girls bloomers or "francie pants"

I found these francie pants at the beginning of the summer and loved the idea and so do our girls.  These have become a favorite item at our house.

They are  a cute little pair of shorts to hide the underpants of your little girl that loves to wear dresses and also loves to climb trees, hang on monkey bars, jump on the trampoline, and roll down big grassy hills. There name came from the saying"I see London I see France".  They have a cute little description of the name here.  These are also great to hide the underwear hanging out of her leotard and to wear under summer nightgowns.

Because of my need to be frugally creative I tried to figure out a way to make these and this is what I came up with.  

The easiest way was to start with a pair of leggings that I already had.  I cut them off to the length that I needed.  I left these a little longer so we could use them as shorts or francie pants.  I then just hemmed the bottoms.  To get the ruffle edge I stretched the fabric as I zigzagged the edge. 

The next idea I had was to copy that same pair of legging for a pattern and cut them out of an old t-shirt (or any knit fabric that you have).  I folded the t-shirt in half and then cut it out.  This gives me two pieces on the fold.  I turned my leggings inside out to examine how they are sewn together.  I made two seams, one that goes in the center front and back and the other is the crotch seam.   I decided to add a little heart on the bum for fun.  

With a little girl starting kindergarten this year this is on our list of things to make for school.