Supplies:
- Pants
- Material for Insert
- Matching Thread
- Pins
- Scissors
- Tailor’s Chalk or a Bar of a Soap
Directions:
- Choosing Your Materials
There are two choices you need to make – the pants you want to use and the fabric you want to use. If your pants are Lycra, it is best to use Lycra for the insert. The color of the material could be matching or coordinating color. It could even be a patterned material.
- Determining Size of Insert
I am going to use an insert that is a different color than the pants so that you can really see what I am doing. The first thing you want to determine is how high up you want that flair to start and how wide do you want it. To determine this, it is definitely important to mark the pants while the girl is wearing them. I have determined that with these particular pants, I want to go almost up to the knee.
- Opening the Seam
I turned these pants inside out. I have already determined that I want the insert to go up to the knee and have marked the outside seams of the pants accordingly with tailor’s chalk. If you do not have tailor’s chalk, you could also use a bar of soap. To open the seams, you can use a seam ripper or just cut the seam allowance away. Since I was adding such a large piece, I opened the pants up by cutting along the seam. Once I got to the mark I put at the knee, I opened the seam up a little bit more giving me a few inches with which to work. One of the advantages to cutting the seam away is that I can use the leftover strip for my guide.
- Cutting the Insert
The first step in cutting the insert is to fold the fabric in half. The length of the strip that I cut away from the pants plus the amount for the hem equals the height of the insert. Since I had already determined that I wanted a 1” hem, I placed the strip next to the fold starting 1” above the bottom of the insert and marked the fabric above the top of the strip. This marks the top of the insert.
As far as the width of the insert, I have already decided that I want the insert’s width to be two hand widths wide which is about 12 inches using my hands. I could measure the bottom of the insert using a ruler. However, I find it easier to just use my hand as a guide. So, I placed my hand next to the fold to determine the width of the insert and placed a mark next to the side of my hand that is farthest from the fold. (This represents half of the width. The full width will show when the fabric is unfolded.) I then drew a line from that mark to the mark at the top of the insert. Next, I cut the fabric along that line which left just the bottom of the insert to be cut.
I then placed the strip next to the fold with one end of the strip at the pointed top of the insert. I then needed to allow for the hem. In this case, I added an extra inch for the hem. I placed my hand next to the fold and started cutting 1” below the strip. Keeping the top of the strip in the same place, I moved the strip away from the fold and again cut the fabric 1” below the strip. I continued to move the strip and cut 1” below the strip until the strip reached the other side of the insert. This will create a nice, big triangle.
- Finish Cutting the Bottom of the Triangle
I have already allowed for an extra inch of fabric below the strip to allow for the hem. To make sure the height of the insert is accurate all along the bottom of the insert, I put the top of the strip next to the fold at the top point of the insert and began cutting the fabric approximately one inch below the strip. Then, while keeping the top of the strip in the same spot, I moved the bottom of the strip just slightly away from the fold and cut the material an inch longer than the strip. I then continue to move the bottom of the strip away from the fold and cut the fabric an inch longer until the strip reaches the other side of the triangle. This will create a slightly curved hem. Make sure that the bottom curved line is smooth and not jagged. If you cut straight across the bottom of the triangle, the center of the inert will be too long. It is important that the strip his held taut but not too tight at each step of this procedure.
- Pinning Insert to Pants
Start the pinning process at the bottom of the insert. Before I start pinning the insert to the pants, I am going to make sure that the finished side of the fabric is facing the finished side of the pans. I am going to start pinning the fabric insert to the seam with the bottom edge of the insert extending 1” from the hem of the pants. I am then going to continue to pin the insert to the pants until you reach the top of the insert. Remember, that Lycra can be very slippery so unless you are very comfortable sewing without pins when working with Lycra, you will probably want to use lots of pins. It can get very frustrating if the fabric shifts or moves on you when you are sewing the pieces together.
- Sewing Insert to Pants
Set the sewing machine on a zigzag stitch. Start at the bottom of the insert making sure to backstitch and sew to the top of the insert. You can start with the seam allowance that you are comfortable with but remember that you need to ease it into and match the existing seam allowance in the pants at the top of the insert. Make sure to also backstitch at the top of the seam. Check the section you have already sewn to make sure there are no gathers or pouches. If there are, try to smooth them out. If you can’t smooth them out, you are going to have to open up the seam and resew them.
As you can see, the seam is still open above the insert because I want to have that room, that play, when I sew everything together.
Before you sew the other side of the insert to the pants, make sure that the bottoms and tops of each side of the insert match. It is very important that everything matches up. The easiest way to do that is to pin and sew the first side of the insert and then pin the second side making sure that everything on both sides of the insert matches up. When you pin the second side, be careful that the top and bottom of the pinned side matches up with the top and bottom of the sewn side. Pin the insert at top and bottom and then in the middle. Then, sew the second side of the insert the exactly the same way you sewed the first side of the insert.
- Pin and Sew the Seam Above the Insert
Once both sides of the insert have been sewn, pin the portion of the pants above the insert. (If you want to taper the pants at the knee, this is the place to do that.) Sew the seam above the insert together. Make sure that when you get to the insert, the seam allowance of the insert are pinned closed and the edges match up. Sew the seam closed and continue a little past the top of the insert.
Look at the insert carefully and make sure you have a nice, even, flowing line between the insert and pants. You will want to make sure to steam the pant leg including the insert to make sure it looks just like you want it to look and the seams are nice and crisp.
Once you have checked the insert, fold the bottom of the insert under and pin it in place along the hemline. If you see any problems or inconsistencies, this is the time to fix them. I can see that the hem that I am working on needs adjusting, so I am going to adjust the pin at that spot. Now that it is looking the way I want it to look, I can sew the hem down.
- Pinning and Sewing Hem
At this point, you want to make sure the hem lines up on both sides of the insert and there are no waves in it. You also want to match the hem of the insert meets up with the hem of the pants so that it looks like one continuous hem. It is really important that you pin the hem at both sides of the insert so that you can see if you need to make any adjustments to the hemline. You want the overall appearance to look nice and smooth so that the insert appears as if the insert is original to the pants and had been part of the pants from the beginning.
- Finishing the Bell Bottom Look
To finish this bell bottom look, repeat everything listed above to the second leg. You will then have a nice little flair at the bottom of the pant legs resulting in a pair of bell bottom pants and give you that 60’s – 70’s feel.
Please send me a picture of your bell bottom pants so I can see what you have done.
