Making Your Own Raver Pants

If you're anything like me, you work damn hard for what little money you make, which is why I still cry whenever I see people shell out $50-$150 for a pair of good raver pants. People, people, people! This is something that should not be! And I have the antidote.

For this little venture, you'll probably need about 3 yards of whatever material you want. (I've got a pair of velvet pants, a pair in fake leopard fur, and a pair of flannel.) First, find yerself a pair of pants that fit properly (or however you'd prefer they fit) in the waist. Find some pieces of cardboard -- or posterboard would work too, I guess -- and fold the "master pants" in half, back pocket to back pocket. Trace the outline onto a piece of cardboard....but this is where you can get creative: you only have to stick with the actual waist measurement. You can make the legs as big and as long as you want (although I personally wouldn't make the legs too much longer than the "master pants"). Now flip the "master pants" over and trace this side onto a different piece of cardboard, taking as much liberty with leg length and width as you deem fit. It helps, when you're doing this, to number the patterns in the order you do them. Now fold the "master pants" front pocket to front pocket and trace both sides, again having fun with leg width and length. Cut out these cardboard patterns and trace them onto your fabric (hopefully they'll fit, if you didn't make the legs astronomically wide). If you want back pockets, make a pattern on the cardboard and trace this onto your material as well (or maybe onto different fabric?). Cut out these fabric shapes and bust out yer sewing machine (or you could do it by hand, but that gets really old really fast, especially if you're like me and can't sew to save yer pathetic little life); sew the shapes together in order and put the pockets on the back of the pants, making sure to leave the top open and not sew them shut. (You might say "duh," but I only remark on this 'cuz someone might do that.) And voila! Raver pants custom-made to your standards! Have fun with these; they're your creation. Add marabou, feathers, fur stripes down the sides, whatever. A friend of mine sewed plastic baby keys on the pockets of hers and then attached a string of little tiny bells to the cuffs. They're great!

http://www.gurlpages.com/zines/jessispice/raver.html