My attempt at 'zero-waste' pants ended with me stuck in a chair

Honestly, I got this idea to make pants from old bedsheets, trying to use every single scrap. I cut them into these weird geometric shapes, like a puzzle, and sewed them together with this heavy-duty thread. The fit was okay standing up, but when I sat down in my kitchen chair after lunch, the seams just gave out. I heard a loud rip and suddenly couldn't get up without the whole side splitting open. I had to call my roommate to bring me a blanket to wrap around myself so I could waddle to my room. The whole thing took about 4 hours to make and lasted maybe 20 minutes of actual wear. I learned that bedsheet fabric has zero stretch and you really need to think about movement when you draft a pattern. Has anyone else had a design completely fail the 'sit test'?

2 comments

2 Comments

river_hart1828d agoTop Commenter

My first sewing project ripped right at the thigh seam when I bent over. I switched to adding a gusset in the crotch for extra fabric where you move. That simple triangle piece saved so many pants from the same fate.

black.margaret28d ago

I had the same rip, @river_hart18, and a diamond gusset was my fix too.