It’s hard to believe that I’ve never sewn a pair of pants in the many years that I have been sewing. I feel like I avoided them just due to the nature of pants being fitted, butt sculpting and a key piece for the lower regions. I wear a lot of jeans and the thought of sewing denim on a hobbyist machine would make me cringe. But this post is the post where I’ll be documenting the first pair of pants I’ve ever sewn! (And it was a lot easier than I thought it would be!)

For my first pair of pants, I wanted to create something forgiving, stylish and comfortable. The Halo pants from IAMGIA were the perfect trendy item for me to try my hand at DIY-ing instead of buying. Yoga like legs and a cinched up wrap detail sounded like the perfect addition to my wardrobe. As always, I didn’t want to purchase a pattern but instead opted to draft my own from a well fitted pair of pants that I owned and I encourage you to do the same!

TIME | 2+ hours

COST | $

DIFFICULTY | Easy

Halo Pants:

1. Create a pattern with a pair of well-fitted pants; be sure to add extra seam allowance if you’re unsure about the fit. This will help when/if you need to make any modifications

2. Sew up the front and back seams with good sides facing.

3. Pinch the sewn seams and line up so that it forms a pant shape. Sew up the legs.

4. Add elastic to the inside of your waistband by overlapping slightly the elastic overtop the good side of the waist of the pant. Sew with a zigzag stitch.

5. Mark the cinched area.

6. Take a scrap piece of fabric to help create the channels for the ruched detail. Sew in the gutter of the front seam and two parallel lines beside it about 10mm in-between.

7. Take 1” piece of fabric in a length that will wrap 2.5 times around your waist to form the strings. (do this twice)

8. Sew and flip the strings inside out.

9. Taking a safety pin, shimmy the strings through the channels and secure the strings at the base of the channels.

10. Hem the bottom of your pants with a twin needle for a polished look!

Halo top:

1. Trace a tank top for the front and back pieces (or you can upcycle an existing tank top)

2. If from scratch, split the front piece in two and add seam allowance like the in the video; if upcycling - attach an additional piece behind the front center for the channeling.

3. Sew up the side seams (if from scratch)

4. Finish off any raw edges with binding, you can use foldover elastic or cut your own bias stripes from matching fabric. The binding pieces for the front inner V should extend and become your halter ties.

5. Create strings for the front of the top with 1” pieces folded in half and turned inside out.

6. Taking a safety pin, shimmy the strings through the channels and secure the strings at the base of the top

7. Hem the bottom of the top with a twin needle for a polished finish!