A Traditional Chinese Pants Pattern!

YOGA HOSE AM ME-MADE-MITTWOCH #17!

This pattern really attracted me right away - not so much because of the final shape of the pants, but because of the simplicity of the pattern. It is put together from two rectangles and an elastic waist band. Nothing else! See here:

(Don't worry about figuring this out yet, I will explain it later in this post!)

Maybe you have already seen my circle jacket or the one I made out of a simple rectangle - yes, I am fascinated by turning simple geometric shapes into garments.

The final pant shape is similar to harem pants. I actually still haven't made up my mind about harem pants yet, and I haven't even made up my mind about these Chinese pants either. I consider the two versions I am showing you here muslins... wearable maybe, as pajamas and/or yoga pants, but I am curious whether I could turn this into elegant street pants... What do you think? Do they have potential? I'd love to hear your input!



 The pattern is put together from two identical rectangles like this one:

This rectangle will make up one pant leg and half of the crotch/hip part. Because it is so simple, the  measurements you decide on will be crucial. I wear a European 34/36 and I will tell you the measurements I used, along with the explanations how I came up with them.

This rectangle is actually made up of three parts (indicated by the vertical dashes). You could just use one piece of fabric, but the extra seams add interesting style lines. I did my first muslin with just one piece, so you see what that looks like in the pictures below.

Line A-C = 95 cm (37,5''), this is the total pant leg length from the waist band down.
Line A-F = 3 x 25 cm ( 10'') = 75 cm (30'') (They don't necessarily have to be equal though!)
Line A-G = A-B = 28 cm (11'')

No seam allowances included!

The distance from A-G (A-B) is how far you will overlap the two rectangles for the legs and it decides how low the crotch will drop!

The remaining length G-F is half the width of your hip opening, so unless you want to add a zipper, it has to be at least half of the measurement at the widest part of your hip.



Now you see that the more you overlap the pieces, the lower the crotch gets, but also the smaller the hip opening. So if you want a really low crotch, you have to make the pant legs wider...
In case you have a headache already, I will show you pictures of my first muslin before telling you how to put it together...

I added a little pocket. As you see, there are very few seams, because I used just one piece of fabric per leg, instead of sewing three rectangles together. You can see how the two pattern pieces come together in a 90 degree angle (note for later: that is NOT the red seam, but the yellow/pink G-A line!).

Would that be cool in a striped fabric? Or is it putting too much attention to a place we don't want it?

The back and the front are absolutely identical, except for the pocket I added, and the seam in the waist band - which I would suggest you put on the side. So what do you think? Does it look like diapers?
I was still not sure at this point, but decided to go on and try it in a softer fabric.



Here is how you put it together:

As stated above, it is crucial how far you overlap the rectangles (red line) for how low the crotch will drop. Point G does not have to be exactly where the dashes are. In fact, I think it wasn't so great that my seam was exactly at that point. I think next time I would make the middle rectangle narrower than the two outer ones.

SEWING IT:

1. Match up A1 to B2 and A2 to B1 and sew together 
2. Close the pant legs: fold so C and D, as well as B and E are matched up and sew.
3. Repeat that for the other leg.
4. Sew together from E1/A2 to F1/G2
5. Repeat for other leg
6. Add an elastic waistband to the remaining opening (add pockets at this point if desired)
7. Hem the pant legs

DONE!

I made the pant legs minimally wider on the second pair, which I think was not a good idea...

I am also not sure that I like the seams starting right in the center front...
Also, I tried French seams, which makes the seams a bit stiff. I think soft and flowy is better in this case, so you don't get weird bunching where you don't want it...

The back doesn't make me entirely happy. The legs are VERY wide and make me look short even though I am wearing high heels. I should have tucked in the shirt at least...

In a way, the pants look best when you see the interesting crotch shape, so I guess I'll just be doing yoga all day today...

By the way, I am using this as my weekly Me-Made-Mittwoch post, since I really am wearing these today. I am staying home all day, sewing. These pants are extremely comfortable to be crawling around on the floor in!

"Mittwoch" is German for Wednesday, so the participants wear a self-made garment or accessory every Wednesday. Catherine from Cat-und-Kascha is organizing it and you are welcome to join us anytime! Just go over to her blog to grab the button and add your link at Mister Linky on her site!

HERE you see the outfits from this weeks participants.

A happy Yoga-Wednesday to everyone!