The Rough and Tumble pants sewing pattern from Peek-A-Boo Patterns is packed with features that make them perfect for rough and tumble play. I’m all about well designed, hard wearing kids clothes that leave children free to really play and grow. So of course Rough and Tumble are my favourite pants sewing pattern.
Let’s take a closer look at this awesome pants sewing pattern and all the features that make it so special.
Rough and Tumble Pants Sewing Pattern
Let’s get stuck into all those features I mentioned! Peek-A-Boo Pattern’s Rough and Tumble pants are absolutely packed full of really well designed features to make them more hardwearing as well as being practical for kids that really play.

There’s the elasticated waistband to make getting dressed easier. Honestly, I don’t understand why this isn’t more of a thing? Bring able to dress themselves gives a child so much confidence and autonomy over their appearance. But for me the best part is how easy it makes my mornings! Selfish I know. But why oh why are so many clothes sized for young children so complicated to get on and off??!

Then there’s the reinforced knee patches. They can be sewn in a contrasting fabric for a fun feature or neatly hidden inside the pants if that floats your boat. Why don’t more kids pants have this? If you’ve got a crawler, knee skidder type of kid this one feature could double the life of a pair of pants.

The leg cuff can be made elasticated or with a standard pant hem. The elasticated cuff would make the pants “grow with me” to some extent. While the pants are too long the elasticated leg cuff would hold them neatly out of the way, until the wearer grows a little taller. Getting two sizes of wear out of the one pair of pants would make them even better value.

My favourite feature of this sewing pattern is the pockets. Oh the pockets! Any parent knows how important pockets are for collecting treasures. The rough and tumble pants have four reasonably sized pockets. Like actual, fit a whole child’s hand in them sized pockets. There’s two patch pockets on the front and two welt pockets on the back.

There’s an optional faux drawstring for the waistband and a faux fly which I think is a lovely touch. The faux fly is just oh so cute. Plus Peek-A-Boo’s Rough and Tumble Pants can be sewn in either woven or stretch fabrics!
All these different features make Peek-A-Boo Pattern’s Rough and Tumble pants extremely versatile to wear but also to sew. I like to adapt the design to suit the fabric I have availible. As long as I have enough fabric for the main legs of the pants I can add or leave out features according to the scraps of fabric I have left over. Not enough fabric for the pockets? No problem! The cuffs can even be sewn from contrasting fabric, as can the pockets and knee patches. So this sewing pattern has become one of my favourite stash busters.
I’ve even hacked this sewing pattern to make a pair of shorts. You can read more about that in this post.
New to Digital Sewing Patterns?
Digital sewing patterns are fantastic for kids clothes because you just print the size you want, no tracing or messing about trying to preserve the larger sizes of the pattern for using as your child grows.
They generally come with loads of different options and a wider size range than traditional paper sewing patterns. Most of the digital sewing patterns I own go all the way up to the teenage years.
If you are new to using digital sewing patterns take a look at this tutorial for simple steps to printing and assembling digital sewing patterns.

Sewing Fabric
I picked up this gorgeous French terry fabric from my local fabric shop. Unfortunately it was in their closing down sale so yay I got a bargain but booo no more local fabric shop. I say this all the time but please, if you’re lucky enough to still have a local craft shop and you want to keep having them, spend your money with them or they won’t be around for much longer.

Now I get most of my fabric from Minerva Crafts. They have a great selection and very reasonable prices.
I’m making the most of the premium fabric by pairing it with some cheap plain grey ribbing from my fabric stash. I’m using the ribbing for the cuffs and waistband.
Sewing Thread
I use Coats Moon Thread for all of my sewing projects. It’s a fantastic all rounder great for machine sewing, hand sewing, quilting and top stitching. Best of all it’s fantastic value. I use it for literally everything!
I buy it in bulk and put the surplus in my Etsy shop. There’s loads of colours to choose from.
I recommend the grey shades. They don’t show up on most fabrics so you’ll have less need to change your thread between projects. It also saves you money because you can get grey threads in bigger bulk at a cheaper price.

Sewing Notions
I use cheap and cheerful elastic for the elasticated waistband.

How To Sew an Elasticated Channel
Elasticated channels such as on a waistline or sleeve cuff are easy to sew and comfortable to wear. They are great for sewing children’s clothes because you can stitch a size bigger than the child needs and the elasticated channel will hold the garment in place comfortably as the child grows.
Follow these simple steps to sewing your own elasticated channels.

How To Top Stitch
I used a twin needle for the topstitching. It creates two perfectly parallel lines of stitching, just like you see on a lot of commercial garments. It makes such a professional looking finish for virtually no extra effort. You just need an extra reel of thread for the second needle. Easy peasy and such a great feature.

Top stitching is stitches that will remain visible on the front side of the garment. They are used to hold a hem or patch pocket in place. Top stitching is also sometimes used to anchor seam allowances to a garment, this makes the seams stronger and adds definition to a garment.
Follow these simple instructions for perfect top stitching.

More Peek-A-Boo Patterns Sewing Projects
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I do hope my sewing project has inspired you to have ago at sewing your own Rough and Tumble Pants.
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The Great British Sewing Bee is back for 2026!
Patrick and Esmé are back for another series of The Great British Sewing Bee! The new season starts on Tuesday 14th July on BBC One at 8pm!
To celebrate the return of our favourite sewing show, Minerva are offering 20% off all fabric for the whole run of the series! This includes fabrics inspired by the show, Minerva Exclusive prints, Core Range essentials, ex-designer deadstock and much more.
- Use the code AWBEEBACK to save 10% off all fabric – Minerva Craft Club members save 20%
- If you’re not a member yet, treat yourself and sign up today! You’ll save an extra 10% off everything you spend at Minerva for the next 12 months!!
- Shop all fabric at https://www.minerva.com/mp/GBP?page=1&sort=trending&type=Fabrics
- Offer ends Wednesday 30th September
A Little Bit About Me . . .
Hi there! Thank you so much for stopping by my little corner of the interweb. I’m Bridie.
I’m a busy mum to two small humans, two guinea pigs and a bouncing bundle of border collie puppy. We live in not so sunny Lancashire in the north of England.
I’m a very frugal crafter so I sew with a lot of free patterns, repurposed fabrics and thrifty hacks. I’m always on the look out for deals and ways to cut the cost of sewing.
I’ll show you all the best ways to craft on a tight budget so you can still create a life you love.

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