Fine Line

By Marla Kazell

Love the ease of pull-on pants, but not the drape or feel? Adding a lining may be just the antidote. Use these tips for the best results:

Figure 1

Baste together waistline seam.

• Cut your lining from the same pant pattern pieces. Sew the inside and outside leg seams and crotch seam as you would for the pants.
  
  
• If your pants have a separate waistband, baste the pants and lining together at the waistline seam and proceed as usual applying the waistband (Figure 1).

• If your pants have a turned-down elastic casing and you're using a lightweight fabric, baste the pants and lining together at the upper edge, then finish the casing and apply or insert the elastic as usual. Your casing will include two lining fabric layers.
  
  
• For heavier fabrics or to eliminate the lining's extra bulk within a turned-down casing, fold the pattern down along the casing foldline and mark the stitching line at the casing lower edge. Mark a cutting line 1/2" above the stitching line (Figure 2).

Figure 3

Baste lining along casing stitching line.

• Trim the lining from the casing along the cutting line. Machine or hand baste the lining to the pants along the casing stitching line (Figure 3).