Sew4u
Fast Easy & Fun Projects for New Sewers
Project: lounge pants
Difficulty level: easy
SBDF staffer Carole has been teaching her daughter, Rachel, to sew. this is a revisit of one of several of their sewing projects together.
pattern: McCalls M4650 or choose your own! (Just look for one with an elastic waist)
materials: 2 1/2 yds fabric
notions: matching thread, 1/2 in. elastic--measure a little longer than your waist for elastic
fabric used in project: Blue Crush rayon batik (sorry, no longer in stock)
Other suggested fabrics: lightweight rayons & cottons
SEWING TIP! Preparing your Fabric
A simple but great rule to good fitting clothes is to wash & dry your fabric FIRST in the same way you plan to care for your new lounge pants. This is called pre-treating or preparing your fabric. Pre-washing & drying will take care of any shrinkage that may happen. Don't skip this important step even if you are in a hurry. You will regret it when your lounge pants come out of the dryer smaller than when they went in!
To help Rachel, I did the pre-washing and drying step for her. Then I pinned it out. She did the cutting, wound the bobbin, and threaded the machine. I pinned the fronts to the backs on the inner and outer legs. She then sewed the four straight seams.
Rachel then finished those seams on my serger. For the elastic casing, I folded over the top edge one inch and pressed it. She serged that edge and then stitched it down, leaving room to insert the elastic.
To easily identify the back from the front, she folded a small piece of ribbon and stitched it so it hung down beyond the casing near the center back seam. She cut the elastic to a comfortable waist circumference, then threaded it through the casing and stitched the ends together. I marked the pants hem and stitched them for her.
She loves her new lounge pants and wore them right away!
Sew4u is a spot for new sewers. If you are interested in writing up sewing projects for new sewers, please contact us for details.
The Sawyer Brook Community has lots of resources for new sewers. Check out our current sew alongs in the Savvy Sewer Salon.