I ordered some scrap leather from Dangerous Threads on eBay for $11.95. I bought some Leather Hand Needles, snaps and rubber cement from Jo-Ann Fabrics. It took me about 4 hours to hand sew my pant extensions on and I was pretty pleased with the end result.
I started sometime before midnight on Saturday night and finished early in the morning. It was really relaxing - plus the PBS special The Buddha was on while I was working.
The leather needles work pretty good, they have a triangular shaped point that pierces the leather fairly easily. You need to use a strong thread, which I already had from a pickup seat upholstery do-it-yourself job I did a few years ago. You use the rubber cement to finish the seams on the inside and give them a finished look. I used a small tin can as a roller to flatten the seams while the rubber cement set up. I used a hammer and a round point chisel to attach the two snaps I added to the bottom of the pants.
These photos show what the pants ended up looking like on the inside and outside -
I like making things work and learning new things so doing some research on how to sew leather and then sewing some leather pants on a Saturday night was enjoyable. My idea of a good time on a Saturday night has changed considerably over the years.
