Written by Cuddle® Ambassador Denise Davenport

Make Easy Lined Lounge Pants by Combining Cuddle® with your Favorite Bamboo

Combining Cuddle® fabric with Bamboo viscose fabric is a winning choice due to their similar properties. Both fabrics are incredibly soft and silky, appealing to both kids and adults. They are knit fabrics which helps them play nicely together in the sewing room, and they share identical care instructions, eliminating concerns over different cleaning requirements. Bamboo is especially popular for babies and kids because of its antibacterial properties and breathability, while both fabrics are hypoallergenic, making them a great combination for comfort and safety.

This project makes a cute pair of lined lounge pants using View B of Simplicity® Pattern 1570 as the base together with an easy add on technique to line these comfy pants. It’s great for beginners, there is only one pattern piece to use, and you only need to cut four pieces of fabric. The entire project can be completed in under 2 hours, from to finish. We use a 1/2” seam allowance for this pattern.

I love combining bamboo with Cuddle® fabric because it offers so many fun options. For the holidays, I chose DC Stripe Cuddle® in Red/Green for its cheerful vibe and paired it with the Merry Monsters print by Kickee Pants. Any coordinating bamboo fabric would work great for the lining, making it easy to create a festive and playful combination.

Notions/Tools List

For this project, you'll need several tools:

• The pants pattern
• pattern weights
• polyester thread
• 90/14 stretch needles (Schmetz is a great choice) 
• a walking foot
• a water-soluble marking pen
• rotary cutter and cutting mat (OLFA rotary cutters work great) 
• Clover Flower Head Pins
• Wonder Clips
• Clover 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge
• An iron (Oliso Irons are great) 
• 1” wide knit elastic for the waistband

Main seams can be sewn with either a serger or regular sewing machine, but a regular machine is required for joining and finishing the waistband. You'll need just one yard each of 60” wide Cuddle® and bamboo fabric to make up to a children's size 10, with more yardage for larger sizes.

Begin by folding your Cuddle® fabric right sides together, selvage to selvage, aligning the stripe and ensuring the nap runs down toward the bottom of the pants. Lay your pattern piece on top, secure it with pattern weights, and cut with a rotary cutter. Mark the notches with a water-soluble pen. Repeat the process with your bamboo fabric, making sure the grain runs lengthwise.

Pro Tip:     I like to place an extra mark at the waistline near the back seam (the one with 3 notches) to help ensure we are matching up fronts and backs when stitching the lining pants to the main pants.

Now it’s time to pin and sew both the outer pants and the lining.

PIN: To successfully combine Cuddle® and bamboo fabrics, follow recommended clipping and pinning techniques. For bamboo-to-bamboo seams, Wonder Clips are sufficient for long, straight edges. When joining Cuddle® fabrics, double pinning is recommended to prevent slipping. Digital Cuddle® , being stretchier than Luxe Cuddle®, can slip more when pinned at the outer edge, so use clips as the first row of “pins” to line up and secure edges and use pins for your second row to prevent shifting while sewing. SEW: Sew the leg seams of the main pants, then turn one leg right side out and slip it inside the other, aligning the center seam markings. Pin and stitch the center seam from front to back. Repeat this process for the lining pants. If you are following the pattern instructions, STOP before completing the hem and waistband as the two layers need to be joined together.

Next comes the fun part, joining the main and lining pants together. We will start by joining the hems.

Leave both the main and lining pants inside out, and lay them with ankles toward each other, front sides of the pants facing up. Double check to be sure the both fronts are facing up so that the waist bands will match up later. Cuff the ankle of the lining pants and slip it into the main so that right sides are facing together. Line up the inner seam and outer fold to ensure everything will lay smoothly once sewn. Clip, pin the hem of the main pants to the hem of the lining pants.

Starting at inseam, sew the hems together using ½” seam allowance. Take your time and go slow as you work your way around.

Sewing the Cuffs

Pro Tip: When sewing bamboo to Cuddle®, I prefer placing the bamboo on top. This ensures the fabric lays flat without stretching under the presser foot, minimizing noticeable tucks which will be more visible with bamboo than with Cuddle®

Once your hems are sewn, lay the pants wrong sides out. Reach into one leg of the main pant and grab the hem from inside, then flip the leg inside out so the Cuddle® fabric is on the outside. Repeat the same with the other leg. You should now have the Cuddle® layer on the outside and the bamboo layer on the inside, with the wrong sides of both fabrics together.

Now it’s time to join the waistbands and make a casing for the elastic.

Mark both your main and lining pants 1/2" from the edge of the waistband on the wrong side. Use these marks as a guide to turn the edge under, wrong sides together, and press for a clean finish. Pin and clip the waistband of the main fabric to the lining, matching the front and back center seams and sides of each leg. Take care to pin the fabrics evenly, ensuring the bamboo fabric isn't stretched. Mark a 2-inch gap at the back seam to leave space for inserting the elastic later.

Stitch main and lining together at the waist band a scant ¼” from the edge. Be sure not to stitch the gap closed yet. To make your casing, place another row of stitching 1.25” away from the first row of stitching, but this time stitch all the way around.   Insert your elastic through the gap being sure not to twist your elastic. Overlap the ends of the elastic by ½” and stitch together. Smooth out your wasit band, and close up your gap. I like to roll up the hems to showcase the linings and you can cuff your pants as much or as little as you like.

Congratulations!! Your lined pants are complete, they are fully reversible, and you can use this skill to make lots of warm cozy lined lounge pants for everyone on your list.