Remember a couple of years ago when Sarah Beth showed you how to hack Harper into tapered pants? Well we’ve had another Harper pants idea on our minds – wide legs! You can do full length or cropped – either are cute and very in style right now with the patch pockets.
This version is super easy because it basically just involves lengthening your shorts with straight lines down to the hem. Meg has whipped up a free add-on pattern piece that will be sent out to all of our newsletter subscribers tonight (make sure to sign up if you haven’t yet!) so you can choose to download if you choose to make a pair of wide legs. But I’m also going to show how to make the addition quickly yourself, if you would rather do that!
I also have one more bonus to show you in this post, too – the option of leaving off the lining and using only the facing to finish the waistline. This works well if you are using a heavier weight fabric and don’t want the extra bulk of a lining. Or maybe you just don’t want a lining, which is fine, too! And this can applied to any version, shorts or skort, not just pants.
Are you as excited about this post as I am? Let’s take a look!
Starting with your shorts front, tape the pattern piece to a long piece of paper.
Using a straight ruler, extend the grainline down as far as you can.
Determine how long you want your pants to be, and how much you need to add to the end of the shorts (plus 1″ seam allowance). For reference, I’m 5’5″ and for my cropped version in these photos I added 19.5″ to the bottom of the shorts.
Measure this number down from the bottom of the shorts along the grainline. Draw a perpendicular line to the grainline at this point. This is the bottom/hem of your new pants pattern.
Extend the side seam straight down to the hem, making sure it is parallel to the grainline.
At the center front seam, see the point where the pattern goes in and then flares back out? Draw a straight line down from that point so that it is parallel to the grainline/perpendicular to the hem.
Cut out your new front pattern piece!
Repeat for the back piece exactly as above.
Also repeat exactly for the lining. The shorts pattern piece is already sized to be smaller and accommodate the facing and shorter hem. So just add the same exact amount to the length and you’re good to go!
That is, if you want to include a lining with your pants. There is always the option to leave it out…
Finishing with just the facing/ no lining
Like I mentioned, I wanted to show you the option of not lining your pants. You can also do this for the shorts and skort, too! All you will need for your unlined garment is the facing pieces.
You can sew your pants exactly as you would the shorts, as described in the instructions and this sewalong. But while you’re constructing your pants/shorts/skort, make sure you finish the raw edges of all of your seams. You won’t have the lining to cover them up!
When you sew the facing pieces together, then finish the raw edge of the bottom of the curve. You can this with a serger like above, a narrow hem, or just turning the edge under slightly towards the wrong side.
Attach the facing to the pants/shorts just as described in the instructions. You just won’t have the lining attached to the bottom of the facing. But the construction is the same.
Now, you don’t want to stitch the facing to the shorts because it will ruin the clean look from the outside. So to keep the facing in place, hand tack the facing to all of the seam allowances on the inside (center front, both side seams, both center back seams near the edge of the zipper tape. Only stitch through the seam allowance, so that it is not visible from the right side.
And that’s it! Now you have unlined, cropped, wide leg Harper pants. Or maybe you have lined, full length wide leg pants. Or maybe a different combination. Whatever you make, we can’t wait to see them!
// LOOKING FOR MORE HARPER POSTS? //
Here’s the full list of Harper posts and tutorials:
- Inspiration + Ideas
- Darts
- Zipper + Center Front Seam
- Pockets (version 1)
- Skort (version 2) – hem, pockets, and pleats
- Side Seams and Inseam
- Lining and Facing
- Attaching the Lining
- Hem
- BONUS: Wide Leg Pants Variation (this post!)
Don’t have the Harper sewing pattern yet?! Order Harper today! We absolutely love seeing what you make, so don’t forget to tag your creations with #MNharper and @megannielsenpatterns when sharing on social media, and check out what everyone else is up to!
