Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Make In One Hour or Less: Insulated Snow Pants

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Winter's here and that means snow!  Which of course means the kids want to be outside. Snow pants are a must, but good, toasty warm ones can cost a lot (especially if you have 3 kids like me).  So I thought up an easy way to make those cozy, designer-style, insulated snow/ski pants for less than $25.  And did I mention they can be made in under 1 hour?  


You'll Need:
- 1yd Anti-pill/Micro Fleece, which makes a cuddly, hardwearing lining.
- 1 yd Thermal Batting, (traditionally used for making hot pads). It adds the critical insulate so the warmth stays in & cold stays out.
- 1 yd PUL (polyurethane laminate), a laminated polyester traditional used for making cloth diapers - ideal because it's waterproof.
- 1 yd One inch wide non-roll elastic, which resists rolling & twisting to keep cuffs and waistband in place
- Pattern for pajama or loose fitting elastic waist pants*
- Sewing Notions (measuring tape, rotary cutter/shears, safety pin, pins, sewing machine)

*1 yd is enough to make up to about 8yrs old sizing.  If you want to make a lot smaller or larger, follow your pattern's yardage guide & adjust accordingly.

All these materials can be found at chain fabric stores and using the coupons & sales can make them very affordable.  Personally, I find the best selection of PUL prints &amp and fleece; colors is online though, so checking out diaper sewing shops will find you some amazing prints and for solids.  Fabric.com has some too.




The pants pattern I used had a single piece for each leg.  If yours has 2 (a front & back), just overlap the side seams by the amount of the seam allowance to make a single leg piece - it saves time!  Since these will be going over regular clothing, choose one size up from the pant size usually worn on the sides of the pattern for the best fit (leaving waist & length the usual size).  Cut folded fabric so there are two pieces of each of the thermal batting, fleece and PUL:


Now layer a piece of thermal batting over the wrong side of the PUL:


Fold with the right sides of the PUL facing and stitch down the side.  Trim the seam allowance and repeat on other leg:


Turn one leg right side out and insert into the other leg so the crotch areas are lined up. Pin together and then stitch.  Trimming seam allowance again.


Repeat with other leg and again using just the fleece to make lining.  I also sewed a tag onto the inner backside of the lining at this point so it's easy to know which way is back.


With right sides of outer & lining facing (and fronts and backs matching up), insert the outer pant into the lining and pin together the waists.


Stitch together with a .5 inch seam allowance, leaving a two inch gap at the back for turning.


Pull the lining out and it should look like this:


Now stuff lining into the outer pants and stitch waistbands together 1.25 inches from the top seam to form the waistband casing:


Measure the wearer's waist and ankles.  Cut elastic for waist and insert into gap and work around with a safety pin:


Sew ends of elastic together and sew gap in fabric closed.  I did this by hand with a ladder stitch:


Now fold the raw edges of the cuffs inward .5 inches and pin:


Stitch cuffs together .25 inch from edge, leaving a 1.5 inch gap.


Repeat step for making the casing, inserting the elastic and closing the gap.  Pull them on and they're ready for the snow.  And they total rival the high end brands that cost $50+ in terms of warmth & keeping water out.


You can have them made & the kids out playing in the snow less than 60 minutes from hearing the words "Snow Day"!

Sharing this with my FAVE LINK PARTIES too so click HERE to check them out!

39 comments:

  1. My lil' girl has been wanting a pair of snowpants instead of snowbibs. I will have to give this a whirl! Thanks for sharing!!!!

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  2. Oh I would LOVE to have to make these... Unfortunately we are still in the High 80s - Low 90s... This is such a GREAT idea ... Love it.. :)

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  3. Great money saver! We don't see snow here unless we travel up to the mountains, I can't imagine what it is like to have it on your doorstep during the Winter months!

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  4. Wow! That is a great idea!! I'd never even considered the idea of making my kids' snow pants. And yes, keeping 6 kids in pants get's expensive!

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  5. These look so very warm and cozy!

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  6. you again, are amazing. these are the coolest. thank you for posting the tutorial in the linky party, at http://www.finecraftguild.com/party/ as i know readers will be so happy with this.

    see you again next week i hope with something equally awesome! you rock.

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  7. Great idea! I'm definitely pinning this to do next year!

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  8. Too cute and GREAT idea, love the fabric too !

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  9. These are awesome - may have to adapt them for grown-ups who want to play in the snow!

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  10. Thanks so much everyone! If the snow would stick around here I might make some for myself - who says the kids should be the only ones to have fun & stay warm?

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  11. Such a great idea! These are so much better looking than those drab black and blue ones.

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  12. Hmmm...could these be leg warmers for a Grandma who sits in a cool room at her computer for long hours? Love these and how easy they are to make!
    I am blog hopping from Katherine's Corner. Growing Old With Grace http://growing-old-with-grace.blogspot.com/. Hugs, GraceinAZ

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  13. Amazing idea! My daughter would love these in a fun print...instead of wearing her boy cousin's hand-me-downs. Of course there hasn't been much snow this year! Thanks for linking up at Thematic Thursday.

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  14. What a great idea. I'll have to try my hand at this when we move back to the States and have a little easier access to all of these fun materials (and more snow than here in Japan!)

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  15. I've never seen such a cute pair of snowpants! Thanks for sharing at Dwell on Fridays!

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  16. Super cute snowpants! Thanks for linking up to my Valentine Link Party!

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  17. So cute! Great tutorial. I link up to your party every week, it's so fun to see you linked up to mine!! Thanks so much for joining the fun! Karah

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  18. These look great. I wish I had some fun snow pants when I was little. Thanks so much for linking this up at Doggone Dirty Craftin last week. Can't wait to see what you have for this thursday!

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  19. Cheryl, those pants are so adorable, warm and cozy too! Great tutorial!!

    I'm featuring your post on tomorrow's "A Little Birdie Told Me..."!

    Thank you so much for linking up! Come by tomorrow to see your feature, join the party, and grab a button!

    <3
    Jenn

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  20. These are awesome! Another reason to hold on to my PUL stash for when my kids are out of diapers.

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  21. Great tutorial for those fabulous pants!


    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous week!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  22. First off - that fabric is adorable! Secondly - you're a genius! Great idea and they look amazing :) Thank you so much for sharing at Taking A Timeout Thursday!

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  23. Amazing tutorial and only one hour, fantastic! Thanks so much for sharing on craft schooling Sunday!

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  24. What an adorable idea and I love the fabric pattern..

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  25. Amazing and cute! Thanks so much for joining us on "Strut Your Stuff Saturday". We loved having you and hope to see you back next week with more great ideas! - The Sisters

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  26. These are great!!

    Thanks for linking up to Serenity Saturday Link Party!
    Hope you can join me again tomorrow

    Natasha xx

    www.serenityyou.blogspot.com

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  27. These are so cute! I am in LOVE with that pattern =D I have gotten snow pants for everyone in my family but me... I don't want to spend a fortune because I'm gonna lose this extra weight & then they won't fit, so what a great tutorial. Thank you for linking up to My Favorite Things Friday Party & I hope you will join in again this Friday! I can't wait to see what you have come up with next!
    XoXo
    Iffy

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  28. Hi,
    Found your blog via pinterest. I was wondering if these cute snow pants kept your kiddos warm.

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    Replies
    1. Yes - these work great - the outer is waterproof and wind resistant, the inner is insulated fabric (like all the big companies use) and then lined with warm fleece. Lightweight, but very cozy! I think I'm going to make a pair for myself this winter:)

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  29. Thank you! I have a very hard to fit grand child and I'm happy to be able to customize for him. Not to mention, one very picky grand daughter who will love to choose her own fabric.

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    1. They are so fun and quick to make - you'll love it. I've got some new fabric coming to make new ones for my boys soon:)

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  30. So simple but so effective. Thank you for sharing your creativity. I’m off to the machine!

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    1. Thanks so much Lorna! These are been so useful for us - I hope they are for you too. Would love to see them when you make some:)

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  31. Hello. Anyone have a way to turn a one-piece snow suit into a two piece? I bought on last winter and my daughter out grew it!

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    Replies
    1. If it were possible, I would cut it in half and add a wide band of rib knit to the bottom of the "coat" and the top of the "pants" and run some extra wide elastic through the band of the pants. This would work with a mid length central zipper (cut below the end of it) or with a snap/button front closure. If there's a zipper running all the way down one leg, there's probably no easy way to convert it. Would love to see it if you do convert it!

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