I don’t know about you, but I am in desperate need of clothes for autumn. And apparently I’m now taking my fashion cues from my 7 year old! This olive colored, cotton velour was actually meant for leggings for Mairi Rose- cotton velour leggings being her favorite sort of pants. But when all of my leggings started falling apart, I began to wonder if there wasn’t enough fabric to cover me instead.
In my head I pictured myself wearing these with a long, oatmeal colored, tunic sweater, while ever so causally curling up with a book on a stormy autumn day. It should be noted that in this fantasy I also had really long shapely legs. Hey, if you are going to have an active fantasy life, you might as well have some fun with it. The leggings are now done, but I’m still lacking the sweater and the legs. Books I can manage.
To make these I took my most comfortable pair of (totally worn out) leggings and after closely examining their construction, turned them inside out and carefully trimmed off the seams. I then used the pieces as my pattern, being sure to add the seam allowance back in. I’ll be using this pattern again, but I will change a few things as I go along. Mostly I don’t like the way I put together the waistband.
I learned something very valuable with this quick project. With careful cutting I can make myself a pair of leggings from a single yard of fabric. I just have to do the waist in two pieces instead of one. Sometimes it pays to be short after-all. Who knew?
Are you starting to think about cooler (or warmer, depending on where you live!) weather coming and what that might mean for your wardrobe?
Ooh I love these! And they look fantastic on you!
I have often thought of makingy own leggings- I make kid ones all the time, so why not? And yes so handy that you can manage with a yard! Being so tall that would not work for me!
I keep meaning to participate here… this weekend I finished a skirt for myself. I’ll try to get it posted!
Great job! Do you have a link for that fabric? I assume it’s a knit? I’m always looking for good apparel fabrics, but hate perusing the internet in search of them…
Dear Melanie,
I would be so happy to have you join us! I can’t wait to see what you post.
I’ve made leggings for myself before, but I’ve only felt so-so about the fit and style. I think that starting with a cut that I know works for me is going to make all the difference. I’m excited about the possibilities for different fabrics, wool in particular!
Dear Emily,
http://www.naturesfabrics.com/ has a huge selection of cotton velour in a rainbow of colors. Their prices are very reasonable for velour. They also tend to have a big sale around Christmas time, with substantial discounts, so I try to plan for placing an order around then.
Great leggings. I recently decided that among my three in-progress knitting projects, one should always be for the season to come. That way I’m not trying to crank out something I want to wear immediately all the time.
I have the worst luck using old clothing as a pattern. I do it all the time when sewing for my daughters, but for me I always end up with a big mess and a lot of waisted fabric (something I experienced this past week unfortunately). The weather doesn’t change much in my part of the country so I tend to get away with throwing some pants under whatever I am wearing and keeping a sweater handy, once the seasons change. But since your posts have started me on a sewing kick I just might have to do something special this year.