Don’t Throw Those Out Yet! Upcycling Kid’s Pants

Crunchy pants. That’s what my eldest daughter calls jeans, corduroys, or any other stiff material. Ever since she could really talk about her clothes she has preferred stretchy material or skirts and dresses. 

Most kids wear pants for a season, and then they either a) outgrow them or b) ruin them with all the hard playing that they do. If you are anything like me and have multiple children, then you try to save as much as you can for the younger ones. If you are also like me, you have a sensitive child who does not like wearing the sensible, durable pants that might last more than one season. Instead she prefers leggings. Oh-so-comfortable, but oh-so-flimsy. After a season of digging in the sandbox in hopes to reach the middle of the earth and kneeling on the ground to dig up bugs and worms the knees are either totally gone, or have magically turned an amazing shade of brown or green (no matter what the original color of the pants). 

Then comes summer, where she won’t wear jean shorts or most capri pants (refer back to the aforementioned crunchy pants). So I decided to take the leggings and do quick sewing project to turn them into shorts. Bring on the summer! This would also work with thicker material, but it is a harder material to hem and sew. 

First take the leggings and fold them together so the legs match up. Then measure where you want the length to be. Add an inch to this measurement to account for the hem, then cut them off.

Turn them inside out, and then fold up the bottom a half inch, then use an iron to make a crease. Fold and iron again to make the end of the shorts. 

Using a sewing machine, sew along the folded up hem of the shorts on each side. Remember- it doesn’t have to be pretty- your child will just roll in the dirt and sand in these anyway!