Spica Pants

So, here's a little fact that I bet you never thought about.  If your child has a bar that goes from his ankle on one leg to his knee on the other, he can't wear pants.  Here's another little fact: It gets downright chilly in late September in Michigan.  We've been struggling [read, I've been struggling] to find some way to protect Little Bear from the elements and make him presentable for going out in public.  I have had many hits and misses and have FINALLY succeeded in making pants for my boy.

What didn't work:
1.  Cutting pants down the side and sewing ties on .  OK, it works, but the sides gap and it just looks like a hospital gown.

2. Cutting pants down the side and adding snaps.  This might have worked, but the snaps were really hard to add.

3.  Adding Velcro to pants a size up.  There are two problems here, or really there is one problem with two sides.  If you buy pants that fit the waist, the the leg is not wide enough, and conversely if you get pants that accommodate the flexed leg the waist is way to big.

Here is what finally worked:  custom sewn pants.
1.  Measure from the center crotch to the outer leg to make sure that the leg of the pants you will make is wide enough to accommodate the flexed leg.  Little Bear wears a size three and we had to make a boys large (approx. 10-12).
2.  Sew the inner seams and crotch seams together according to the pattern directions.  Leave the outer leg seams unsewn.
3.  Fold the outer leg seams over and baste down to prevent fraying.
4.  Measure around the child's waist.  Cut elastic equalling half the waist measurement in the front and half in the back. (example:Little Bear's waist is 24 inches.  12 inches of elastic goes in the front ans 12 inches goes in the back.)
5.  On a leg that has a bar at the ankle, apply Velcro to the inside of the pant back and the outside of the pant front.
6.  On a leg that has a bar at the knee, apply Velcro from the waist to the top of the bar and the bottom up to the bar.
7.  CRITICAL STEP FOR A GOOD FIT.  At the bar,cut from the outer side to inside where the bar attached to the cast.  This creates a hole in pant leg for the bar.  Turn raw edges under and sew to prevent fraying.

Yippee!!!
  Now you've got SPICA PANTS.