Hand-Made Camo Snowboard Pants Design Preview

Inspirations

Snowboarding since the age of 13, I have gone through various brands when it comes to apparel on the mountain. From my mom’s old Burton pants to now Apres Blanche XL snowboard pants, my style has changed drastically over the years. It was not until this season where riders such as Jill Perkin and Kokomo Murase inspired me to change my typical snowboarding outfit which consisted of tight fitting, tan Volcom pants and a tan DC Jacket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Both Kokomo (Fig. 1) and Jill (Fig. 2) are seen wearing neutral colored, baggy snowboarding pants. Inspired by these rider’s loose-fitting, casual wear, I want to make pants that fit this street-style aesthetic.

JNCO’s are a pants brand that I will be mimicking in order to design my pockets. With large pockets paired with cargo pockets on the side (Fig 3.), these JNCO’s are a reference I will be using for my pocket design.

Aiming to make pants that represent a 90’s street style aesthetic, I also incorporate the style of riders in the 90’s film Snowboarders in Exile. 

The boarder in Fig. 3 is wearing clothes one would typically see people wearing on the street. This is where the term street-style began. Snowboarders would wear T-shirts and baggy pants while riding to embrace comfortability and a certain style that diverged from typical 80’s hyper-neon ski suits. Typically, the pants these boarders in the film wore were extra-large and had big pockets.

I will be making pants with waterproof material to protect myself from the snow and incorporate an insulating layer to keep me warm. Additionally, these pants will be camouflaged to reflect my own personal taste in pants. However, the pants will be very loose-fitting to reflect the 90’s street-style aesthetic, and I will be incorporating large pockets into my design.

Alternatives

If I wanted to incorporate a style that was popular in the 80’s, I would make hyper-neon, tight fitting snowboarding pants. Prevalent in the early 80’s, hyper-neon skiwear was popular among skiers since snowboarding was not a popular sport at the time.

Seen in full track suits and bright colors, the hyper-neon aesthetic defiantly drew a lot of attention to the individual who was wearing these bright colors. Personally, the neon, tight-fitting outfits do not appeal to me. While this form of snow wear did not change my approach to making my own snowboarding pants, it did show what not to do when making my own apparel.

Design Plans

In the beginning of the season, I wanted baggy snowboarding pants. So, I made them myself.

The snowboard pants seen on the left (Fig 6) were too small and constantly ripped up the rear seamline. To fix these issues, I want to remake the pants entirely. This time, I am going to adhere to a 90’s street-style aesthetic for my pants by making them baggier and incorporating cargo pockets. My timeline for this process is as follows:

 

So far, I have completed all of the initiation tasks and the pattern planning (Fig 8.)

 

The key for each patterned piece is as follows:

A – Front of pants

B – Back of pants

C – Zipper backing

D- Zipper fly

E – Waist band

F- Belt Loops

G – Rear pocket

H – Cargo pocket

I- Cargo pocket top

J – Yoke

Now, I plan on actually cutting the pattern and giving it the correct dimensions to fit myself.

In order to actually sew the pants, I have to follow the steps below:

1. Sew the yoke onto the back pant legs using two single stitches
2. Sew the zipper backing and zipper fly onto the front pieces of the pants using a single stitch
3. Sew the zipper onto the fly using a single stitch
4. Sew the seat of front and back of the pants using a zigzag then folding the pants over, ironing them and then a single stitch on the outside of the fabric
5. Fold over the edges of the pockets using a 1/2″ seam allowance, then sew using a single stitch
6. Place the pockets in the correct position, sew in place
7. Sew cargo pockets, and sew in place
8. Sew the outer seam
9. Sew the waistband
10. Fold over bottom of pants, and sew using a 2″ seam allowance
11. Cut all extra string

 

This is the entire process of my project which I project to take about a month.

 

References

Vans, (November 7, 2022). Vans Snowboarding Presents: It’s Love | Snow | VANS. YouTube.

Colin Bane, (2025). Kokomo Murase: Fit to Push Snowboard Progression. X Games.

Weetster, (2025). JNCO Men’s Jeans. Depop

Getty Images (2024). Skiers in Titlis. Getty Images

Jerry Dungan (1990). Snowboarders in Exile. YouTube.