Thread: Harem pants ideas?

Okay, so I just bought material to make a set of harem pants with to go under a costume (the chiffon skirt is a little too naked).

Does anyone have any easy variations on traditional harem pants they can share?

I put a slit down the center front of each leg, from the hip all the way to the ankle. From the back, it looks like I'm wearing harem pants. From the front, they barely show because of being the same fabric as the skirt.

Here are pictures in which I'm wearing them underneath a skirt made in exactly the same fabric/color:







It lets my legs show, but ensures that the skimpy Turkish skirt I wear over it won't expose anything I prefer that the audience not see.

To make it, take your pattern piece for the front of the pants, and make it 1 inch wider across the front. Then, cut the pattern piece from top to bottom along the place that would be centered over the center front of your thigh.

Make a 1/4-inch hem on the both edges that border the slit - see my directions for that at Belly Dance Costumes: How To Make A Narrow Hem .

Thanks Shira! This one I've done before, and I love it!

I've cut slits up the side of mine before and put some sequin trim on them-simple, like Shira's except the slits are on the side. Probably you've seen this too!

Originally Posted by JasmineRose

I've cut slits up the side of mine before and put some sequin trim on them-simple, like Shira's except the slits are on the side. Probably you've seen this too!

I have, and I've made them, too. I've also heard of some drapey-er kinds of harem pants (or maybe they were Turkish skirts).

The material I've ordered are Pakistani shawls with a border, and the suggestion I got was to make cuffed harems.

Keep the ideas coming, thanks!

The ones I'm wearing in the photos are cuffed instead of elastic bottoms. Cuffs are a nice way to showcase the border because they allow the design to lie flat (as the cuff) rather than be all bunched up by elastic. I left my cuffs open at the inside leg seam instead of stitching them. This allowed me to make them slightly smaller (ie, closer-fitting to my ankle). I put a hook/eye set on them as a closure.

I love the ones Natalia Strelchenko is wearing on this videoclip :tongue: Ruffled at the knee and flowy on the rest of the leg.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9jUAfTGMuY]YouTube - Natalia Strelchenko[/ame]


Qamar

Hmmm, maybe I should try that one.

I usually taper mine at the ankle, since I am short and also have small ankles (but not small hips). I think the straight cut makes me look too "dumpy" for lack of a better word.

But at the knee might help eliminate some of that bulk.

Originally Posted by Qamar60

I love the ones Natalia Strelchenko is wearing on this videoclip :tongue: Ruffled at the knee and flowy on the rest of the leg


Qamar

I made a pair out of a sari. I put the boarder down the side, which I then left open to the waist. I added a sparklely frog at about knee height to keep them together. it worked.

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