Teach a man to fish...

Right of the bat, I should probably admit that I'm not much of a fashion seamstress. I consider myself more of a utilitarian than an artist in this particular craft. So when I do venture into the world of fashion, I usually sew very simple things such as A-line skirts, peasant blouses, and, today, drawstring pants. Once I learned the American way of sewing patterns, where the seam allowance is included, and somehow one has to mark barely anything, my interest increased significantly. (Have you ever sewn from a European pattern? You have to make your own seam allowances and somehow everything requires so much more attention to detail. I can't always handle it, though for someone who loves and understands the process, the results are outstanding).

Anyway, back to the post title. I figured the items I sew are not usually dictated by trends, and simple and constant as they are, it would be worth learning how to make my own patterns for them. That's the analogy - once I gained a general understanding of how patterns work, they're not so daunting to make or alter and I save the not insignificant cost of individual patterns from the store. The internet has provided basic instruction for today's project, and it worked quite nicely. My only addition to the instructions is that one has to be careful with drawstring pants that the waist will slip over the hips. A person with an hourglass figure could fall into a trap here, sewing perfectly well fitted pants that simply can't be put on. Oops!

I had this fabric with a pretty and sparkly printed border has been sitting around in the sewing room for a bit until I realized it would be perfect for those PJ pants I've been wanting. 

Front and side view. The fabric is still a little bit stiff, but I am confident it will wear in quite nicely. No way am I posting a picture of my derriere on the internets, so you'll just have to take my word for the fact that the fit worked out perfectly :-)