissors

Line the bandanas up so that they are square with each other.  My bandanas are 22 inches square - ish.  Sometimes they're not quite square, depending on what brand/how expensive, etc.  I tend toward the cheaper ones if possible.  But for bottoms you want thicker bandanas.

Fold the lined up bandanas in half lengthwise (hot dog style for you school teachers).  Measure 1 inch in from the side edge (NOT THE FOLD) and about 10-12 inches down depending on your child's crotch measurement.  For a 1-3 yo I'd use 10"-11", 11"-12" for 4 and up.  I make a small cut with my scissors at each spot then connect the two with a J shaped cut.

Unfold the pants and sew up both Js using your machine.  Zig zag or surge over the edge if desired to finish it off inside.

Fold the pants now so that the bottoms of each leg of the pants line up (each bandana is 1 leg).  Sew from the bottom of 1 leg to the bottom of the other all the way around the crotch of the pants.  Now they're starting to look like pants!

Roll down the top of the pants approximately 3/4 of an inch and stitch leaving a 1-2" space unstitched to tread in the elastic for the waistband.  Thread the 1/2 inch elastic through the casing and stitch ends together.  Stitch opening closed.


For Shorts:

1 Bandana needed
elastic
sewing machine
scissors

Start by cutting the bandana in half so that you have two identical rectangles, cut edges will form the waist band of the shorts.

Follow directions for pants above.  The crotch/inside leg seam will only be 1-2 inches long as to leave enough room for the bottom in the shorts.

No need to hem the bottom of the pants, they've already got that great rolled edge from the edge of the bandana.

Now go try these on your little one and let them get their groove on!