Harem Pants

Almost all ethnic costumes for both women and men require harem pants. Traditionally, harem pants fall to the ankle, fold under back up to the knee, and are gathered. Lightweight cotton is recommended but almost any fabric with body and shape is acceptable. Solid colours and stripes are always a safe choice, but many prints are also good.

I have two methods for sewing these pants:


Method One

You will need a length of 2-3 metres of material. Two metres if the material is heavier, 3 metres if it is sheer.

Measure from you hip to the floor. Make sure the width of the material is at least that. The usual width is 114 cm (45") which is plenty in most cases.

Fold the material in half lengthwise with right sides together, wrong side facing out. Sew a seam (as shown by the dotted line on the diagram.)

Measure your inseam (from floor to inner thigh) and mark it on the middle of the folded material. This is the crotch point. Don't measure all the way up. Leave a few inches for comfort. You can even leave the crotch at knee-level; this is the Turkish style.

Draw an arch, sew along this and then cut in the middle.

Fold the top over to make a casing for nylon elastic (rayon elastic stretches if it gets wet). Make sure the casing will fit the elastic.

Make casing at the ankles too, but use thinner, lighter elastic.

[Harem Pants Pattern] [Harem Pants]

Method Two

  1. Cut two equal pieces for the leg tubes (Figure 1).
  2. Sew B and C together leaving about 10" at one end (Figure 2).
  3. Sew D of both pieces together. Sew E of both pieces together (Figure 3).
  4. Put in casing around top and bottom of legs, then run a drawstring or elastic through the casing. Use nylon elastic; rayon will stretch if it gets wet.)
[Figure 1]
Figure 1 		[Figure 2]
Figure 2
[Figure 3]
Figure 3 		[Figure 4]
Figure 4

Method Three

This is the easiest of all. Take a pair of loose pre-made pants with an elasticized waist. I like to use silk or satin pyjama pants. Carefully open a small portion of the hem on the bottom of each pant leg. Insert elastic through this casing, stitch together, and sew the hem back up.

Voila! An instant pair of harem pants!

If you want to get fancy, you can tear out the outside seam of the legs and trim the edges with ribbon or sequins.

The Finished Product

[Harem pants with cuffs at the ankle]

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[Bellydance]

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