Creating a Pair of Flared Oakland Pants
Blogger: Alex Soelke
I have been dreaming about a flowy pair of Oaklands ever since I laid eyes on this pattern! I think they are perfect for summer especially when made out of a lightweight material.
The first step is to figure out how long the inseam of the pants needs to be. Measure from the top of the inner thigh/crotch to where the pants should end. If you have a finished bottom (like mine) use your exact inseam measurement. If the fabric needs to be hemmed, add 1.5” to your inseam measurement. Lay out the back leg piece and slide a sheet of paper large enough for the flare addition under the leg piece and tape into place Measure from the crotch point, down the leg and to the desired inseam length (add 1.5” if hemming). Draw a line on the paper at that measurement. This is the new length of your pants.
Starting at the knee, draw a line flaring out and down to the red line. Smooth out the lines you just made and cut out the addition to your back leg piece. The bottom measurement for my back leg piece is approximately 12” on my size 8 Oaklands, but you can choose to add more or less flare to your pants.
Next, do the same to the front as you did to the back pattern piece. Tape paper behind the leg as you did for your back piece. Before you start drawing your flare piece on the front, lay your front on top of your back leg. The top piece is shown in pink in the picture. As you can see, the back leg piece is wider than the front, so we want to make sure we keep a similar ratio with our new pattern piece. At the knee, the back piece will be much wider than the front but the difference in width will get smaller as you go towards the bottom. Make a mark 3/8” in from the back flare piece at the bottom. Starting at the knee make the flare shape using the back piece as a guide. Keep it more narrow than the back but with a similar flare shape.
Follow the directions of the pattern. If hemming, fold the bottom raw edge of the pants up 1/2” wrong sides together and press. Fold the pants another 1” and press. Sew to secure 1/8” from the folded edge.
You are finished with your flare Oaklands!