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I Need Knickers, and I Need Them Now!

Sometimes, you need a knicker, or some other relatively non-denominational short, slightly poofy pantlet with a cuff at the bottom, and you don’t have time to make it from scratch. (Perhaps, for example, you have a cast of 37, and 9 or 11 of them are kids in Fagin’s gang and most of them are too short for proper long pants… Hey, it can happen!) Here’s the cheater’s method:
Hie thyself off to Goodwill or some other charitable resale destination. You’re looking for women’s tapered, pleated pants. No, really, this is the one time in your life when you want to find this particular atrocity… For the record, a woman’s 6 is a good place to start to fit 8-12 year old kids of normal kid size. Go ahead and buy pairs that are in good condition, and don’t feel bad at all about the fact that you’re about to mutilate and render unwearable something that someone might otherwise have bought and worn – it’s a woman’s tapered, pleated pant, and you are saving someone from it. And you’re supporting a charitable organization. That’s double good karma points. (If you’re an overachiever, you can go for the triple score by involving a not-for-profit theater, charitable resale, and saving a stranger from bad fashion….)
Here’s the process:

Ye olde horrible pleated, tapered pant
Ye olde horrible pleated, tapered pant
Fold the pant neatly, as if to hang it.
Fold the pant neatly, as if to hang it.

Cut the pant leg an inch below the knee of the wearer.  Logically, knees are about midway down the leg, but if you're working with children you should measure.  Also cut off the bottom cuff of the pant - you'll need it in the next step.
Cut the pant leg an inch below the knee of the wearer. Logically, knees are about midway down the leg, but if you're working with children you should measure. Also cut off the bottom cuff of the pant - you'll need it in the next step.

Pin the cuff to the pant, right side of cuff to wrong side of pant.  Sew, so the seam is on the outside.  Flip cuff up, to cover seam.  Tack in place at sides, so seam stays hidden.
Pin the cuff to the pant, right side of cuff to wrong side of pant. Sew, so the seam is on the outside. Flip cuff up, to cover seam. Tack in place at sides, so seam stays hidden.

Voila! They take about 12 minutes a pair, once you get the hang of it. Bonus: the offcuts from the legs can become sleeves without much effort.
Voila! They take about 12 minutes a pair, once you get the hang of it. Bonus: the offcuts from the legs can become sleeves without much effort.

7 Comments

  1. Kat Porter
    Kat Porter May 17, 2010

    Wish I’d seen this article about 2 months ago when working on the school play! I’ll remember it though!

  2. AmyCat
    AmyCat April 24, 2014

    The off-cuts from the legs can also become drawstring belt-pouches for fantasy or medieval/renaissance historical costumes…

    • missa
      missa April 24, 2014

      Hey, great idea, AmyCat!

  3. slipsofthetongue
    slipsofthetongue December 8, 2014

    Thank you! Just used this for “Our Town” paperboy knicker-bockers!

    • missa
      missa December 8, 2014

      You’re welcome! Glad it helped.

  4. Sailors – Broken Needles
    Sailors – Broken Needles November 8, 2017

    […] bit and sewed 2″ of the bottom cuff back on. There’s a good explanation of this method here. I didn’t worry about finding actual pleated pants – any pants that fit the kids […]

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