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| Drawstring Wrap Pants
Presented by Dawn Hill of Crystal Forest Approx time to complete project: 20 minutes Materials: 3 yards of 45" wide fabric 10' of cord for drawstrings Thread Scissors Template found below cut from stiff cardboard or oak tag-you may recycle and use cereal boxes or another stiff paper for the pattern. If you would like to make many pairs of these pants and want a pattern that will last you may wish to use plastic sheeting for the pattern. Stencil sheets, sold in craft stores, that are blank and used for creating your own stencils work well for this project. Using your material of choice, cut a 4" radius half-circle at one end so your pattern looks like this: Mark a line on the template 2" off-center. This line will be used to align the template with the centerline of the fabric to add a little extra width to the back of the finished pants. Lay out your fabric on a smooth surface such as a larger table or a smooth floor (a carpeted surface does not work well for this project). Fold your fabric lengthwise, with right sides together: Place the flat end of your template at the fold, aligning the mark with the centerline of the fabric. Trace the outline onto the fabric, remove the template and cut the fabric into two halves at the fold. Cut out the marked area of the pants. This area is referred to as the saddle of the pants and sits in the crotch area. Stitch around the saddle as shown: Please the note:Centerline shown for illustrative purposes only. Open the pants at the top corners and make a casing by turning down the top waste of the pants and 1/4" and then doing so again approximately 3/4 of an inch. Sew along the edge that you have turned down create a casing a for the drawstrings. Thread a 5 foot length of cord through each casing. Add a hem to the bottom of each leg making sure that you turn it toward the wrong side. You may also wish to add binding, seam tape, lace, or are even a fancy trim to the legs at this time. Your pants are now ready to wear! Note that these pants are completely open down the legs and the selvage is used as a finished edge on the sides; this is part of the beauty and function of these. You may wish to knot them at the ankle if they are a bit long, or you may wish to hem them even further. Note that adding trim or lace may make it impossible to knot them. To wear these pants, find the wider part which was created from the offset of the template: This is the back. Wrap this around your waist and tie the drawstring in front. Reach between your legs and pull the front up, tying the drawstring cord in back. If you have not hemmed in short you may wrap the corners of the legs of the pants around your ankles and tie them together. If you want these to take on the appearance of harem pants tying them once around will give this effect. To make the legs a little more fitted, go around two or three times depending on the type of fit you prefer. "Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything." - George Bernard Shaw |