Lounge Pants, Molly-fied

I rarely follow directions. Perhaps this is a common trait of the idle person. Instead I look for efficient short cuts. The faster I can complete a task, the more time I have to play. The word I use for this process is Molly-fication, a play on the word modification.

So of course I had to Molly-fy Amy Butler's Lounge Pant pattern. Like many bloggers before me, I've made myself a few pairs of the lounge pants out of vintage sheets. In order to complete these pants faster and give myself more time to lounge in them, I came up with two tricks. (Excuse my writing and drawing - I don't spend much idle time working on these two skills.)



Trick #1: Overlap the pattern pieces for the front and back by 1/2 inch, thereby eliminating the side seam. Fold your fabric (sheets really work great) in half and cut out the pants in two pieces, rather than four. Sew the inseams, turn one leg right-side out and place inside the inside-out leg. Sew the crotch seam. Complete waist according to pattern.

Trick #2: Skip the hem. Instead, use the hem of the sheet as the hem of the pant. Determine desired length of lounge pants, fold or cut the pattern piece accordingly, and place the bottom of the pattern at the bottom of the sheet.

I've made two pairs of lounge pants this way, taking advantage of the decorative detail at the top of each sheet.





As my mother-in-law pointed out, this shortcut does not create a traditional hem. But I say, they are lounge pants made out of old sheets. Who cares if the hem isn't traditional? I'm way over hems anyways. Being five feet tall, I have to shorten nearly every pair of pants I bring home. For years now I've been avoiding the hemming process by simply cutting my pants to the desired length and letting them fray. I personally like the look.

So there you have it. My lounge pant time saving tricks. You can make a pair in just over an hour (depending on how many times you're called away from sewing to make someone a snack) and lounge in comfort the rest of the day, not to mention the sense of pride you'll have wearing something you've made. Happy lounging!