How to make your own flares

Sometimes it is difficult to find trousers just as you would like them. As fashions change, it can be difficult to get hold of new trousers with the amount of flare you would like. In these situations, you can either resign yourself to life without your dream flares, or you can make them yourself. It's easy! Here are some instructions to help you to make your own flares out of a pair of ordinary, boring, straight-legged trousers. These are just basic instructions, and many variations are possible, but this should help you to get started.

— We now have a pattern available to simplify things even further. While some companies would charge for this, we give it away for free! Click to download either A4 (European) or Letter (American) paper size (a mere 24kB download). The content is exactly the same, but the docmuents are optimised for different sizes of paper. You will need Adobe's Acrobat Reader to print this pattern.

	Step One: Get all your materials together. You will need a pair of trousers which are the right length for you. Some fabrics are easier to work with than others. Denim is particularly troublesome to unpick and sew up again; thinner fabrics are easier. material for the panels (e.g. from some old clothes, curtains or bought from a material shop) some thread (a suitable colour because some of it will be visible) a needle pins some paper scissors any decoration you want to put on.
	Step Two: Either unpick the trouser seams, or cut a line up the leg in each place you want to put a panel. You may want to have two panels on each leg or just one. If you only want one panel per leg, you will probably want to unpick the outside seam, and insert the panel there. That way, it will be more visible and look better. Be careful how far up the leg you go! (In our catalogue, pair F13 are an example with a curving cut, and F9 have two panels in each leg. Pair F14 have eight panels in each leg!)
	Step Three: Decide on the size and shape of your flare panel(s). This is usually a triangle, but variations are possible. If you are using our pattern (see above), then all this has been decided for you. Think about the width at the bottom, and the length of the panel up the leg. Cut a pattern for the panel out of the paper, using the split trouser-leg as a guide. You may need a different pattern for each leg (for curving panels, for instance).
	Step Four: Pin this pattern to the material on a flat surface, and cut around it, leaving about an inch (2.5cm) or so to allow for sewing and trimming later.
	Step Five: First pin the material panel into place, and then sew it into the hole in the leg. Sew it on the inside so that the edges of the material cannot be seen, and make sure there is plenty left at the bottom. Tuck in and reinforce the top joint with some stitching, especially if you had to unpick a seam, or else the trousers may fall apart completely!
	Step Six: Finish of the hem at the bottom by tucking up the end of the panel to the same level as the trouser hem, then pin it in place and sew it. Remember to be neat here because this stitching will be visible on the outside.
	Step Seven: Add any extra decoration to personalise your trousers, such as buttons, beads, ribbons, or fancy stitching.

Having repeated this procedure for each flare panel you wish to add, you should now have a complete pair of flared trousers - wear them with pride!

Variations on this basic theme which we have tried include: Many panels per leg (F14), having a zip along the edges of the panels so the trousers are convertible (F8), interleaved panelettes within a boustrophedon cut (F12), and of course, applying the same procedure to other garments (F10). The Types of Flares page discusses the different sorts in more detail.