Make Your Own Snow Gear Part 1: DIY Snow Pants

Brrr!  Winter is in full effect around here and it is COLD!  How about some tutorials to keep the kids cozy & warm and still be easy on the pocketbook?  This week I'm sharing a two-part how-to for making matching, insulted snow pants and mittens, using single yards of fabric.  And for less than $25 for an entire set:

Yes, those are 101 Dalmatians frolicking on both the snow pants & mittens!

Today's Part 1 is an updated version of my popular DIY Insulated Snow Pants. These babies are great because they are just as warm as the ultra pricey brands and you can customize your own color combos.

And did I mention they can be made in less than an hour??

You'll Need:
- 1yd Anti-pill or Micro Fleece, which makes a cuddly, hardwearing lining.
- 1 yd Thermal Batting aka Insulating Lining, (traditionally used for making hot pads). It's needle pricked with silvery mylar to add 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 and lightweight.
- 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 10yr 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 most chain fabric stores - using coupons can make them very affordable.  Personally, I find the best selection of fleece and PUL prints & colors is online, look for diaper sewing shops to find some cute and unique designs. 

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 slipstitch:

Now there are two cuff options.  One is to trim off the .5 inch seam allowance and stitch on some FOE (fold over elastic) the bottom hem with a triple zig-zag stitch.  I did this with the pants for my boys since their boots were a lot thicker and we wanted the pant cuffs to pull over them.

For a firmer, more gathered cuff, 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 wetness out.

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

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the tutorial later this week.  I'll share how to make some matching insulated mittens for keeping hands warm using the scraps leftover after making these pants. UPDATE:  Click HERE for the FREE mitten pattern & how-to.

I'm also sharing this with my FAVE LINK PARTIES.

Click HERE to check them out!