Nothing says summer like a crisp pair of white linen pants! Yet who wants to wear pants when it’s hot, humid and sun blazing? Any garment that will stick to your skin and heat up your body temperature is a big no. This is why these Magda pants made from linen are a great item of clothing to wear in the summer. Unlike jeans, leggings, or trousers, linen pants are loose and light, made from natural fabric that will on the contrary keep you cooler instead of trapping heat in. Linen is highly breathable, much more so than cotton due to its comparatively lower thread counts. It allows the air to move freely and keep the skin cool and dry. It is also one of the world’s strongest natural fibers so those trousers will go a long way!
Cut from our gorgeous Bleached Softened Heavy Weight Linen, these tapered Magda pants have pockets and a comfortable elasticated waistband. Wear Magda with sneakers or heals!
Follow our tutorial and make your own pair of crisp linen pants.
Materials
2 yards of 4C22 BLEACHED Softened Heavy Weight Linen
Matching sewing thread, 2 yards of 3/4″-wide elastic
Tools
Pattern paper, scissors, pins, ruler, chalk, needle, safety pin, sewing machine
Difficulty
Advanced Beginner
Time
4-5 hours
Pattern
You can access the multi-sized printable PDF pattern by following this link HERE. Please note that these pants have an intentionally roomy fit.
Steps
Note: Prewash your fabric and tumble dry it until it is still slightly moist, dry at room temperature. Iron the fabric so it is easier to work with.
1. The very first thing to do is to attach the pockets to the pants and finish the side seams with a flat felled seam. We have a great step-by-step tutorial HERE that will guide you through the process.
Note that each pocket should be “sandwiched” between each pant front piece and the corresponding pant back piece 3″from the waistline. Notice how the front and back are a little different. The back is cut a little deeper in the crotch to allow for sitting.
2. Once you’ve attached your pockets and finished sewing the flat-felled side seams, you need to pin each pant front to the corresponding pant back at the inseam right sides together.
3. Stitch together at a 5/8″ seam allowance. As with the side seams, the inseam is also finished with a flat-felled seam. Our detailed tutorial on how to sew flat felled seams will give you all the instructions. Fold your flat-felled seams towards the back of the pants.
4. Turn the right pant leg right side out and slip it into the left pant leg.
5. Pin the crotch seams together matching the side seams and inseams.
6. Stitch all along the crotch seam at a 5/8″(1 cm) seam allowance and finish with another flat-felled seam.
Make sure the crotch and the inseam flat-felled seams are aligned and form a cross.
7. Finish your legs with a rolled hem. Fold the fabric twice towards the wrong side, 3/8″ to 1 inch, press, pin and stitch.
Your legs are now assembled and finished, so the next steps are to attach the elastic waistband to it. But first, you need to create a cute little decorative detail on the front.
8. Create two small pleats at the front of your pants (one for each leg) by overlapping one inch of fabric in the middle of each leg. Pin and baste 1/8″ from the edge to keep them in place.
9. Take your waistband and fold it in half lengthwise (wrong sides together) and press to mark the fold.
10. Press the long raw edges 3/8″ to the wrong side.
11. Pin the two short sides right sides together and stitch a few millimeters past the centerfold. Remember to backstitch. Then stitch 3/4″ from the other end right sides together. Press the unstitched seam allowance in the continuity of your stitch line.
Here, essentially, we are creating an opening for the elastics on the inside of the waistband that will later be sewed closed by hand.
12. Using your fabric marker or chalk on the wrong side, divide the waistband into three equally sized parts that we will use to feed three identical elastic bands to sit at the waist. We recommend not to draw long lines all around the waistband, but to draw short lines at the seam and then use your edges as guides. Topstitch over the lines starting and ending at the side seam that has an opening. Remember to backstitch at both ends.
13. Pin the waistband onto the trousers (elastic opening should be on the inside) making sure the side seams are matched up.
14. Stitch along the pinned edge (all layers at once) 1/8″ from the edge.
15. Cut your elastic into 3 equally sized strips, attach them one by one to a safety pin and pull it through the casings. Join the ends by placing a pin.
16. Try on the pants and decide how tight you want your elastic to be. Make a mark and stitch the two ends together. Trim the excess.
17. Using a sewing needle, hand stitch together the opening of the waistband. Making sure it doesn’t catch onto the elastic band.
Give your pants one last press and you are all done!
64 Comments
Would this pattern work for a medium weight linen? Or should I stick to a heavy weight
[…] Magda Crisp Linen Pants […]
Its so beatiful! Please can you do the instructions on youtube or something in video.. THANK YOU!! kisses from Argentina!
Hello Rima, I am trying to sew the pockets, however I do not find any indication on the front and back pattern pieces showing were to place them on the legs… is it normal?
How did you all do? Thanks for your help!!
It says 3 inches down on front pant piece…
[…] Sewing Linen Pants blog.staging.fabrics-store.com […]
Is there a suggestion for laying out the pattern on the fabric for cutting? I don’t see this in the blog. Thanks!
Hello Anne,
We don’t include fabric layouts for our free patterns since we wanted to keep the layout and size of the document small and easy to download. It is easy to figure out the best way to layout your fabric pieces. Simply lay your largest pattern pieces or pieces that lay on the fold of the fabric first, paying attention to matching the grain lines on the pattern with the fabric grain. Then fit in your smaller pieces around the larger ones.
I hope this helps 🙂
I gotta say I am really struggling with these pants… love the look of them in the photos but I have had to remove and redo the waist band 6 times now, and the front of the pants look like I’ve got them on backwards even though I know I didn’t switch the pieces around. :/
Hello Abby,
Look out for an email from me, I’d be happy to help out in any way I can.
I’m enjoying making these, first pair of pants I’ve tried. But I’m having a problem with the flat felled inseam. It’s “in the tube”. Can’t see how I sew it, can’t find any description. How is it done?
Hello Simon, we have this tutorial that shows you how to do a flat felled seam in a sleeve. We thing this will help you navigate sewing this type of seam in a tube 🙂
https://blog.staging.fabrics-store.com/2021/02/11/sewing-glossary-how-to-sew-flat-felled-seams-on-sleeve/
Hi Lauren,
Thanks. I found out how to do it! Nearly finished now, just attaching the waistband.
I’m having trouble with the legs not matching up at the bottom seam once I put the pocket in. Any help for that? While doing my mock up, I accidentally attached the first pocket to the back and then the front was too long. I got the pocket in the right spot on the second go, but now the back is too long. I’m so frustrated!
Hi Shannon, for help with our patterns you can always get in touch with us by emailing ask@fabrics-store.com or using our contact form on our website: https://support.fabrics-store.com/hc/en-us/requests/new
I’m sending you an email, please look out for it.
I need help! The bum is much wider than I am and I’m already using the size 0/2 pattern. How can I make the bum area more slim on the pattern???
Hello McKenzie,
I’m sending you an email now, look out for it in your inbox.
I would also like to know this remedy. I have a very ‘flat’ arse due to weight loss from cancer…. used to have a nice round bum. hmmph. at any rate, what was the suggested remedy for this issue?
Hello Margaret, I’m sorry about your body changes caused by your cancer. We hope you are healthy and happy when this reaches you. What you can do is remove some of the fabric from the back pants pattern at the crotch. So you will be removing the length or depth of the crotch. it is sometimes referred to as a ‘Flat Seat Adjustment’
If you’d like further help with this adjustment, just sent me an email: Ask@fabrics-store.com
I’m trying to download the tutorial, and keep getting “a critical error” on the website.
Hi Jana, I’m getting the same error as well, So it seems to be a website issue. I’ve forwarded this to our Web team to solve. In the meantime, you can always save the webpage via your browser as a .pdf
If you’d like assistance with this just let us know 🙂
Ok, this is all fixed up now Jana 🙂
I love these pants. I have the fabric and I’m all ready to sew them. But. I can’t download the pattern into Adobe Acrobat on my iPad. I’ve tried several times and looked in every kind of file on acrobat, but I cannot find the pattern. Suggestions?
I know there may be some tricky things with the iPad and PDF attachments. If you email to Ask@Fabrics-Store.com they will guide you through it so you can print the pattern.
I had the same issue, but once I downloaded Adobe, I closed and deleted the downloaded pattern, and then downloaded it again and suddenly the attachment with the print out appeared – technology *eye roll* haha 🙂
I have the same problem on my Chrome laptop. I can’t even get adobe installed on Chromebook. I have some pdf reader that comes with Chromebook and there is NO pattern access anywhere.
Hello Denise,
Look out from an email from me, Lauren 🙂
Good morning.
Are the sizes uk please?
No. This is a US site. You’ll need to know your measurements and choose the size accordingly.
This was a great way to pass a bit of quarantine time. My first real project! Came out amazing. I did alter the pattern so it would fit me based on recommendations from other reviewers. I also did a more paper bag waist and it looks amazing. I couldn’t be happier!
Thank you for this great free pattern – I have just completed them in size 6 in a black linen and I can’t wait to start wearing them! I wanted to share a couple of things for future makers: the pattern is very generously sized – I’m normally somewhere between a 6 and 8, but I’m wishing I made these in size 4 as it feels like there’s a lot of fabric at the waist. I also wasn’t sure whether seam allowances were meant to be 3/8″ (this is what the pattern print out says), or 5/8″ as it mentions on this page. I ended up going for 5/8″ in the end, but not sure if that’s correct for the actual pattern pieces.
I hope you get some more printed linens in for summer – florals and geometric/abstract prints would be nice!
theres no pattern at the end of the link – is this still available?
Hi Ella, you can download the pattern from here https://fabrics-store.com/sewing-patterns/magda-crisp-linen-pants-pattern
Finally got the pattern taped and have cut my fabric. Thanks for this pattern and directions, as they are clear and beautiful, except one thing. I am confused regarding seam allowance. The pattern itself states it allows for 3/8″ seam, the directions say 5/8″. I failed to notice this prior to cutting! I’ve already cut this pattern with the indicated 3/8″ seam allowance! I am not sure what to do next. Any advice?
did the pattern come from the link?
I’m sorry, but the only link to the pattern that works is the pocket pattern. I’ve tried the link directly, saving the file and using the link, opening Adobe Reader and trying to get tot he link. Nothing works. This is a very frustrating experience. I see in the comments that the link was to have been fixed. It is not. How is it possible to get to the link for the pants pattern itself?
Hello and sorry to hear that you are having problems with the pattern. I’ve just checked the link again and it seems to be working just find. When you click here – https://fabrics-store.com/sewing-patterns/crisp-linen-pants-pattern/ – it will take to you the page where you can download the pdf with the pattern. Just click on “Free download” at the upper right corner, download the file and follow the instructions in the pdf. Basically, the file consists of the instruction page and attachments with different pattern sizes. If this doesn’t help, please email to our patternmaker Catina at ask@fabrics-store.com, she could better assist you.
Hi, can I use change the material to cotton or denim? Will it still work. Please advise.
Thank you
iem
Yes, of course!
Can I use just one elastic? This will be my first pair of pants in 40 years! so I want to make it easy 🙂
thanks
Dear Trish, of course you can! However, you’ll need to adjust the waist to the width of your elastic.
Sad to see the link still isn’t working. These are gorgeous and I am eager to make them, but won’t be purchasing any fabric until I know that I can. Any idea when it will be up again?
The instructions for the pants and the tank top are both fantastic (clear and easy to follow), but the link for the pattern takes me to: https://fabrics-store.com/?r=products/sewingPatterns , which doesn’t have either the pants or the Essential Linen Tank Tutorial pattern. Am I looking in the wrong place?
Many Thanks,
Cheryl
Dear Cheryl, we are very sorry about this, we’ve experienced some technical issues that we’ll fix really soon and the pattern will be available again! Please come back soon and hopefully the issue will already be resolved then.
Great – thanks! I am so looking forward to these 🙂
~Cheryl
Hello Rima,
Just viewed your pants pattern. Really nice. I would very much like to make the pants, but don’t know how to use the pattern. Are there instructions available for enlarging the pattern? Thanks so very much.
rosa gaskins rosagaskins@hotmail.com
Dear Rosa, glad to hear you like the pattern! Unfortunately, we don’t have a printable multi-size pattern for these pants. What we offer instead is a diagram with all the measurements that you can draw yourself at home. Hope this helps!
Rosa, hello, Rima is right, however we are working on making a multi sized pattern which we will hopefully post soon.
Hi Masha, I was wondering what is the pants did you wear on the “Jade Relaxed linen shirt”
Do you have this pants pattern. I really like the length of that pants. Thank you !
Can this be linked as a PDF rather than drop box? Im having issues with drop box
Samantha, hello, we are working on this and will soon have files available through our server rather than dropbox. Thank you for getting in touch and pointing this issue out to us.
The directions and photos are amazing. Thank you for this wonderful tutorial. How many times should the fabric be pre washed and dried before the cutting begins?
Thank you so much for your kind words Barbara! As for the washing – you can start cutting/sewing after the first washing/drying, just make sure you dry on high heat and stop when the fabric is still slightly moist. This will help with the ironing (also on high). The best thing thing about linen is that it gets softer after each wash!
Thank you so much!
Hi, I think the link to the pants pattern is incorrect – it just sends me to the pocket tutorial. Can you update the link for the actual pants?
Hi Anna, sorry for the wrong link. It’s all fixed now!
The link for this pant pattern goes to the tutorial for the pocket. Is there another link ? Thank you.
Sorry for the wrong link. It’s all fixed now and the new link will take straight to the pattern!
Really want to make these but the link to the pants pattern leads to a pocket tutorial.
Hi Paula, sorry for the wrong link. It’s all fixed now!
I. Would like to have this pattern, the link is to the pocket. Can you please send or post a link to the pants pattern.
Thank you
Dear Cindy, sorry for the wrong link. It’s all fixed now!
Excellent tutorial… The best description of this process to assemble and finish this great pattern! Thank you!
Thank you for you kind comment Kathleen! We tried to keep the instructions and the pattern as simple as possible, but you’ll see that the result is pretty amazing!