KIDS' ADVENTURE BAGS FROM CARGO PANTS (TUTORIAL)

 I love the Nature Explorer Bag from Chez Beeper Bebe, but I've been procrastinating on figuring out the details of that pattern since I saw it. Still, it must have been bouncing around in my brain somewhere, because when I needed a way to recycle my favorite cargo pants, inspiration struck. Today I made these bags for my kids. They're pretty simple. Each bag requires half a pair of cargo pants, less than half a yard of fabric (for lining), about a yard or so of strapping, and some sort of clasp (I used overall buckles, which was convenient since there were two in the package, and they were pretty cheap for clasps).

Cut out a cargo pocket and a back pocket, keeping the pocket and flaps intact. Then cut about 15-20 inches from the bottom of the pant leg, depending on the size of bag and size of top flap that you want, and also how much leg you have available.


Turn the pant leg upside down and lay it flat- the hem of the leg will be the opening of your bag. From the bottom of the leg (previously the top) cut a notch on each side, through both layers of fabric. the notch should be 1" wide and 1.5" tall (it's hard to see the black fabric in my picture, but you can get an idea of the shape from the yellow lining.

Then, fold your lining fabric in half and place the leg on top of it. Cut a similar shape (two layers), except 1/2" larger on the top edge and on each long side edge. The notches and bottom edge will be exactly the same.

Hand- or machine-sew the cargo pocket to the front of the pant leg, just above the notches (hard to see in my picture, but I promise it's there). Hand- or machine-sew the back pocket to the right side of one of the lining pieces, in a similar place or in the middle of the piece - just remember that the top of each piece will be creating a flap, so leave enough room for that. This will be a "secret" inside pocket.

 Place the other lining piece on top of the piece with the pocket (right sides together) and sew along each long side edge and the long bottom edge, but not the notches. Use a .5" seam allowance, especially if you took my cutting directions very literally.

 Pinch the notches so that the seams line up, creating two short, flat edges. Sew these edges closed. Repeat this process with the pants leg, turning it inside out and sewing the bottom seam, then the notch area. Of course, this piece doesn't have side seams; just match the edges.

 Turn the pants leg right side out. Leave the lining inside out (well, right side out for the lining, but it should be the opposite of the pants leg). Stuff the lining into the leg, making sure that the inner pocket is on the back wall of the bag and the outer pocket is on the front. Fold down about half an inch of the lining and pin the fold to the hemmed edge of the leg. In general I'm not a big fan of pinning, but here I do recommend it for two reasons: 1. I suggest making this a very narrow seam, close to the edge of the back, and 2. the width of the lining may not be exactly the width of the bag, so you might want to know if that's going to be a problem before you start sewing. Then, sew it. I sewed pretty much as close to the edge as possible.

If your buckle is like mine, cut a 3" piece of webbing and a piece long enough for a shoulder strap (my kids are small; my straps are about 25"). If the edges start to fray and your strap is synthetic, you can carefully hold the end near a flame until it melts just a tiny bit, which should stop that. Thread the short piece through the buckle, double it over, and sew the webbing to the top lip of the back of the bag, so it can flop over to the front. A pretty good way to attach webbing is to sew a square on it, an "x" through the square, and then go over it all at least one more time for strength. Sew the ends of the long strap to the sides of the bag in the same way, below where you want it to flap over. Attach the other part of the buckle or clasp, and the bag is done!

I've sewn two of these things now, but if I were to make another I think I would increase the flap length - which would mean keeping the front pocket low, the inner pocket medium low, and the straps attached lower than they are shown here.