Super Easy Hippie Pants (By a Beginner)

Comfortable. Soft. Fantastic!
Whether you are a student like me or a highly pregnant lady like my sister-in-law, This is the perfect comfort-project for you!
I had been planning for the longest time to make myself pants like this, but always coming up with excuses not to do it.
Just as my country was announcing the lockdown, I found this fabric on special and my girlfriend convinced me now is the perfect time.

I had last done any sewing in primary school (and I am now 24 years old) and I didn't have any problems with these pants, they are suitable for absolutely any skill level!

• Fabric of your choice (I am very tall, so I used a piece 2m by 1.5m
• Thick elastic for waist band
• Thin elastic for legs
• A safety pin or fabric clamp
• Newspaper and Tape
• Pen/Pencil
• Scissors
• Pins
• Over-locker
• Sewing machine

I first found a reference pants. In the first picture i found the multi-colour pants that had the shape I wanted, but it is too small for me.The navy pants are some of my own sweatpants I used for size estimation.

1. I started by folding my fabric along the 2m side to form a 1m by 1.5m rectangle.
2. After this I taped newspapers to form a rectangle over the fabric.
3. I now drew half of the pattern slightly bigger than my reference pants after folding the pants front to back to show the side profile of the pants. I then flipped the pants along the middle edge with the green arrow to draw the opposite side. The 2 contours represent the crotch and butt area of the pants. The large square at the bottom edge will become a leg.
4. Cut the newspaper to form a pattern.I "fit" the pattern to myself to see if it is big enough.I would say rather go too big, it's much easier to take away than to try and add.

Now that the pattern is ready, i pinned it to the square on the side away from the fold.This way you end up with one big piece of material instead of 2 smaller pieces. I continued to cut the material alongside the newspaper leaving more space for the sewing. I left the top and bottom longer than necessary to leave room to pay with when finishing the pants.

I wanted to do another test fit and plan the pockets now that the material is ready. I started by pinning along the red lines in the picture. As mentioned earlier these will be the crotch and the butt of the pants.

Once they are pinned, you can grab the middle of the top line and pull it away from each other, this will bring the pinned lines towards each other and reveal the pant legs at the bottom.Just pin the open edges of the pant legs and you are ready for the fitting (be careful of the pins!)

As for how it should fit, it is up to you. If you want a tight fitting pants around the buttocks, you need to measure your hip circumference and cut the red lines in this image deep enough that the 2 parts together are as wide as your hip circumference (while also allowing for the hem)

Personally I wanted loose fitting pants that is kept up by an elastic, so i fit the pants wide and measured the elastic around my waist.

While the pants were in the example phase, i decided to work on the pockets. I decided on 2 square pockets on the front of the pants, they are effective and very simple to make!

I once again made a newspaper guide to get matching sizes on the pockets. I just chose a random size, but made sure my cellphone will fit in the pocket.

After cutting out the pockets I used the over-locker to prevent the fabric from fraying. I then used the iron to flatten the edges to make it easier to work with the pockets when attaching it to the pants.

After ironing the pockets I sewed across the top of the pocket to insert the hem. The method I used throughout the project to sew a straight line is to line up the foot of the machine with the side of the fabric and making sure I stay on the line or keep an equal distance from the side.

Before pinning it to the pants, I decided to use one of my patches on a pocket. Initially it was just to personalize the pants even more, but it later became the easiest way for me to determine which side is where when I get dressed.

Now that my pockets were ready, I tried a few positions until I was happy with the placement and pinned them to the pants. At this point I removed the pins keeping the pants together and sew the pockets to the separated pieces. It mad the process much easier. I just made sure to only sew the sides and not the bottom. Another tip for when you start and end your sewing line. Place the needle where you want to sew, sew about 1cm, then reverse over that part and continue normally. This back and forth prevents the string from fraying. End in a similar way.

Knowing that I am happy with the size of the pants, I went along the edge with the over-locker.

At this point I pinned the front and back again (where the red lines were previously)

I continued to sew it together before moving on to pinning the legs. I also made sure that my pockets are still in line after pinning before I sew it all together skew.

After the front and back was sewed together, I refolded the pants to show the 2 pant legs and pinned it down the middle starting at the crotch and moving downward. By starting at the crotch, any mistakes in cutting can be fixed at the bottom.

As I mentioned a few times already, the legs were left very long. I started by making the waist band so that I can fit the pants and then decide where I want to cut off the legs.

I used a ruler to make sure I pinned the hem equally along the waist. If you image the waist to be a circle and having the numbers of the clock, I started by pinning 12 o'clock, then 6, 3 and then 9. By moving across like this it is easier to make sure you are working evenly and end up with a straight line.

I started at the back hem and left a gap where I can Insert the elastic band.

I measured the elastic round my waist and cut it slightly short to the point where the band would fit snugly around me, but still comfortable. I then thread it through the waist using the safety pin/fabric clamp.

After sewing the 2 ends together and making sure I am happy with the fit, I sewed short lines once again at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock to keep the elastic stable and from twisting around inside the pants.

The gap can be left open if you might want to tighten the elastics, but sewed over the gap I left earlier.

In the first picture here you can see the part of the pant leg I cut off to correct the length of the legs. In the second picture you can see where I went back and forth over my stitching to prevent it from fraying. I then also used the over-locker on the bottom of the legs.

I used the same method to insert the hem and elastics for the legs than for the waist band, but this time I used a thinner elastic to give a feeling of freedom around the legs.

You made it to the end of the instructable!

Thank you so much for the support, I hope you enjoyed it. If you happen to be skilled in sewing and have any tips/tricks or suggestions, please feel free to give constructive criticism in the comments. As I said, I am an absolute beginner and I just tried whatever worked for me to bring this pair of pants to life.

If you make your own, please share your pictures!

Remember to vote for me if you feel I deserve to win in the sew fast challenge!

check out my profile for a wide variation of DIY projects and have a lovely day!