Another refashion swap! Trousers this time!

 I'm sewing for the lovely and pregnant Kate from see kate sew, who most of you may recognize because she has done a Summer themed week with me before (here). She is so sweet and I love that I'm sewing for her! I decided to make her a skirt because I know how comfy those can be in pregnancy. I had quite the challenge ahead of me...first, I realized after I jumped into it that I picked out a heavier fabric making it harder to gather and iron and yadda yadda. So I ended up, no joke, refashioning this 4 times. First it was a slim maxi (to simple), then it was a pencil skirt (still too simple), then it was a very gathered A-line skirt (to poofy), and now it is a slimmer pleated A-line skirt (a mix of this tutorial and this tutorial). I hope this is the ticket! All I can say is phew!! And please of please fit. Especially because I decided to insert elastic into the back of the skirt instead of that big stretchy pregnancy band that covers the whole belly. Hope that can do the trick. And I was thinking with the waist band like this, she can take it in when she is done being pregnant. 

Loved the challenge and the many outcomes (ehhh) and thankfully, I loved the very end result and I hope she does too!

Check out the other very talented participants too! Their refashions should be up.

Suzannah of Adventures in Dressmaking

Miriam of MadMim

Miranda of One Little Minute

Melissa of I Still Love You

Liz of Cotton & Curls

Krista of Lazy Saturdays

Kelli of True Bias

Kate of See Kate Sew

Jennifer of Grainline Studio

Carrie of This Mama Makes Stuff 

Supplies:

oversized trousers

elastic

scissors

pins

sewing machine

thread

iron

Instructions:

1. Cut the inseams.

2. Flip the pants inside out and line up the inseams (so the bum seam will be in the back and zipper in the front). Cut out the crouch parts to make it a straight line. Sew up the sides.

3. Cut off the legs half way down.

4. Cut the middle back bum seam of the pants

5. Sew the legs up for some extra room in the back (if you need more waist line) because you will need an extra8 to 16 inches for the pleats in front and the gathered waist in back. 

6. Sew the extra leg panel to the cut open bum seam, right sides together.

7. Pin pleats into place where you like them. The pockets will be more in front now. Iron the pleats, then sew a few secure top stitches 3 to 4 " long running down the pleats.

8. Cut any extra material you have (I didn't put in all the leg's fabric) into strips that are at least 5 to 7 inches wide. 

9. Sew them together and iron them into a bias tape, where a half inch in ironed underneath on both sides and then ironed completely in half. This bias tape will need to be at least as long as your hip measurement.

***Make sure that the skirt is now, after pleats have been put in, as wide as your hips at least. with thicker material it may be puffy so the slimmer the better. 

10. Pin the bias tape to the skirt by sliding the top of the skirt in between the newly made bias tape. Sew a topstitch running around the bottom of the bias tape, leave an opening to where you want the elastic to start and end.

11. Measure the front of your waist from side seam to side seam (should be half of your waist size (or hip size depending on where you want the waist to hit). Mark these two side spots in the front, making sure it is centered from the middle. There should be a lot more in the back. This is where you will install the elastic in the opening you left. The elastic should be, when stretched, the same size as the back of you side seam to side seam. Slide it through till one of the ends hits the mark. Sew a secure topstitch over the end. Then slide the end that was held into place at the opening to the other end and topstitch that down. 

12. Close the openings. 

13. Gather the back by stretching the fabric and elastic and sewing a few straight stitches down the fabric covered elastic. 

14. Hem the bottom.