DIY Pajama Pant Underdrawers

Who doesn't love a beat to death pair of flannel pajama pants? Personally, I'm an absolute sucker for flannel, so flannel pajama pants are probably the greatest thing ever made. Sadly, all good things must come to an end, right? Well, not anymore!


As I am sure you have noticed, on grown-ups, pants tend to wear out quickest in the crotch and there are just so many times you can sew them before they change sizes. Last year, while on vacation, no less, a fairly new pair of pajama pants split all down the back seam and through the crotch. While this amused Boyfriend a great deal, I was highly annoyed.

I had just received the pants on Christmas and and repaired them already after the seam gave way during their first trip through the washing machine. I stuffed them back in my suitcase, ran out to Wal-mart for impromptu pants, and made a mental note to sew them again. Unfortunately, when I decided to tackle my mending pile (yes, I have a mending pile, waste not, want not!), it was abundantly clear no amount of sewing would save these pants. Furious at the thought of throwing out practically new pants, I put them aside with the thought of at least saving the fabric.

I truly am a novice sewer. It has been a long time goal of mine to learn how to use the sewing machine I acquired to actually sew stuff. My hand sewing leaves a bit to be desired. I have accomplished small hand-sewn projects, but I get too impatient to give the time hand-sewing deserves. What could a person with little sewing skill do with a pair of crotchless pants?

And then, it hit me. You see, as a Civil War Reenactor the phrase "crotchless" rings quite the bell. During the 1860's one of the optional undergarments of for women were crotchless underdrawers. You might think, as a modern day person, I would skip on all the "optional" layers, but crotchless underdrawers are the only pants-style underwear of the day. Modern underwear is inaccurate and not wearing underpants of some kind is just plain awkward. I had been toying with the idea of learning to sew by making a set of undergarments and with my next reenactment in the middle of October, flannel ones would be downright cozy.

I suppose you could use any print pajama pants for this, but I am a fan of plaid which is perfectly accurate for the Civil War. This is a super quick project that can probably be accomplished in an hour by hand. I am currently in the middle of it...I actually started them while at Boyfriend's softball game last week, his team no longer questions what I do in the stands. Anyway, here are the simple steps:

Turning Flannel Pajama Pants into Crotchless Underdrawers

1.) Grab a pair of scissors and cut the worn out seam through to your desired amount. I find that patterns for underdrawers open too much in the front so I left mine longer.

2.) Use straight pins to fold back the material on either side of the crotch to form a hem.

3.) Sew your hem back so the ends don't fray.

4.) Depending on your height, lop off a few (or more) inches from the bottom of the legs so they are mid-shin length. (About four and a half inches for me)

5.) Hem the legs to prevent fraying and voila! Crotchless underdrawers for the winter!

If you are more skilled than I with sewing, you may wish to add ribbon or trim to the legs. Also, depending on how authentic you wish to be, feel free to cut the elastic out of the waistband and replace with ribbon. Personally, I'm okay with this bit of elastic four layers in...I'm also not confident in my sewing abilities to not destroy the waistband if I attempt this.

Now, I leave you with this riddle my non-reenactors...why don't 1860's underpants have crotches? Guess correctly and I will give you...wait for it...credit in my next blog!