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Make Harem Pants and Pantaloons

Pants and pantaloons are under-appreciated by dancers who think of them as old-fashioned. Clever designs enhance dance moves in pleasing ways, and beautiful fabrics transform traditional designs into works of art.

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Pants are a Costume Basic
Make Harem Pants
Make Pantaloons
Compare Harem Pant and Pantaloon Construction
Adjust for Larger Sizes

Pants are a Costume Basic

Harem pants and pantaloons are under-appreciated by many dancers. Many think of them as just an old-fashioned way to keep bare legs from flashing at the audience when wearing a fuller skirt. But clever designs will enhance dance movements in striking and unexpected ways. Traditional designs in beautiful patterned fabrics transform pants from a utility piece to work of art. Traditional designs in beautiful un-patterned fabrics allow you to dress up your torso and head to the maximum without visual competition from a skirt.

And yes, bare legs flashing during a performance, especially when on stage, are distracting to an audience. Unless bare legs are a plannned part of your look, use pants underneath. Even if there are no turns in your dancing, you never know what a fan or a breeze may do. Can you imagine what the picture on the right would look like without the pants?

Dancer, Ruric-Amari. Costume, Maura Enright. Photo credit, Tammy Powell.

Make Harem Pants

The method I present here minimizes the fitting and sewing tasks while still producing a quality garment.

One width of 45"-wide fabric will work for a hip up to 45". (You need 12 - 24 extra inches in the circumference for the wearing ease of a classic harem pant. You will be removing 22" width from your fabric when you cut your crotch template away, so this will leave you 60-65" inches for hips.)

If your hip is larger than 45", then select wider fabric OR purchase an extra 4 foot of fabric, cut it in half lengthwise, and attach one piece to each leg piece. (Read the Adjustments section.) Proceed as below.

For pants that sit at the hip bone, 36" - 48" of 1" no-roll elastic should be plenty for the waist, with 30" of " elastic for the ankles.

Cut Out the Harem Pants

These simple harem pants are cut from 42 - 45" wide fabric, the standard width at the fabric store. Buy 3 yards and pre-shrink.
The fabric is cut into 2 46-inch long pieces, one for each leg. If you want less blousing, reduce the length, but keep it at least 3 inches longer than the length from hip to the floor.
The crotch cut-out: These pants are loose and easily adjusted so do not get wrapped around the axle about a precise fit.
- My base crotch pattern is 5" wide by 10" deep, with a curve on the inside bottom for easier sewing. This is a good size for a young slender person of normal height.
- If you are a bigger and/or taller woman, or want to have your pants ride higher on the hips than the young'uns wear them, make your crotch template 6-7" wide instead of 5, and/or 12-14" long (taller) instead of 10".
- Some folks copy the crotch curve from a favorite pair of pants. This works fine when you have the pants in hand. See Adjustments section for two ways to do this.
- Some folks use a flexible curve tool to create a custom crotch pattern. See Adjustments section for instructions.

Read the Adjustments section of this page for ideas for fitting adjustments both before and after sewing.

[Click on the image for the larger diagram.]

Sew the Harem Pants

Sew the seams together in this order:

Sew the RED crotch seams together. Now your pants will be one large piece.
Sew the GREEN crotch seams together. Now your pants will be one large cylinder.
Sew the BLUE seams together. These run along a selvage. Now you have one leg.
Sew the PURPLE seams together. These run along a selvage. Now you have two legs.
If you have not used this pattern before, now is the time to double-check the crotch depth.
- Pin your waist elastic into a circle that stays up on your hips where you want the pants to sit.
- Pull the pants on and slip the top hem under the elastic circle on your hips. Distribute the gathers evenly and make sure that the pants are centered on your body. Secure with safety pins.
- If the fabric bubbling over the top of the elastic is 2" deep, no adjustment is needed.
- If the fabric bubbling over is more than 2" deep, then remove the pants and cut away the excess at the top. Remember: these are loose pants, not tailored ones!
- If the fabric is less than 2" over, then you will have to add a separate waistband to the top of the pants instead of folding them over into a self-casing. Or: insert a gusset at the crotch to supply the needed height.
The light lines at top and bottom are the waist and ankle casings. These run along the cut edges and are 2" wide. Press under 1/4" at the cut edges, then press under 1.5" and stitch down. This makes a casing to run 1" no-roll elastic through.

[Click on the image for the larger diagram.]

Make Pantaloons Pantaloons are a Tribal basic, and they are also handy folkloric / fauxloric costume items. The following construction method is the one used by Carolena Nerrico for the original taffeta pants used by her ATS® tribal dancers. Since these pants were always worn under skirts, she taught the simplest crotch construction possible, which is : skip the cut-out crotch and leave a 4" un-sewn opening to allow movement (and ventilation) between the crotch seam and the leg seams. If you do not want that opening, fill it in with a square gusset. (The pantaloons in the picture were made with both a cut-out crotch AND a gusset, for strength). Carolena's original instructions mentioned that she used taffeta remnants from a local mill to construct the pantaloon legs, with cotton for the yokes; she wanted the bulk that the taffeta provided to push the skirts out and away from the body. If you choose a softer fabric, then the pantaloons will drape more and hit the floor with less leg length. Be prepared to adjust the length of the leg; Carolena suggested using tucks in the legs (which would provide yet more volume). Other folks tighten their elastic and push the cuff up the leg to shorten the legs, but that is not a method that results in a secure adjustment on all legs in all circumstances.	Dancers: Lauren and Ruric-Amari. Costumes: Maura Enright. Photo: Jesse Hendrix
Cut Out the Pantaloons
These pantaloons also use the standard 45" width, but in this case the width of the fabric runs down the legs instead of across the waist. If you compare the layout of the ATS® pantaloons with the layout of the harem pants, you will notice that the grain lines and the location of the selvage have changed. The selvages are at the waist and the ankles instead of at the sides. Also, a yoke at the waist is used to reduce bulk. The yoke will be folded over and will end up being 3" deep. This will give these extra-full pantaloons a little more length to poof with. These pantaloons are cut from 40 - 45" wide fabric, the standard width at the fabric store. They are traditionally made from heavier fabric, like taffeta, but they can be made from any fabric with the desired hand. Buy 4.5 yards and pre-shrink. The fabric is cut into 2 72-inch long pieces, one for each leg. The yoke can be cut from the remaining fabric or a contrasting fabric. Piece it as necessary to get the needed length. Fold the pant piece in half, the short way.	Click on the image for the larger diagram.
Sew the Pantaloons
Sew the seams together in this order. Sew the RED crotch seams together. Now your pants will be one large piece. Sew the GREEN crotch seams together. Now your pants will be one large cylinder. Sew the BLUE seams together. These run along a cut edge. Leave an unsewn 4" gap between the crotch seam and this leg seam. Now you have one leg. Sew the PURPLE/ROYAL seams together. These run along a cut edge. Leave an unsewn 4" gap between the crotch seam and this leg seam. Now you have two legs. If you are going to fill in the four-inch gap at the crotch with a gusset, do so now. A square piece 6" on a side will give you plenty of seam allowance to work with. Sew the PINK lines on the yoke piece together. Now you have a circular yoke piece. Gather or pleat the ORANGE edge at the top of the pants to fit the ORANGE edge at the yoke. Sew them together. Press the BLACK edge of the yoke under 1/2" then fold it over again and stitch it down to cover the pantaloon gathers or pleats. You will now have pants with a yoke top. Run another line of stitching around the top of the yoke about 1.5" from the edge. THis is the casing for your elastic; open up a small part of the side yoke seam as necessary to insert elastic, then stitch closed. The light lines at the bottom are the ankle casings. These run along a selvage edge and are 2" wide. Press under 1/4" at the cut edges, then press under 1.5" and stitch down. This makes a casing to run elastic through.	Click on the image for the larger diagram.

Compare Harem Pants and Pantaloons Layout

Running the length of the pant down the fabric selvage will usually result in a slightly softer drape, which is a desired quality in Harem pants. Running the length of the pant across the fabric, from selvage to selvage, will usually provide a bit more body, which is often a desired quality in Pantaloons.

There is, of course, no law against swapping these layouts. Sometimes the fabric weave or pattern will require a change in the layout. If you want to run the harem leg across from selvage to selvage, then you will need to use wider material or add a yoke to get the length you need. You can run the pantaloon leg down the selvage, but you will need to cut two rectangles per leg instead of two or your pantaloons will resemble harem pants.

Comparison of Harem pant and Pantaloon layout

Click on the image for the larger diagram.

Adjust for Size

ELASTIC

Elastic is used to gather in the waist and ankles. I usually use 1" no-roll elastic. Some folks substitute 1/2" elastic at the ankles. If the fabric is heavier, I will use wider elastic at the waist. For slender folks, you will need 2 yards. For heavier folks, get three yards.

LEGS

Unless your legs are unusually long or short, I would not bother changing the length of the legs. These are a loose pant, not fitted jeans. However:

If the pant legs are too long, try making the ankle casing deeper instead of cutting it. Run an extra line of stitching 1.5" from the new edge for the elastic casing.
If the legs are too short, gather the bottoms into a cuff.
If your legs are long and you don't want a cuff, then add extra inches to your pattern and adjust the depth of the ankle casing as needed when the rest of the pant is completed.

HIPS and CROTCH

Harem pants: if your hips measure more than 45" around, make yourself larger leg pieces and proceed as per plan.

Buy a wider fabric: 54" or 60". You need 12 - 24 inches of wearing ease in the circumference for a classic harem pant. You will lose about 30" circumference when you cut your crotch template out, Leaving you 75 - 90" inches for hips.
Buy an extra 4 foot of fabric, cut it in half lengthwise, and attach one piece to each leg section.

Crotch Curve: The crotch curve in the harem pant instructions will work for a slender young person of normal height. If you are a bigger and/or taller woman and do not want to measure, then try making your crotch template 6-7" deep (bigger) instead of 5, and/or 12-14" long (taller) instead of 12".

If you have a relatively flat stomach and a well-developed posterior, you can make separate crotch patterns for front and back, making the back pattern a bit wider. Suggest you sew a ribbon loop to the back when you are done so that you always know which way to put on the pants.

Remember: These are LOOSE pants, with LOTS of fabric ease, not jeans! This means exact crotch fit is unnecessary.

If you want more precise instructions, consider the following suggestions. The last two result in a permanent crotch pattern with very little effort.

Complete the pants with the leg inseams left unfinished above the knee. Safety pin the unstitched inseams and try the pants on. If more room is needed in front and/or back, insert a gusset at the crotch and complete the pants
Use a flexible curve tool to replicate the front and back crotch from a favorite pair of pants or from the dancer's body. The flexible tool will tell you if you need more depth or more height to the curves.
- Obtain a piece of sturdy paper wrapping paper, file folder, paper bag, or heavy non-woven interfacing.
- Draw a line on the pattern paper 2" down from the top; this marks the depth of your waist-line casing.
- Draw a line on the right side 1" from the edge: this is your inner-thigh-line.
- Starting at your desired front waistline, curve the tool down, through your legs, and back up. Wrap rubber bands around the tool at your desired waistline in back and at your crotch.
- Trace the curve shape on the paper, being careful to match the top of the curve with the waist-line-casing line and the crotch point on the curve with the inner-thigh-line on the long edge of the paper. Make separate front and back curve patterns.
- Need a picture? Here is a good one at Mariadenmark.com.
Copy the crotch line of a favorite pair of pants.
- If the pants have a higher rise than the proposed harem pants, mark the new waist line with a safety pin at front and back.
- Insert one leg inside of the other and shake until the legs are as flat as possible.
- Fold the front of the pants back at the center front so that the fold is on the crotch curve. Secure the fold as necessary with safety pins.
- Draw a line 2" down from the top of the paper; this allows fabric for your waist-band casing.
- Trace the folded curve from hip to bottom crotch seam onto your pattern paper, placing the pin marking the desired waist at the waist-band casing line and the bottom crotch point of the pants with the inner-thigh-line on the long edge of the paper.
- Repeat for the back.

If you find you need more depth in the crotch area AFTER completing the pants:

add a gusset at the crotch for extra crotch depth and width;
add a waistband to the top instead of folding it over into a self-casing.