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I love little boys.Â
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And I love making them projects.Â
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I know, I know……..they are harder to make things for.Â
But I always get my brain thinking about boy projects around the change of the seasons.Â
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So when I saw some cute little flag pants at Baby Gap a few weeks ago (while shopping their end of summer sales for next years clothing stockpile), I quickly snapped a picture with my phone and decided to make some for my little boy. Sorry Gap, I wasn’t going to pay you to cut up jean scraps and sew them back together. Some boy clothes are tricky to make, yes, but using up old scraps to spruce up some boy pants? No problem. I can do that.
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So, these pants are no longer available online……so I couldn’t find a good picture and link to show you. So, (sigh), here’s my quick little cell phone picture I took a few weeks ago. Just to give you an idea of the pants I saw hanging on the rack as I was browsing the store. (And just for the record, I do buy my kids clothing too. I don’t make every single thing. In fact, I will buy up the whole store if the price is right. I love sales and I love a good bargain. But if something is overpriced and I think I can just make it………that’s when I warm up my sewing machine.  Just wanted to make it clear that I don’t spend hours making all of the clothing for 3 small children. Eeek!)
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Anyway, the above visit to Baby Gap is where the idea came from to make these. And haha, I’m not British…..but I agree with Gap. The shape of their flag (hello UK!) makes a great visual shape for boy’s pants.
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Nothing too complicated……but definitely a cute way to perk up some old jeans.
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And because these were hand-me-down jeans from a friend and I used old jean scraps from my stash…..
………these pants cost me nothing. Kinda perfect.
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He loves it when I make something for him.
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Would you like to make your own UK flag jeans?
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Before we get started…….I made these pants using a pair of 3T size jeans. If you are going to use pants any smaller (or a narrow leg style), it may be really difficult to maneuver the pant leg under the sewing machine needle. Try fitting the pant leg under the needle and see if you can move it around bit by bit (see pics below), before cutting into your jeans. If it doesn’t fit……try unpicking the side seam of the pant leg and then attach the flag with the opened up leg. Then sew the leg back together when you’re done.
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Oh, and I just used a regular old standard needle. The denim scraps I used weren’t terribly thick. But if yours are, and you only have your standard needle, just sew slowly.
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Start by cutting a long rectangle down the front leg of a pair of jeans (don’t cut the pocket). I started the top of the rectangle right about even with the crotch and the bottom a little lower than the knee. And you want to leave enough space on both sides of the rectangle so that you can attach the flag without running into the side seams of the pant legs. (The placement of the flag will depend on the size pants you are using.)
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Then I dug into my jean fabric scraps and cut out a rectangle that was about 3/4 of an inch bigger on all sides. (The original rectangle is on the left.)
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Then I cut strips to make an ‘X’ on the front. I needed a wide strip and then a narrow strip to go on top. The wide strip was just the denim face down and the narrow strip was the denim face up.
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Sew the wide strip down first (face down), sewing about a 1/8 – 1/4 inch from the edge on both long edges. Then place the narrow strip on top (face up), sewing along both edges too. So both parts of the ‘X’ down the same way.
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Then sew a 2-part strip going horizontally and then another one vertically.
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Trim off any extras along each edge. Then slide the flag inside of the pant leg and center it in the opening. Pin in place really well. (I rolled up the pant leg because it was easier to keep it out of the way. Also, pin the pocket out of the way so you don’t sew through it.)
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Here’s the tricky part. Slide the opening of the pants onto the sewing machine, making sure the back side of the pants are underneath the arm of the sewing machine. (This is why tiny baby pants would be too hard. They probably won’t fit on the arm of the sewing machine.) Start sewing right along the upper edge of the flag, an 1/8 of an inch from the edge of the rectangle opening.
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When you sew all along the top of the rectangle, start sewing down the side. You will have to sew a few inches, then adjust the pant leg so that you don’t sew through the back side. This may get tricky but if you keep adjusting, you can do it!
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Once you get to the bottom of that side, backstitch and pull the pants off the machine. Then turn your pants and slide the back on the machine from the bottom of the pant leg opening. Sew across the bottom of the rectangle and then back stitch and pull off.
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Then slide them back on through the top of the pants again and sew down the other side of the rectangle, just like the first side.
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Now, sew another seam, right next the first line…….but about an 1/8 of an inch away.
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Now, wash and dry the jeans and cut off all of the frayed and loose threads.Â
It roughs up all of the edges and makes it look more rugged.
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And that’s it.Â
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Your UK flag jeans are complete.Â
And ready to be worn.
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