Madrone Pants Hack: Joggers

A winterized pair of Chanterelles is already a classic favourite on the Sew Liberated team, and the Madrone Pants have the same kind of cozy vibes potential! When Meg suggested Madrone Pants hack with a sweater knit highlighting raw edges, I was ALL IN. I knew that a low stretch stable knit with a brushed inside would work perfectly, and that the seam lines would be featured beautifully by the fabric’s exposed edges. 

To make this pair, I used a cotton sweatshirt fleece that is about 240 gsm / 7.1 oz/yd². It has a smooth face and a brushed back, is low stretch and stable, and fairly easy to sew. I’d recommend as close to 100% cotton as you can find for this project. (While bamboo is popular in sweatshirt fleece blends, I find it to be too slinky and not stable enough for this application.)

For assembly I used a small zig-zag stitch in place of a straight stitch, which I prefer to a stretch stitch for ease and look. I finished the few seams that are on the inside of the garment on my serger. I recommend testing stitch settings on a scrap to adjust your presser foot tension and find a stitch you like. I always make a sample and label the stitch settings, so that I can go back to what I used in a future sewing session. The “featured” exposed-edge seams are sewn a bit like a flat-felled seam, but one edge is left unfinished. They’re sewn with the wrong sides together, one edge trimmed, and the remaining full-width seam allowance pressed over the trimmed seam allowance and sewn in place. 

Fitting on these pants is quite simple due to the ease and the elastic waistband. The drawstring adds an extra element of flexibility to the fit. But you have never fit pants before check out our FREE pants fitting guide!

One important tip before you cut your fabric

Since the seam allowances are a feature here, cutting notches isn’t quite going to work. Use a tack in a contrasting thread instead! It’s really quick to do and easy to remove. 

Pockets

To avoid excess bulk, I adjusted the Back Pocket instructions slightly. I pressed the top hem allowance in place and edgestitched the hem (still using a zig zag). Rather than turning the edges under, I trimmed back ½” of the ⅝” seam allowance, so I could sew the pockets in place on the Side Back with raw edges exposed.

The only change I made to the Front Pocket construction was to skip any edge stitching. 

Seams

Since leaving a gap in the seam is a little trickier with this visible seam finish, I only kept the pair at the front, and closed the side panel seams entirely (skipping the gap at the side for the drawstring). Once again marking the notches with tacks (and chalk and pins to really make sure I didn’t make a mistake!), I only kept the gap in the seam in Step 3b, and did NOT clip the seam allowance in 3c. For the rest of the vertical seams (Steps 5c-g, Step 6’s Panel seam, and Step 7), I sewed the seam to match my sample. Wrong sides together, trim one seam allowance, then press and topstitch. 

The Side panel seams are pressed towards the side panel in the regular instructions, but in this case that would have left the pocket construction too unstabilized. In this case I added an extra row of understitching, trimmed the seam allowances of the Front and Back (not the Side Panel), and topstitched towards the Front and Back. The pocket still has plenty of room to function, and the seam allowance edges will roll back after the first wash. 

The inseams and crotch seam are sewn as instructed in Step 8. 

Waistband

Wrangling wide elastic through a channel can be a little annoying, so I chose to finish the raw edge of the fabric and sew the elastic directly to the edge. It’s a bit of a bold move because I can’t adjust the elastic length, but I’ve made these pants a few times already and I know my elastic length and how it behaves with my fabric. (Remember, I made a sample!) Plus, the drawstring lends a hand in customizing waist fit. 

To sew the waistband like this, measure your elastic, and include an overlap.
Cut the elastic to length and sew it in a loop.

Finish the edge of your fabric, trimming away ¼” of seam allowance as you do so.
Divide the elastic in quarters, and the waistband in quarters.

Stretching the elastic taut as you sew, secure the elastic’s edge to the wrong side of the finished fabric edge with a wider zigzag. I used 3 x 3 mm.

Flip the elastic to the inside, folding the fabric as you do so. Since the fabric is bulkier, the extra seam allowance left will be used up in the turn of the cloth.

Pin the folded fabric in place wrapped around the elastic, ensuring the seams line up with themselves and the fabric isn’t twisting.
Sew the elastic and fabric in place with a zig zag edgestitch.

To keep room for the drawstring channel, sew two more lines around the elastic, ½” from either edge.

Using a bodkin, thread the drawcord through the channel. Knot each end of the drawcord. 

Hem

I liked the way things were looking and decided to keep the hem subtle. Rather than using the Hem facing, I used the matching ribbing that I’d purchased with my sweatshirt fleece to make a simple internal hem facing. I cut a rectangle 3 ¼” wide and the measurement of the hem circumference. The ribbing fabric is quite stretchy, so the seam allowance will make the hem facing shorter than the hem circumference. 

I sewed the hem like any other simple facing: sew the short ends together to make a cylinder, press the fabric in half lengthwise aligning the raw edges, attach with a ⅝” seam allowance (already included in the pattern from the regular hem facing), understitch, grade seam allowances, press to the inside and edgestitch.