Have you ever browsed through Peppermint Magazine Sewing School? They have a bunch of rad patterns made by indie pattern designers available for free!* I’ve made the In the Folds Wide Leg Pants before, but they were a snug fit. This time, I altered the pattern to make them elastic waisted and much more generously sized.
Adapting a button/fly front pant to an elastic waist is pretty straightfoward. I omitted the fly and didn’t sew the back dart; and straightened the waist seam slightly from hip to waist to allow for a pull-on style. I added a separate waistband for the elastic casing, and as an extra precaution, went up one size from my measurements (a good choice!).
As for style changes, I lengthened the pants by 5cm for a full, rather than cropped look. The pockets were omitted and I topstitched on some lined, curved patch pockets instead.
This turned out to be a bit of a mistake – I’d already accidentally crushed the nap of the corduroy in pressing the pockets, and topstitching against the direction of the nap only made things worse! I unpicked and tried to smooth things down as best I could before sewing in the correct direction. It still doesn’t look great, but every new fabric has its own learning curve.
The fabric (as you will have guessed by now) is a wide wale corduroy bought on sale from Spotlight. I’ve been admiring all the cord pants in store right now, while post-cord 2000’s Siobhan cringes inside. At least these aren’t low rise!
Besides mucking up the nap a bit, and getting cord dust all over my house, sewing these pants was fairly relaxing. I know everyone hates on how ~complex~ sewing pants is, but if they’re elastic waisted they can be a very easy sew. Now I kinda want a cord jacket to match!
The details:
Pattern: In the Folds Wide Leg Pant
Pattern details: “The Wide Leg Pant is a high waisted pant with fly front and button closure, shaped waistband, back darts and curved pocket. The pants are drafted to be fitted around the waist and hips, before dropping into a wide legged, slightly cropped pant.” Available as a free PDF download from Peppermint Magazine Sewing School, in sizes A-J (hip 33-54.5″ / 84-139cm).
Fabric: 3m x 112cm wide artic wide wale cord, mustard, from Spotlight. Leftover beige sheet from stash, originally from op shop, for pocket lining.
Other materials: 38mm high density elastic, from Ebony Crafts.
Mods: Size G, made for an elastic waist, pull on pant
– Omitted fly and pockets
– Straightened waist seam slightly from hip to allow for pull on style; did not sew darts
– Added straight waistband (4.5cm finished folded width) for 38mm elastic
– Added patch pockets, lined with an old sheet, adapted from Common Stitch Loungewear Set Pants (also a Peppermint Magazine download)
– Lengthened by 5cm, also added 2cm to hem allowance for a 5cm deep hem
– Sewed inseam and outseam at 1cm, not 12mm, for slightly more room in leg and body
*Like, you should probably buy the magazine to support this initiative.
Chronically Siobhan 
Maybe a bump along the way, but I think they look great on you. A cord jacket would make a lovely set too! It is really hot here now and the thought of corduroy 😂 but it is the best thing for cooler months!
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It is very much a winter fabric! Sending some cooling thoughts your way.
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Thank you! 🤗
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Hello! I want to make these pants and your post about turning them into pull on pants was extremely helpful, as I wanted to try both styles. I just wanted to ask a question, what exactly do you mean by “straightened the waist seam slightly from hip to allow for pull on style”? I would appreciate clarification. Thank you so much! I wouldn’t make these pants in corduroy, I wanted to use some lightweight cotton twill as I live in a subtropical region. But your corduroy pants look amazing! Thank you again for your blog posts!
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So, on the original pattern the side seam narrows as it travels from hip to waist. I took a ruler and straightened that curve, so it’s almost a straight line from hip to waist. You could even make it straight if you liked, this way the waist is the same width as the hip so you can pull the pants on over your hips and not get stuck!
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