Upcycled Cargo Pants

We are having a glorious summer, which we are all loving:) Except my tots knees – he suffers from excema, which is exasperated by warm weather. Earlier in the week I realised that 10 days of shorts had taken their toll on the back of his knees, which were almost about to break out into open sores. I decided to make him some three quarter length trousers – Upcycled Cargo Pants.  Happily this coincided with my husband sorting out his clothes and handing me a pile for refashioning.

Introducing Cargo Pants from Onthecuttingfloor.  I downloaded the pattern for his age, and made him three pairs from two pairs of linen trousers and pair of his old shorts- very satisfying, cost – nil:) Admittedly the fabric has seen better days, some of which I turned inside out as the wrong side of the original clothing was in better condition than the right side. But it really doesn’t matter – his knees are protected, in four weeks we will be hitting autumn and he will be back in long trousers. They are a perfect length for protecting his knees. I added a little pocket to a couple of pairs to add interest. In fact my husband didn’t realise this pair were handmade 🙂

Having downloaded and cut out the pattern this is how I sewed them up:

Pin the back and front for each leg, right sides together. Stitch the seams.

Turn one leg right side out, insert inside the other leg so the right sides are together. Pin the crutch seam.

Stitch the seam.

Stitch the waistband to create a circular band the same size as the top of the trousers. Pin right side together and stitch.

Turn over and pin, encasing the elastic as you go. Using a pair of current trousers pull up the elastic to create a waist the same size. Tack and stitch. Lastly hem the leg bottoms.

I am delighted to say my tots knees are healing up. Thanks to Daniela for the pattern:)

As you can see my new camera is great outdoors, but I need to practice for great indoor images!

As usual I am hopping by Handmade Harbour to see what everyone else’s week has been like,