Baby Pants Alterations

An bit of a tutorial to help you alter store-bought pants to fit over cloth diapers:

You'll need: 

-baby pants.  make sure they are the length you need and have sufficient stretch in the waistband. 

-matching fabric (or not, as suits your fancy)

-scissors

-needle & thread or machine.  

Steps: 

1.   Cut down the back seam of the pants, from the crotch (is that the best word there is?) to the belt loop if there is one, or the yoke or a reasonable stopping point so long as it doesn't interfere with the waistband.  I cut on either side of the seam, removing it entirely so that I could have less bulk in my own seams.  Additionally, I cut about a half inch out of the top of the inseams. 

1.  Cut along seams at center back and inseam, like so.

2.  Carefully, put the pants on the kiddo in question.  Let him crawl and stretch and basically move in his usual way.  The biggest problem for us with these trim-looking baby pants is that over the cloth diaper they keep him from moving his legs smoothly while crawling, and they pull down the diaper.  Neither good.  So a main goal of mine for this project was smooth crawling.  Most of the area of the pants that needed expansion was in the rump, with just a bit in the crotch to make it wider. 

2, 3, 4.  Couldn't get a pic in use, but the gaping was a little like this.

3.  Look/measure/estimate at the amount of gaping that occurs while the kiddo is wearing the pants.  I got a general idea of the shape of the gape and measured it at its widest point using my finger.  If you can find your tape measure, feel free to do it the proper way.  I figured on a tiny bit of extra ease anyway, so didn't want to spend a lot of time measuring.

4.  Carefully take the pants back off again.  

5.  Cut out your second fabric to a bit larger than the hole including seam allowance.  

6.  Pin the fabric to the pants.  I found the easiest way for me was to tuck under the raw edges of the fabric, and pin it from the outside, so both right sides were showing on the outside, as if I were doing an applique.  I added a pleat going in either direction at the bottom, where the back panel joins the inseam, so that there could be sufficient expansion in that area as well. 

7.  Added fabric basted on.

7.  View of the pleat at the inseam.

7.   Sew the fabric to the pants.  I basted it on by hand for a trial run on the kiddo, with the intention of sewing it more securely by machine at a later point. 

8.  Press, if you're so inclined.  Finish seams if that makes you happy.  

This was incredibly quick as projects go, took me about an hour, and that was with me sewing by hand.  The results have been excellent--Chubber can crawl freely, and seems more comfortable wearing pants while being carried in the Ergo.  Pants that have back pockets may look a little silly, since the pockets get pushed off to the sides. 

Hope this helps someone out there in a similar pickle!