Not skilled enough to sew your own pants? With this wide leg pants pattern you don’t need a lot of experience! These DIY wide leg pants are so simple to draft, cut and sew, perfect project for beginners!
Wide leg pants pattern
Ok, let me get this straight! I’m an absolute beginner when it comes to making trousers! I started working on this wide leg pants pattern having absolutely no idea how to make pants! Seriously! I never even had or tried to decipher a pattern for trousers and to be honest I’m not sure what got me to work on these DIY pants.
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I just know I’m in front of my big pile of fabric wondering when am I ever going to go through all this pile, when this lovely fabric (that I cannot swear it’s satin but totally looks like it) in gray with floral pattern caught my attention. And I thought a pair of ladies wide leg pants would look so good in this light as a feather, flowy fabric!
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How do you make wide leg pants?
I didn’t have a wide leg pants pattern and I basically had no clue of how to make one! But after squeezing my brain for a couple of minutes I realized these are actually super easy pants!
I decided to use a pair of wide leg pants I already had but I wanted my new pants a lot larger so I made a super big pattern that is wider and longer than my original pants. So this easy peasy wide leg pants tutorial doesn’t offer a pattern but teaches you how to make one yourself which I think it’s best because your pattern will fit YOU perfectly!
If you don’t have a pair of wide legs pants, just use a straight one and make it larger, just like I did with this one. Not sure about the width? Leave some extra allowance and you can always make them larger if you don’t like the initial look.
Reasons to make yourself a pair of wide leg pants:
- These wide legs pants go great at the office if made of a more formal fabric, or at the beach when made of a light, flowy fabric. In fact, this pattern is great for every occasion and you only need to choose the right fabric to give them the desired look.
- This pattern also helps elongate your legs, so if you are shorter, this is perfect for you.
- How about leaving about half of the side seam open? You will have a bit of your calf showing for an extra-sexy look. You could even wear them for salsa or other latin-themed parties with a crop top and pair of elegant high heels.
- This project doesn’t require much sewing skills and it doesn’t have to be super precise because the pants are so big and drape so nicely that a little mistake won’t even get noticed. Bonus – it’s not time-consuming at all!
- These pants are so comfortable to wear and so light and look great on many body shapes, hiding some of those mid area flaws and making your legs look a mile long!
The reason I made this wide leg pants pattern so big is because I plan to wear these beauties at special events, holidays or/and New Year. So I wanted something with a dramatic look that will be a great pair to my high heels and my camisoles.
How to add variety to your wide leg trousers
- To make them look extra dramatic, you can go the extra mile and add a few gussets so that they look like a wide skirt. This requires some advanced sewing skills, though, so be careful if you’re a beginner.
- You can also achieve that salwar look by gathering the legs at the bottom with elastic or a cord passed through the hem. The advantage of a cord is that you can wear them either wide or gathered, so you can have two different looks.
- As this pattern is so versatile, you don’t need to make them long like mine. Mid-calf length also looks nice, and is saves up some fabric! Also, just above the ankle is still trendy, but only goes well on taller people. You can use this pattern to make shorts as well, as you already have the template. (And maybe clean up the stash a bit?)
- Mine are high-waist, but you can also make them low-waist if that makes you feel more comfortable. This way, they will be great as casual or beach attire, but I’m not sure about the office look. Either way, just make sure you don’t make them too low!
- If your geometry is good, try flaring the pattern to achieve a retro look. Remember those 70’s wide pants? They seem to be coming back in style, so why not give them a try?
- Depending on the style of your pants, you can either use elastic like I did, zippers, buttons, a cord, a belt or a fancy sash to secure the pants at the waist. Add a wide waistband if your waist is a bit fuller and you fear you may get a muffin top.
Ready to make your own? Here’s how to make wide leg pants!
Wide leg pants sewing pattern
Materials:
- about 2 yards of fabric that is flowy and has a nice drape
- pair of old wide leg pants
- scissors
- fabric marker
- pins
- elastic that fits your waist
- matching thread
- sewing machine
- serger – optional
- pressing iron
Directions:
Making the pattern
- Cut your fabric into two pieces lengthwise and place right sides together. Place a few pins to keep them in place if the fabric is very slippery.
- Fold both pieces in half.
- Place the old pants on the fabric, the long side of the pants aligned with the fold in fabric (in my case, the fold is on the right hand side; because I wanted to make the new pair a lot larger than the old ones, I placed my pants away from the fold)
- Mark around the bottom and sides using a fabric marker. Remove the pants, place a few pins inside the marked pattern if the fabric is slippery and cut the pattern out.
Sewing pieces together
- Open the fabric at the fold (in my case to the right side) and your trousers now look like this. The crotches are to the right and left (the curved edges)
- Match the crotches. Pin together and sew down. I used my serger so I won’t have to finish the seams later but if you don’t own one, sew a normal stitch then finish the seams with a zig zag stitch.
- Pinch the fabric in the middle at the top and bring the crotches to the middle so your pants will take the normal shape as illustrated below.
- Match the front and back crotch and pin.
- Pin the legs at the inside seams and sew down. I used my serger.
Finishing the pants
- Serge the top of the pants and the hems on legs. If you don’t have a serger fold the fabric inside twice.
- To finish the waist, make a casing for the elastic by simply folding the serged top towards the inside of the pants and sew with a regular stitch, leaving a small opening to thread the elastic through.
- After inserting the elastic, sew the ends of the elastic together and close the opening in your casing with a regular stitch.
- To finish the hems, fold the hems inside and sew with a regular stitch.
- Give your pants a nice press and you’re ready to wear them! Enjoy!
If you liked this tutorial I’d love to know your thoughts in the comments below. And don’t forget to rate it!
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Sarah says
Thank you for sharing. They look fabulous. I love wide-leg (or palazzo) pants. they always look elegant and dressy. I will give this a go. The only thing I will change though is to use a wide elastic in the waistband and stitch it in place, so it doesn’t twist. Love your fabric too!
Katherine Jones says
when you cut out the second cutting, do you fold the old pants the other way? Or are both cuts the the exact fold of the old pants? does that make sense?
Petro says
Hi Katherine. I’m not sure I get what you mean but I didn’t flip the pants, both sides of the pant are the same.
Lizelle says
Thank you. Tried this pattern out and it was great. Loved that it was so easy and didn’t take too long.
Petro says
Hi, Lizelle! Thanks so much for letting me know! So happy to hear my tutorial was easy to follow and helped you achieve great results in your project!
Debra Deane says
This sounds great – except I don’t have any wide legged pants to use as a base! Most of my jeans and good pants are quite fitted! What would you suggest please?
Petro says
Hi Debra. It doesn’t have to be loose pants! It does help a little but it’s not necessary. Just draw around your fitted pants and then enlarge the pattern by a couple inches sideways.
Maggie says
It looks like a good project and easy but don’t you have to trace off BOTH the front AND back crotches sinces both are different for fit? I’d like to make these pants but am wondering about this. Thanks!
Petro says
Hi Maggie. These are super large pants, they’ll have plenty of room to accommodate the back without a separate pattern.