Sewing pants for summer is so easy!
Armed with your well fitting Eureka! Pants that Fit pattern, you can stitch up pants in fun prints and solids. As you choose that lighter weight or colored fabric, make sure the fabric is opaque enough that no lining is needed. Pre-wash your fabric right away and get a matching zipper so everything is ready when you have a little time to sew.
Cropped Pants
Cropped pants are especially cool for summer. The Eureka! Pants that Fit instruction book offers directions for tapering and shortening your pants for a cooler summer look. When adjusting the pant below the knee, remember to adjust the pant leg equally on the inseam and side seam.
Add a Slit
It is fashionable to put a slit in your narrowed pants. If you have narrowed your pant significantly, you might even need a slit to get the pant leg over your foot. Place the slit in the side seam. Before cutting out the pants, measure and mark the slit and the hem. The hem should be ½” longer than the slit you desire. For example, for a 2” slit, turn up 2½” at the hem. Your hem will also need to be shaped if you have tapered the pant. Turn your paper pattern up at the hem and adjust the sides so the hem mirrors the shape of the slit. This technique is also explained in the Eureka! Pants instruction book.
After you cut out the pants, mark the top of the slit on the front and back of each pant leg. Fuse a strip of tricot interfacing on the inside of each slit. The interfacing should cross the seam line and extend ½” above the base of the slit. This interfacing helps the slit keep its crisp shape as you wear and wash the pants all summer.
Stitch the side seam, ending with a sturdy back stitch at the top of the slit. Fold and press the hem and slit in place to make sure it lays smoothly. Then reverse the hem so it is right sides together with the pant leg and sew each side of each slit in place using the machine or small hand stitches. Clip the bulk from the fold at the hem and turn the hem to the inside. Hand or machine stitch the hem in place as you wish.
Wide-legged Pants
You can also put a slit in a cropped wide leg version of the Eureka! Pants for a different summer look. A soft, wide leg is very fashionable this year. To widen the leg of your Eureka! Pants that Fit, trace off your front and back pants pattern but do not cut it out of the paper. Beginning just below the hipline, allow the side seam line to swing away gradually, ending about ¾” away from the original seam line at the hem. On the inseam, begin about mid thigh and again redraw the seam line so it gradually widens to ¾” at the hem.
After you cut and sew your pants, determine the length you prefer. They can be cut and hemmed above the ankle, but choose your length carefully so it falls at a narrow place on your leg. Consider using a contrasting fabric facing to hem your wide legged, slit side pants. Then as you walk, the contrast will peek out of the slit decoratively. Add a button or beaded accent if you wish to bring more attention to the detail or to add weight to light weight fabric.
Check out the trendy summer pant looks I have been pinning to my Pants Trends Pinterest Page. I am off to France with my pants with summer slits. Watch our Facebook page to see if I am up to some sewing fun while visiting my daughter.
Happy Sewing! RAE
