Home >> Hobbies >> Sewing

How to Make Baby Pants From a Sweater

Infants seem to quickly outgrow their clothing. Because of this, many parents prefer to practice frugality when dressing their young children. While infant clothing can be purchased from many stores, some parents may want to avoid paying retail prices. Instead of throwing unwanted garments away, you may choose to re-purpose them into new wearable items for your children. An old sweater, for example, can be easily transformed into a pair of pants for a baby.

Things You'll Need

Adult-sized sweater
Pencil
Coordinating thread
Scissors
Sewing pins
Sewing needle
Pair of pants that fit your child
1/2-inch elastic
Safety pin

Instructions

- 1
  Lay your sweater onto your work surface. Pull the sleeves outward and away from the body of the sweater. Flatten out the sleeves completely, making sure none of the fabric is folded or gathered.
- 2
  Use your pencil to draw a line on one of the sleeves, stretching from the armpit area of the sleeve to the outer edge. The line should stretch perpendicularly across the sleeve, and each end of the line should extend toward the center of the sleeve at a 90-degree angle. Repeat this step to draw a line on the second sleeve of the sweater.
- 3
  Cut along the lines drawn in Step 2, making sure to cut through both the top and bottom layers of the sleeves. Place the sleeves next to each other on your work surface, seam sides together.
- 4
  Select a pair of pants that comfortably fit your child to use as a pattern. Place the pants on top of the sleeves, lining up the waistband of the pants at approximately 1 inch below the tops of the sleeves.
- 5
  Pull the crotch of the pants taut. Draw a mark onto each sleeve at the area where the crotch touches them. The marks should be placed on or near the seams of the sleeves.
- 6
  Cut along the seam of each sleeve, starting at the top of the sleeves and stopping at the marks made in Step 5. Turn the sleeves inside out. Line up the cut sections of the two sleeves, and pin the open edges together.
- 7
  Sew along the pins to form the crotch of the pants. Remove the pins and set aside.
- 8
  Fold the waistband of the pants over onto itself about 1 inch, wrong sides together. Pin the edges to keep them in place. Sew a seam along the pins, stopping about 1 inch from the end.
- 9
  Insert a safety pin through the elastic. Insert the elastic into the hole remaining in the seam of the waistband, safety pin side first. Thread the elastic through the waistband until it exits through the other side of the hole.
- 10
  Stretch the elastic until you are satisfied with the size of the waistband of the pants. Insert the safety pin through both sides of the elastic. Cut away any remaining length of elastic.
- 11
  Insert the safety-pinned elastic into the cavity of the waistband. Sew the hole of the waistband shut, completely encasing the elastic. Turn the pants right-side out.

Sewing