Once upon a time these trousers used to be a shirt, and that shirt used to live in a charity shop in South London...
And it just so happens that men's shirts are great for making baby and toddler clothes.
The sleeves, if big enough, are perfect for trousers. And there's always enough left over for something else: bibs, lining for other projects, or even another pair of trousers.
All told, this is a nice and lazy sewing project which is ideal when there are two small boys at home vying for your attention (and sewing time!).
Here are a couple of photos of the trousers, unoccupied, so to speak:
As you can see, each trouser leg is made from one sleeve and because the seams are left in place, half the work is done by the time you have cut them out!
I simply cut off the cuffs and cut out the top and crotch shaping from the sleeve using my favourite baby/toddler trouser pattern.
Next I sewed the legs together, hemmed the bottoms (where the cuffs once lived) and made hem big enough for some elastic at the top, with a small gap to thread the elastic through.
Finally I inserted the elastic, sew up the gap and voila...
The slit from the shirt cuff makes a nice detail. On these it quite plain, sometimes they have buttons. Either way it ensures a nice lot of room for little legs to move around.
