How to Make Your Own Jeans for Girls

Making girls' jeans can be fun and economical.

Making your own jeans for girls is no different than making any other pair of pants---it starts with the fabric. Choose a heavyweight cotton denim in a medium-toned blue that will stand up to hours of playground abuse without fading in the wash. To get the look just right, make sure you buy a bright golden thread for seams and hems. Although you can sew these jeans by hand, it will be much faster with a sewing machine.

Things You'll Need

• Pants pattern
• Denim fabric
• Scissors
• Straight sewing pins
• Needle
• Golden yellow thread
• Iron
• Zipper
• Button
• Pencil

Instructions

Patterns & Pinning

1. Take your child's measurements with a tape measure. Use those measurements to buy a pants pattern and fabric from your fabric store. Older girls' patterns usually contain sizes 7-16, while little girls' patterns usually contain sizes 2-5 or 6-8. The back of each pattern will have measurements listed for each size, along with the number of yards of fabric and the length of zipper you'll need.

2. Wash and dry the fabric before using it to make sure it's pre-shrunk.

3. Cut the pattern out and pin each piece to your fabric with straight sewing pins. Be sure to read the instructions that come with the pattern---you'll see a diagram that maps out where on the fabric to pin each piece for minimal fabric waste.

4. Cut the pattern pieces out of the fabric. Leave the paper pattern pinned to the fabric so you'll remember which piece is which.

Assembly

1. Read the pattern's instructions to find out which pieces will be sewn together, and in what order. The pattern will also tell you how much seam allowance (distance between the raw edge of the fabric and your stitched seam, usually 5/8 of an inch) is allowed.

2. Pin pieces together with straight pins before sewing. Make sure the pins are placed perpendicular to the seam. The pieces should overlap by the amount of your seam allowance.

3. Turn the fabric over and sew the indicated pieces together, working on the wrong side of the fabric.

4. Iron the two joined pieces once they're sewn together, pressing the seam allowance flat against the wrong side of the fabric.

5. Sew all pattern pieces together in the order indicated by the pattern's instructions.

6. Unzip the zipper and pin its edges to the open "V" in the front of the jeans. Sew the zipper into the jeans.

7. Sew the button onto the end of the waistband touching the stomach. Trace the outline of the button onto the top flap of the waistband with a pencil.

8. Cut out the traced hole with scissors.

9. Cover the circumference of the hole with stitches, sealing the raw ends. Bring the needle up just outside the hole, move the needle through the hole and bring it back up on the underside of the fabric just outside the hole. Pull the stitch to tighten and repeat.

Hemming

1. Ask the little girl to try on the jeans while wearing her tennis shoes. Measure the desired length of the pant leg (outside seam and inseam) with the tape measure. Have her take off the jeans.

2. Measure out the leg length you determined in the previous step. Mark the spot where the hem will be placed with straight sewing pins.

3. Turn the jeans inside out and iron the folded hem so it stays put. Sew it down.

Tips & Warnings

• Design your own pockets using any leftover material. Cut the desired pocket shape out of your scraps, embroider it with any design you wish, and sew it in place.

References

• Martha Stewart: Sewing a Seam

Resources

• Butterick: Girls' Pattern Size Chart