Handmade Gift Idea: Pajama Pants

This is the first of many handmade gift ideas I will be showing how to make this month. These pajama pants are super easy to whip up and make a perfect, cozy Christmas gift for someone you care about. Here is a shot of the finished product and below I will explain how I made these.

For this project you will need:

A pair of pants which fit you (or the person you are making them for) nicely
Fabric of your choosing (I used about 2.5 yds)
Waistband elastic (enough to fit around the waist once)
Sewing machine and matching thread

When picking your fabric choice, I think flannel, knits, cotton plaids or stripes work nicely. (When warm weather comes around you can try linens and lightweight cottons too!) One thing I found is that if your pattern pants are stretchy it can be helpful to use a stretchy fabric for your new pants; or use non stretchy with non stretchy fabric. If one of the fabrics is not stretchy, make sure to cut extra of the non-stretchy fabric so the new pants do not come out too tight.

The first step is to fold the pants in half with the crotch of the pants pointing out towards the front. Then lay the folded pants down on a folded piece of your fabric with the non crotch edge of the pants up against the fold. See the picture below if this description is a little confusing.

Trace the pants leaving 2 inches below and above the pants (for the waistband and ankle hem later) and leave a half inch seam allowance down the edge. Now cut it out.

Repeat this step again so you have 2 identical pant leg pieces.

Next, with right sides together, sew up the inseam of each pant leg starting at the crotch point (crotch point is the name I gave the pointy part of the fabric next to the tomato pincushion in this photo, which will get sewn together later to make the crotch of the pants) and sewing down towards the ankle. Do this with both pant legs.



To prevent fraying of the raw edges use a zig zag stitch, pinking shears, or whatever way you see fit to finish the seams. Do this throughout the entire pattern.

Now it is time to combine the two pant legs to make a pant! Do this by pinning the pant legs to one another (the pant legs should be facing wrong side out) and sewing them up from crotch to waistband on both sides.


Now you should have an unfinished pair of pants.


Now it is time to add in the waistband. Cut a piece of elastic the size of the waist. I turned over the raw top seam 1/4" and sewed so I wouldn't have another raw seam showing.


Then I folded down the waist 1.5" (since my elastic was 1" wide) and pinned. I sewed this down leaving a 1.5 inch gap to feed the elastic in through. Insert the elastic into the waistband by using a safety pin on the end to work the elastic around back to the opening. Next sew the elastic ends together and fold the remaining fabric over the exposed elastic and sew.



Now all that is left is to hem the bottoms of the pants and you are finished! Here is my boyfriend modeling his new pajama pants a.k.a. early Christmas gift! He is so sweet for modeling for me and supporting my craftiness.




This is a great patternless sewing project for a beginning seamstress and could make a super personal and comfy gift!

Hope you enjoyed this project,

*Bonnybee