All Things Fabulous

Turn your flared pants into skinny pants

In 30 minutes or less!

Before:

After:

Skinny Pants Tutorial

I loved these old school pair of colored Dickies, but they are totally out of style.  Flares just aren’t "in" right now.  But I couldn’t stand seeing some of my cute pants sit in the closet waiting for trends to come back around.  So I figured out a simple, fast way to alter flared pants into skinny pants.  Seriously, if you have a sewing machine and can sew a straight line, you can alter your pants!  This is so fast and easy that I altered 5 pairs of flared pants into skinny pants in just a couple of hours one afternoon.  Let’s get started...

Start by turning your pants inside out.  Have a pair of skinny pants already?  Perfect, use those as your guide for where you’re going to sew and cut your flared pants.  Fold both pairs of pants in half, so both sides match perfectly, straightening the seams so they lay flat.  Lay your flared pants out and then the skinny pants on top just like this...

  Next use chalk or pins to mark where you are going to start sewing at the cuff and where you are going to stop sewing up the leg on your thigh.  You only have to sew one side of each pant leg, so choose the side that doesn’t have a decorative seam on the outside.  In my case I chose to sew the outside seam, but I’ve also done the inside seam.  

If you don’t have a pair of skinny pants to use as a pattern put your flared pants on inside out and mark them the old fashion way.  You only have to sew one side, so choose the side that has a seam that isn’t decorative on the outside.  Use pins and pin them where you want to sew, starting at the cuff and working your way up the leg until you reach the point the pants fit snug on your thigh.

Ready to sew?  The answer is yes!  Start at the cuff and sew a straight line up the leg, gradually working your way out to the point on the leg where you’re going to stop.  Do the other leg the same way.  I just eyeballed it, but if you're using skinny pants as a pattern you can chalk exactly where you want to sew.  As long as you start at the same point on the cuff and end on the same point up the thigh, the pants will look even on both sides.  

After you’ve done the straight line, do a zigzag stitch to avoid fraying (if you have a serger that would also be perfect).  Before you cut the excess fabric away try the pants on to make sure they fit the way you want.  You can always pic out a seam, but cutting is permanent.  :)  If you’re happy with the way they fit, cut away the extra fabric and...

 go strut your stuff!

<3, Sharla