How to make a pair of plus fours from long pants…
I had a pair of black dress pants which would make ideal plus fours, or pedal pushers, for the Tweed Ride: they are tighter at the waist, holding them up at the back, then loose in the upper legs. I cut them off just below the knee, allowing a little extra length for bent knees and for the seam allowance needed to attach the cuffs. Then I cut two lengths from the offcut part to use as cuffs. These needed to be double the width of the intended cuff plus an additional 2cm to allow for the hem and seam allowance. It’s best to cut them longways down the fabric length as this adds strength to the cuffs.
I then gathered the bottoms of the pants using a loose running stitch around the whole leg diameter in a contrasting thread, then pinned them to the cuffs. I used back stitch to attach the cuffs to the pants, then rolled them over and hem stitched the cuff to the inside of the pants near the back stitched seam. This could all be done using a sewing machine, if you have one, but as there is not a great deal of sewing to do, it doesn’t take long to hand sew. I had to undo part of the outer leg seams to allow for a small placket so I could get the cuffs over my feet and calves. I didn’t have enough fabric to allow for buttonholes in the cuffs, and this would have been challenging anyway due to the many layers of fabric, so I found some ribbon from hanging loops that were on an old skirt and made button loops to do up the small buttons I sewed on the cuffs.
I am so pleased with these pants that I wear them still, with tights under them. They are more comfortable than jeans and, if worn with black or grey tights, they are quite dressy.
-
Recent posts
Archives
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- October 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
What a cool thing to do!
Thanks Annie!