I was requested to make a video on DIY harem pants over on Sparkly Belly’s Facebook page, and a few dancers were working on harem pants and sharing their creations there! So that inspired me to make a pair myself.
By the way, the number of members at Sparkly Belly’s Facebook page is growing, and it is such a beautiful community of supportive and crafty dancers. The recent post on the Facebook page made me emotional, because everyone was so caring and supportive and offering practical tips and advice that would help each other grow. If you are part of the community already, thank you for being there, and thank you for being YOU! If you haven’t checked out this wonderful community yet, you can check it out from here. 🙂
Okay, back to the topic…So belly dancer harem pants come in different shapes, and in this video, you will see Princess Jasmine style harem pants that are loose and balloony but has separate legs as opposed to Aladdin style (also known as Afghani pants) that is super loose in the centre and has short to almost no separate legs. And you’ll see how I cut corners and save probably 30 minutes or more making these harem pants. So let’s get started!
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To make Aladdin Jasmine style harem pants, you need:
Fabric – You need about twice your pant length plus about 20cm or 8in. You can use any light weight material that flows nicely, and you can use stretch or non-stretch, it doesn’t matter. I’m using printed chiffon and it has sequins sewn onto it.
Thick elastic for the waistband and thin elastic for ankles – Thick one should be about 2-2.5cm or 1in wide, and the thin one should be about 5mm or ¼ inch wide.
Pants – Find loose pants you have, it doesn’t matter how long they are. Pajama shorts or pants are perfect. We will use these as our pattern
Measuring tape & marker
Scissors or rotary cutter
2 Safety pins
Matching colour thread Sewing machine
How to Make Belly Dancer Harem Pants
First, measure from your belt line or where you want your pants to sit, to the floor. If you tend to wear your harem pants higher at the back than the front, take your measurement at the back to ensure the pants will be long enough.
Then lay your fabric on a flat surface, and fold it in half.
Next, take your pants, turn them inside out, and put one leg inside the other one, so you can see the curves of the crotch section. The back part tends to be longer, so line them up at the seam of the leg like this.
From the fold, measure 4 cm or 1 ¾ in and place the top of the back side of your pants there and the side of the pants is 1 cm or ½ in from the edge. Then trace the curve 1 cm or ½ in away to give it a seam allowance.
Now quickly measure the distance between the fold and the end of the curve you just drew, and transfer it to the other side of the fabric. These two edges will be sewn together later, so this helps us make sure the lengths of the edges are the same.
Next, bring out the front side of your pants, place it 1cm or ½ in away from the mark, and trace it with a seam allowance just like we did for the back side. You’ll see that the front side is shorter than the back side, which is normal, and just extend the line upward to meet the fold.
Okay, now measure your pants length plus 6 cm or 2.5 in from the fold and draw a line here.
Cut along the lines, and separate the fold. You’ll have 2 panels.
Now do a straight stitch along the inseam, which is just a fancy term meaning from the crotch to the bottom of the pant. Do this for both legs. What’s great about these harem pants is that because we used the whole width of the fabric and the ends are finished already, we can skip finishing the inseam. I like to cut corners and save time like this especially when it still achieves a similar result. 🙂 But of course, if you like a more professional look, feel free to finish the edges as you like.
Then, here is a little bit of a fun trick, flip one of the legs inside out, and stick it inside the other one, so the right sides are facing together. Line up the inseams and place pins along the curve. This makes it easier to sew the curved crotch section together.
So go ahead and do a straight stitch, and for the raw edge, you can do a zigzag stitch, or if you have a serger, you can finish the seam with your serger.
It’s exciting, take the inside leg out, and it should looks like a pair of huge pants!
Now, I didn’t want to go back to the fabric and cut and measure more to make elastic casings, so I incorporated it into the original pattern. So at the waist of the pants, fold about 1cm or ½ in at the top edge, then fold again 3cm or 1 1/4in from here. If you’ve got enough patience, you can press it to make it neat and easier to sew. If not, fold and place lots of pins. Do this all the way around the waist of the pants.
Sew with a straight stitch, a couple of mm or 1/8 in or so from the folded bottom edge. At the back or front, make sure to leave a gap about 5cm or 2in long, so you can insert elastic from here later.
Now we’ll do the same thing for the bottom of the pants. Fold 5mm or 1/4in, then fold again 1.5cm or 1/2in. Press and pin or just place pins, and do a straight stitch all around it, and again don’t forget to leave a few cm gap. And repeat this for the other leg.
It’s a good time to stand up, do a bit of stretch, and see how much elastic you’ll need for your waist. Take your thick elastic, place it around your belt line nice and snug, and cut with 2cm or 1in or so seam allowance. Do the same for your ankles with thinner elastic.
Insert the elastic through the casing you created. Put safety pins on both ends of the elastic, and secure one end somewhere near the gap. This way, you won’t lose the other end of the elastic, which I’ve done too many times not to learn a lesson!
I like to pin it to the seam so even if it leaves holes, they don’t show on the outside. Using the other safety pin, you can guide the elastic through the casing. Then sew the ends together, and stitch up the gap. Do the same for the hems of the pants.
And your harem pants are finished! It may seem like a lot of steps involved, and that’s only because I explained every single detail. But the construction of these pants is very simple, so if you give it a try, you’ll be surprised how easy it is 😉
I hope you feel like trying, and next week, you will see a thinner version of harem pants that come with slits on the sides. So if you don’t want to miss it, sign up for the Sparkly Belly newsletter from the below link to get updates and free patterns and resources only available to subscribers.
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Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling!
P.S. Happy pinning 🙂
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