Last week I did easy, wide DIY harem pants using the whole width of fabric. I love how they turned out, and they are really comfy 🙂
This week you’ll see another version of DIY harem pants, and these ones are thinner than last week’s, and you can add slits on the sides of the pants if you like. You will also see my suggestion of how to coordinate these pants for those of you who want more conservative look. So let’s get started.
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To make these harem pants with slits, you need:
Fabric – I’m using this beautiful dark, moss green sheer fabric here. I couldn’t tell if this was chiffon or organza because I bought this from the sale rack and it didn’t have the information, but this was a bit too stiff for my liking. I recommend you use soft chiffon. You need about twice your pant length plus 20 cm or 8in.
Thick elastic for the waistband and thin elastic for ankles – Thick one should be about 2-2.5cm or 1in wide, and the thin one should be about 5mm or ¼ inch wide.
Pants – You need loose pants to use as a pattern. It doesn’t matter how long they are. Pajama shorts or pants are perfect.
Measuring tape & marker
Scissors or rotary cutter
Matching colour thread
Sewing machine
How to Make Harem Pants with Slits on Side
First, take 2 measurements: from your waist to the floor, and the biggest part of your hip.
Next, lay your fabric on a flat surface, and fold it in half.
Just like we did last week, take your pants, turn them inside out, and put one leg inside the other one. Line up the pants at the seam. (Click here and check last week’s post for more detailed instruction. 🙂 )
From the fold, measure 4 cm or 1 ¾ in and place the back side of your pants like this, and also make sure to give 1cm or ½ in seam allowance from the raw edge. Then trace at 1 cm or ½ in away from the pants for seam allowance.
Next, we do quick math here. Take the measurement of the largest part of your hip, divide it by 4, then add 12cm or 5in.
Take that number, and measure it along the fold from the end of the line you traced earlier. Mark it, then measure it again from that point, and mark it here as well.
Take the front side of your pants, and line up the top of the curve at the mark tentatively.
Then, go back to the edge, and measure from the fold to the end of the curved line. Transfer it to where your pants are, line up the measuring tape with the end of the curve of the pants, and mark the measurement. And gently drag your pants straight down so the end of the curve meets the point you just marked. Then trace. And just extend the line up to the mark on the fold.
Now, measure your pants length plus 6cm or 2.5in from the fold and draw a line.
Then measure from the edge to the mark in the middle at the top, and measure the whole width, from the edge to the end of the curved line. Transfer the 2 measurements down to the line at the bottom, so you can connect the dots.
So by now, you should have these lines. Just cut along the lines. You will have 4 panels.
Now, keep each set of front and back panels together, so they don’t get all mixed up. So first, finish the edge of the long straight lines so they won’t fray. You can use zigzag stitches or you can do a rolled hem, or use a serger.
Then, take a front piece and back piece, place right sides or pretty sides together. And just do a straight stitch right next to the rolled hem or whatever you used to finish the edges, from the top to 25 cm or 10 in down. And about 7cm or 3 in at the bottom.
If you don’t want slits on the sides of the pants, don’t worry about measuring, just do a straight stitch all the way from top to bottom.
Next, we’ll sew the inseam, which is from the crotch to the bottom. And finish the raw edges. And repeat this for the other leg.
Now, flip one of the legs right side out, and stick it inside the other leg so the right sides are facing together. Make sure to line up crotch sections, line up the inseam, and do a straight stitch along the curve all the way from front to back.
And finish the raw edges however way you like.
Alright, almost there! 😀 Take the inside leg out, and it should look like a pair of big pants.
So now we’ll make casings for elastic. At the waist, fold 1cm or just under half an inch, and fold again 3cm or a little over an inch. Do this all the way around, press it and place pins. Then do a straight stitch all the way around at a few mm or ⅛ in from the bottom folded edge. Make sure to leave a 5cm or 2in gap at the back.
And for the legs, fold 5mm or 1/4in then fold again 1.5cm or half an inch. Press, pin, and sew with a couple of mm or â…› in seam allowance.. Again, leave a 5cm or 2in gap.
Now stand up, put elastic around your belt line and ankles and see how much elastic you need. For these harem pants, make sure that the elastic at the hem is tight, so the slits won’t move around as you dance. Cut the elastic, and thread each piece into the individual casings.
Just as I did last week, I took 2 safety pins, secured one end of the elastic at the seam allowance, so I don’t lose it, and used the other safety pin to guide the elastic through the casing.
Sew the ends of the elastic together for all of them, and stitch up the gaps. And your harem pants are ready to wear!
So these harem pants are pretty to wear on their own with a belt or hip scarves. Here I put on the 10-minute overskirt from a few weeks back, tied one end and layered another hip scarf.
And these harem pants can also help you achieve a more conservative look. I hear many dancers don’t want to show too much of their legs when they wear circle skirts with openings, but don’t enjoy the look of harem pants under their skirts, but if you make these harem pants with light material like this one, you get both the comfort of wearing pants under your circle skirt and the glimpses of your skin which make the whole look light and not bulky.
So I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, and if you liked it, please share it with your belly dance sisters. And as usual, please share your creations at Sparkly Belly’s Facebook page and sign up for the Sparkly Belly newsletter from below link to get access to special freebies like patterns and templates only available to newsletter subscribers.
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Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!
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