Hello everyone, Kelly here. My girl started at a new school last year after we moved. I noticed quickly that there were certain clothing styles that I could count on to find within the parents waiting to pick up their children after school. The styles range anywhere from the couple that come in head-to-toe workout gear to the lady that wears her pjs (and slippers!!) every day to the lady that is current on clothing trends with a new designer outfit every week. Being a stay-at-home mom, I don’t dress up for or wear any specific clothing for work – yay! I mainly look for comfort in my everyday outfits. That being said, I do want to be presentable in front of my kid’s teachers and be confident in what I’m wearing.
I chose to keep my outfit for the first day back-to-school trendy, but not flashy. I wanted my signature comfort, but also something that would have people thinking – oh, those pants are really nice! I had the idea of making a cropped pair of jogger cargo pants and the Lexi Loungers were perfect for them.
NOTE: Need a little more help with your pockets? Check out our video here:
I sewed up my jogger style loungers and threw them on so I could see where I wanted my cargo pocket to go. I guesstimated how big I wanted the pocket to be and grabbed some tissue paper to make a pattern piece. I went with 81/2” across, and 6 ½” tall.
To make the fold in the pocket I marked the middle of the pocket as well as one inch away on each side from the center mark. Place pins on the 1” marks and then pinch the fabric along the middle line and pull until the pins touch at the top and bottom.
Place your finger inside the flap that has been created to open it up so you can then flatten it to create the design. Baste along the top and bottom to hold in place. Fold the two sides and bottom under ¼” and then topstitch in place onto the pant leg where you would like it. (My cargo pocket is a faux pocket – if you want yours to be fully functioning, then fold the top edge down as well and topstitch that edge before you sew the other 3 sides onto the jogger leg.) I made it easy on myself and lined up the fold with the side seam.
I made the pocket flap wide enough to cover the top of the pocket, and just picked a length that looked good. In this case the pocket flap piece ended up being 6 1/2″ wide by 2 3/4″ long. You will need two flap pieces per pocket. (You can even cut out a few more pairs to make faux pockets on the back by sewing just a flap to the backside of your joggers!) I decided to cut the corners on my pocket flaps for visual interest.
Cut two of your pocket flaps and place them right sides together. Sew around the two sides and bottom with a ¼” seam allowance. Flip the piece out to the right side. Topstitch your pocket flap.
Fold the top edge under ¼” and topstitch the whole flap piece in place above the pocket on your jogger leg.
You can place a decorative button onto the pocket flap, or even make it functional if you want to make a buttonhole on the flap and sew a button to the pocket. I sewed my button through the pocket on both sides of the decorative flap to help hold it in place. I found my double brushed poly was collapsing a bit without that extra stability from the button.
To finish the hem, I just turned the hem up to the length that I wanted my joggers to hit and tacked them in place at the side seams.
I paired my new Lexi jogger cargos with a Paige Piko top. I wanted something nice and comfy to wear with my joggers and think this top looks really cute tucked into the front of the waistband.
Have you thought of what you want to wear for the first day of Back to School? Or if you’re already back, what did you wear?
Kelly is an avid pattern tester and fabric hoarder. She loves to post about her makes and what works for her curvy body on her Instagram at kellygonthierart.
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