How to Make 70s Flares

What goes around comes around. As in many areas of life, this maxim holds true in fashion. Flare jeans from the 1970s, or bell-bottoms, have made a comeback. Rather than paying for a brand-new pair, grab a well-worn pair of jeans out of your closet and channel your inner flower child.

Instructions

1

Remove the side seams on both legs of the jeans up to the knees. Use the seam ripper or scissors.

2

Undo the stitching at the hem of both legs, and unroll the excess denim.

3

Measure the width of the jean leg at the bottom. Determine how wide you want your flare to be. Subtract the width of the existing leg from the desired flare width.

4

Cut two triangles of fabric to insert in the jean legs below the knee. Using the measurement in step 3, cut the fabric so that the bottom edge is about 1 inch wider than the leg opening and the triangle sides are about 1 inch longer than the leg seam opening. Alternatively, place a piece of tissue paper inside the opening (on the inside of the jeans) and trace a V-shape onto the paper. Use your scissors to cut around the V and use the tissue paper as a template, adding about a 1/2 inch on each side when you cut the fabric.

5

Turn the pants inside out. Place the fabric piece on the opening of the leg. The top of the triangle should overlap the top of the opening by about 1 inch, and the sides should overlap the sides of the opening by about a 1/2 inch. Leave enough overlapping fabric to allow for stitching. If the fabric piece is too long, cut off the bottom to align with the bottom of the jean leg.

6

Sew from the top of the triangle to the bottom hem about 2/3 inch from the opening. Stitch the other long side of the panel to the jeans, crossing the previous stitch line at the top to ensure the top of the triangle is sturdy. Finish the raw edges of the two long sides of the triangle with zig-zag stitches to reinforce the flare.

7

Repeat the steps for the other leg. Fold up the bottom hem, and press with the iron to create a crease. Stitch along the bottom to create a new hem. Repeat for the other leg.

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