Emily Moore
  • Home
  • Blog
  • Actress
  • Model
  • Bio
  • My Style
  • Event Photos
  • Photographer Credits
  • Stylist & MU
  • Appearances
  • Pinterest

DIY Skinny Leather Pants 

1/11/2013

8 Comments

 
Picture
For months I had been drooling over those leather skinny jeans seen in every fashion magazine and on just about every celebrity Hollywood.  And like most of us I don't have the hundreds to  thousands of dollars to invest on the beauties.  

Then the idea hit me.  Why not just make my own pair using recycled leather? Sounds easy enough, Ya?

Well for one thing I have never sewn leather before. So this was a challange for me.  I do have sewing experience and am not afraid of making my own patterns since I rarely ever use them. I do like to simplify or make it easy, or as easy as allowed. And one of those is making a pattern from leggings rather than jeans. 

First find your leather material. This may take some time. It took me two months to find my leather coat at the thrift store. It's the best place I can think of to find inexpensive leather. Look for leather that is soft, durable, strong, and in good if not great condition.  I was very fortunate. The thrift store I went to was in an very small and friendly town. Plainview, Minnesota! So of course when I entered the store chatted with the owner and got to what I was looking for.  She brought me to the back room and showed me all of their leather pieces. We found a women's large leather coat in black and in great condition. Still unsure of what I really wanted I couldn't decide if it was it.  But with her offer at $10.00 I couldn't refuse. What a bargain! 

Picture
Picture
Tips Before starting!

*Leather is very unforgiving and will show mistakes if you do end up having to take the seams out to refit.  

*Make the pants larger. It helps in the long run.

*Use medium-small stitching. Too tight of stitching may cause a rip in the seam.

*Take your time. It will make for a better pair of pants.

Making your leather pants:

1. Use a retail pattern of skinny pants or leggings. You can find these at your local craft or fabric store.

2. Or do what I did and create a pattern using a pair of pleather/leather pants you already own that fit perfectly. Then  add to the pattern an extra 1/2 to 1 inch for the inseam, mistakes, and wiggle room. Trust me I needed it!

I used a pair of pleather leggings from Forever 21 (c) to create my pattern. 

1. Use the lining of the coat (or scrap fabric) to creat your pattern.  This is great for beginners to use as practice so you won't damage the leather.  I created 6 pieces to use for my pattern. 2 pieces for the legs, 2 for the top front, and 2 for the back top. You may have to play around a bit like a puzzle to get the most use out of your jacket. And I recommend using the sleeves for the lower half of the pants. From the knees to the ankles as the shoulders to the wrists. 

2. lay out the pattern pieces to your leather coat and mark them using a fabric pencil or bar of soap (marking on the inside). Pins are no good here as they will leave holes in your leather. Carefully take out the necessary seams of the leather coat using a seam ripper. I really took my time for this because leather is not forgiving. Before cutting make sure you have enough leather for each piece. I used the front of the coat for the back because I had a generous amount to work with. Be creative! I kept the jacket front pockets for a unique look. They ended up behind the thigh. I rarely use back pockets but these would be great to hold my I.D., cash, and cards when I go out. On the plus side I get to keep my girlish figure without adding bulk to my behind. 

3. Time to sew! Lay out the leather pieces inside out as your personal leggins do. If you purchased a pattern follow there instructions. Start with using 1/4 of an inch sewing seam. This allows  plenty of room for mistakes. Sew the upper inseams of the right front to the right back, same on the left side. Next you will sew all four top pieces together creating a U shaped inseam.  Next add the lower leg to the upper thigh. Still keeping the outside seams open. Since I did not cut the lower pieces into four parts I saved myself from one step of sewing them together. Now you can sew the outer seams together leaving the upper side for the zipper. After sewing this seam I was able to make my adustments. Put the pants on inside out and mark the places that need to be taken in. That way it wil fit like a glove. Still leaving the one side seam open for the zipper.

4. Sew the top waist band. Leather streaches easily so you may want to reinforce it by using a thick seam.

5. The Zipper. I used the original jacket zipper and by cutting it down half the size. Make sure that you stitch the bottom part of the zipper a lot. It will save you in the long run. Before you sew the zipper on first baste the side seam for easy removal. Place your zipper evenly on the seam and sew leaving enough room on the top for a clasp.  

And Voila! You have made your own leather skinny jeans!


Picture
8 Comments

    Emily Moore

    I'm an actress/singer/dancer who has an eye for style!

    View my profile on LinkedIn
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Archives

    December 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    November 2011
    September 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    September 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010


    Categories

    All
    112 Eatery
    2011
    2012 Dolce
    22
    Abe Ready
    Amber Rose Hair & Makeup
    America
    Amethyst
    Angeles
    Anita Sue Kolman Gallery
    April
    Aquamarine
    Beauty
    Beauty Products
    Bejewel
    Black
    Blonde
    Bloomingdales
    Bonus
    Booking
    Booties
    Boots
    Bridesmaid
    Brushes
    Budget
    Cards
    Center
    Cheap
    Chic
    Citrine
    Cleaning
    Cleanser
    Clearance
    Clinique
    Clothes
    Color
    Coral
    Cosmetics
    Crafts
    Crystal
    Crystals
    Cut
    Darice Stick On Gems
    Day
    Deals
    Decor
    Dena Marie Bridal & Tux
    Designer
    Designs
    Dettesnaps
    Dette Snaps
    Diy
    Do
    Dresses
    Earth
    Elixery
    Embelished
    Emerald
    Emily Trempe
    Face
    Falen
    Fall
    Fall 2012
    Fall 2012 Fashion Trends
    Fashion
    Faux
    Favorite
    Floral
    Flowerama
    Food
    Free
    Friday
    Fun
    Fur
    Gabbana
    Gift
    Glasses
    Graves601
    Green Wedding
    Hair
    Happy
    Heels
    Herbergers
    High
    Home
    Homemade
    Hot
    Inspiring
    It
    Jeans
    Jewelry
    Kdwb
    Kimberly Bowman
    Kimberly Neidenfuer
    Layering
    Leather
    Leather Dress
    Leather Shorts
    Leather Skinny Pant
    Leather Top
    Looks
    Los
    Make-up
    Mall
    March Wedding
    Maxi
    Michael\\\\
    Military
    Mnfashion
    Mnreddress
    Mother
    Nicole Richie
    Northtown
    Of
    Offs
    Organic
    Organizing
    Origins
    Patrick Pollard
    Peridot
    Pink
    Pinterest
    Product Requirements
    Purchase
    Rainbow
    Revamping
    Ron Ravensborg
    Rosedale
    Sale
    Sally
    Scrap
    Seeking Your Opinion
    Shannon Lee
    Shirts
    Shoes
    Shopping
    Skincare
    Skinny
    Sloppy
    Something Borrowed Bride
    Spring
    Spring Fever
    Steals
    Studded
    Studded Jean Shorts
    Style
    Summer
    Swarovski
    Sweets Bakeshop
    Tate Stationery
    Tee
    Theater
    Trends
    Turquoise
    Vegan Fashion
    Vermeil
    Wardrobe
    Watches
    Wedding
    Wigs
    Winter
    With
    Yourself

    View my profile on LinkedIn

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.