anyone make their own clothes?

I am in between sizes (depending on the brand, I'm either almost a size 12 or almost a size 14)

I only own one pair of summer wt pants, ALL the rest are fleece pull on pants.
I can't wear anything except elastic waist waist pants.

obviously, I can't cut up that one pair pair of pants to use as a pattern

so to start off, since I've never made pants before,
I cut up a very old holey pair of pj short bottoms to use as a pattern

if those come out ok, I might find the courage to go on and try to make some lt wt long pants.

I have some french terry fabric, very cheap and stretchy, and I have some light wt denim that has some stretch to it-
which do you think would work better for long pants?
(I'm thinking maybe save the french terry for pjs?)

I don't leave my house much so mostly I Just need something to cover my butt when I"m home, that isn't too horrible looking so that I could run out to put the trash out and not have to change.

Generally I wear night gowns and nightshirts all the time in the house but it's very windy where i live, on top of a hill -and last summer i realized i"d either have to wear longer night gowns, which i'd be too hot in
or pj short sets, in the summer, cuz otherwise the neighbors were seeing WAYYYYY too much of me, whenever the wind blew= if ya know what I mean lol

I did try to find affordable new clothes: I looked all over walmart and there was nothing but crap that didn't fit.
I don't have any thing other than second hand stores that I can get to, and I have had no luck there either
I tried buying a few things on line, and had to send them back, they were crap or the wrong size or both

so hard to find decent clothes for older women that fit our body shape. you know, dumpy LOL
(I should just speaking for myself)

so I guess im' gonna have to try to make something

I can't sew.
But my mom has made me a bunch of costumes, etc. She grew up in communist Poland, so her clothes were mainly handmade from curtains LOL.

If I recall correctly, fitted pants are hard to make, but practice makes perfect!
Have you tried looking at Pinterest, Youtube, or blogs?

You could also try going to a thrift shop or outlet and buying pants, and then just altering them. For example, getting too large ones and changing the shape, or getting ones with a non-elastic waistband, and then altering the waist band to an elastic one.

http://www.afashionablestitch.com/sewing-school/
http://www.livingwellspendingless.com/2012/12/20/easy-to-sew-pajama-pants/

oh I've tried to alter pants and that failed miserably. Then I heard a tailor say it's easier to make a new pair then it is to alter an already made pair.....

I have been to the thrift stores, generally speaking pants that dont already have an elastic waist don't have enough fabric for you to remove the waist band and put in elastic, they are really a very different cut and design

i've watched a few you tube videos but they didn't say what fabric they used! grrrr

Petunia said:

oh I've tried to alter pants and that failed miserably. Then I heard a tailor say it's easier to make a new pair then it is to alter an already made pair.....

I have been to the thrift stores, generally speaking pants that dont already have an elastic waist don't have enough fabric for you to remove the waist band and put in elastic, they are really a very different cut and design

i've watched a few you tube videos but they didn't say what fabric they used! grrrr

Click to expand...

Oh, that's frustrating.

Maybe you should just practice and experiment, or ask around in a fabric store what fabric would work. I can't really help you much, like I said, I can't sew. :/

actually I was just checking out those links that you posted, I've seen the pj pants once before but the Sewing School, that's new and it's FANTASTIC! it has all kinds of tips,
exactly the sort of thing I was looking for!
thank you!!

ETA and now I know what the difference is between poplin and twill, and why I have a hard time finding poplin, they often sell it as "shirting"
who knew? I didn't LOL

Petunia, you mentioned not wanting to rip up your only good pants for a pattern, but couldn't you simply trace their shape onto paper, and use that to cut out the other fabric? I don't know if it'll work, but I found this blogger doing that for children's pants:
http://www.mygrowinghome.com/2011/10/diy-basic-boy-pants.html
You can see she alters a bit in the tracing, to make room for seams and a hem, etc.

Aida said:

Petunia, you mentioned not wanting to rip up your only good pants for a pattern, but couldn't you simply trace their shape onto paper, and use that to cut out the other fabric? I don't know if it'll work, but I found this blogger doing that for children's pants:
http://www.mygrowinghome.com/2011/10/diy-basic-boy-pants.html
You can see she alters a bit in the tracing, to make room for seams and a hem, etc.

Click to expand...

This is how I do pants or shorts.
I fold them in half down the middle first so that both the front panels are on the outside and trace along that. You can either trace around an existing pair or onto paper to have the pattern to keep. Fold the pants on half again so the back is on the outside and trace around that side. And then when you're cutting (for each front and back piece), fold your fabric in half so you only end up having to cut two piece instead of four. Then just start by sewing the crotch.

I used this video when I made pj shorts and that way you want have to cut up the other pair.

[ame]http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5GfA4CGQThI[/ame]

That video makes it look so easy!

I made a pair of pj shorts from that video and they came out great!

gonna make some more, and maybe i can make long ones too

Awesome!!! I wish I was crafty.

I mad a pair of pants yesterday and I'm working on some shorts today. I'll never buy pjs again!

It's so cool that some of you can make this stuff. I get frustrated by pants shopping too. Not crafty enough to make my own, so just wear the heck out of favorites until they fall apart. Watching the vids I kinda want to try making some now.

From my experience, Sewing the crotch seam can be tricky. I haven't sewn complete pants in many years and am no pro. Just an idea I had, buy a pant/short a size larger that has drawstring. Then slide elastic in. U can put a safety pin on the elastic to work it thru. Sew the elastic and put a cute button to cover ur thread. Maxi skirts r super easy, not sure if you are interested in wearing them.