Upcycle | Sweater to Newborn Pants

There are so many different ways of turning a sweater (or shirt) into a pair of pants..

I thought I'd just show you one of my ways.

I was able to make two pairs of newborn sized pants from the bottom portion of this sweater

This is what I did:

13" long

7.5" wide (15" total circumference)

Mark at the middle (3.75")

Mark 6.5" up

Mark the middle (3.75") & make sure the marks cross

Cut from the bottom mark to the top

Pin the sides and inseams, then sew

Sew back & forth a few times at the crotch and corners

Clip inner corners

Attach clothing label at this point if you wish,
sew it to the right side of the pants & upside down at the back waist of the pants.
It will end up on the inside and right side up after the next 2 steps.

At the waist, fold down about 1/4" and baste

 

Fold under 1" and stitch close to the edge (leave an opening at the back)

You can use the same color thread as the pants, or a contrasting one like me :)

Thread a piece of elastic (13" long) through the casing

You can use up to 7/8" wide elastic, I used a skinny 1/4" elastic because that is what I had in my stash.

Overlap the elastic 1/2" and zig-zag stitch across (make sure the elastic is not twisted)

Stitch the opening shut (back stitch at the beginning and end)

Turn  right side out and voila!

Sweet sweet newborn pants :)

You can make bigger pants, just make sure you measure out:
waist (add 1/2", this will be the length for your elastic)
hips (that is how wide you need to cut the sweater/shirt, then fold in half)
length (measure from waist to bottom of feet, add 1.25" for the casing)
inseam (from the crotch to the bottom of the feet)
Then follow the instructions.

I hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial
"like" me on facebook and share your own upcycled pants
or email me and I will add them to this blog post!