She had Legs for miles!

Well, leggings anyway...that was a terrible segue.  Let's stick to sewing shall we...our first Cut-Sew-Wear class of 2014 was the "Draft and Make Custom Leggings" class.  How often do you come across ready-made leggings that fit you perfectly right out of the box? Most leggings are too low-waisted or like me, never hit at your natural waist and cut into your hips giving you the unfortunate "muffin top" that we all dread.  Maybe you want a certain length and you can never find it in the stores.  Or were you looking for some wild prints or colors but all you can find are the same old black and gray, boring basic leggings?  We've all had these issues...BUT NOT ANYMORE!

In this class, our goal was to address these issues and more!  Our intrepid group of sewists learned not only how to MAKE a pair of leggings, they also learned how to DRAFT a pattern for leggings based on their own measurements!  Custom.  Fit.  Leggings.  BAM!

The class was broken up into 2 parts: First day was measuring and drafting the pattern; Second day was cutting and sewing the leggings.

Measuring Up

Unfortunately we didn't get pictures of this step but it really isn't necessary.  We have our imaginations, so use them here.  We took measurements at key points like waist, hip thigh, knee, ankle, etc.  We made mathematical calculations based on said measurements.  Then we double checked our calculations (sometimes even triple checked) until we were satisfied with our calculations.  This step is SO important.  We really had to think about where we were measuring in correlation to how the leggings were eventually going to fit.  For example, did we want a higher waist or a lower waist?  Did we want capri length vs. ankle vs. full length?  So many decisions!  And each measurement affected the next.  It is SO helpful to have another person taking the measurements for you.  I mean, someone that knows what they're doing...sorry non-sewing significant others, sometimes you just don't cut it!  Now, to the next step...

Drafting the Pattern

Now we got down to business.  We took our measurements and calculations and transposed them onto pattern paper.  Using pencils and rulers and FANCY rulers, we drafted our very own, custom leggings pattern.  It was truly a proud moment for us all!  Here are our intrepid sewists getting down and dirty (I mean we really, literally got down onto my dusty floors):

Michelle is too hip to be "square" but okay to be triangular...okay I'll stop now.

Kanisa and Breyan

Xtine

Ann and Erika

Amy and Naomi

Belinda

Did I mention these girls got "down and dirty"?

Once the pattern was drafted, the first thing that came out of everyone's mouth, "Am I really THAT big?"  Hilarious!

Making the Cut

Day two, we brought our chosen knit fabrics and cut those leggings out!  I don't need to mention that you should prewash and press your fabrics before cutting...but you already do that, right? 

Before we talk about cutting fabric, let's talk about the fabric itself, shall we?  As, Kanisa and I have mentioned before in our previous posts, working with knit fabrics is a tricky thing.  Not only that,  knit fabrics are not all alike.  So this is where you really need to understand the fabric you are using.  You need to know how much it stretches.  You need to know in what direction it stretches.  You need to know if it is going to be sheer if you stretch it, oh, let's say over a very round tush (such as myself).  Will the fabric sag out of shape after hours of wear or will it retain its shape and spring right back?  These are very important things to consider when choosing fabric for leggings.  With that said, we also need to talk about ease, specifically NEGATIVE ease.  Knowing that knit fabric will STRETCH to contour to your curves, you need to think about HOW MUCH stretch to accommodate for.  This is negative ease.  According to the tutorial that we used, it was recommended that we subtract 1/2" to 1" off of all of our circumference measurements (waist, hip, thigh, knee, ankle) depending on how stretchy the fabric is.  So if your fabric is a LITTLE stretchy take less off, if it is REALLY stretchy, take more off.  In reality, it was really a guessing game for each of us because we all had very different fabrics.

So, with that in mind, we moved on to cutting out the leggings.  Remember when cutting your pattern on knit fabric, you want the most stretch going across the grain.  So the pattern should lie where the stretch is needed to go across horizontally, like your thigh and hip.  KEEP THAT IN MIND!  Also, have a good, flat cutting surface and of course, good cutting implements.  Some of us used scissors, others used the rotary cutter.  Up to you and your personal preferences.

Once our cutting was complete, we moved on to constructing the garment.  Side note: I went ahead and made my leggings the day before to get a better idea of the process so I could better answer questions as they came up.  When putting my leggings together, I actually basted them first.  Instead of taking away negative ease from my measurements when cutting my fabric, I simply basted with a bigger seam allowance.  My fabric had 4-way stretch and was SUPER stretchy, so I ended up using a 1 1/2" seam allowance/negative ease.  I tried them on to check fit and when I was happy with the fit, I sewed them up using a straight stitch then finished the seams with my serger.  Of course, I could have sewed it up with my serger from the get go, but comme ci, comme ca.  I could have taken up to 2" seam allowance but the fabric was becoming sheer the more I stretched, so I stayed with 1 1/2" to play it safe. 

As the ladies started putting their leggings together and doing their first fittings, some were finding that their initial measurements did not produce the expected outcomes in their leggings.  That is, a lot of the ladies had REALLY low-waisted leggings or baggy crotches.  Some didn't take enough negative ease off and had loose leggings.  So, I say this again, it is VERY IMPORTANT to take ACCURATE measurements.  Not only that, to really think about how your measurements will correspond with the finished garment!  At this point, some ladies packed it in with plans to finish at home and some ladies moved on to the waist band.  The tutorial we used called for an elasticized waist band.  One sewist chose to leave the elastic exposed to give a contrasting detail, others talked about creating a separate waist band with elastic encased in it (tutorial here) and sewn to the leggings.  I chose to create a separate waistband without elastic.  The final step was to finish the bottom hems with the technique of your choice.  Here are our intrepid sewists with their final products:

Some left with a wearable pair of leggings, some did not.  But we all left with the knowledge and skills to DRAFT A FREAKING PATTERN and a custom fit pattern for leggings that we could use in the future (with a few tweaks of course).  Most importantly, we learned TOGETHER, helping each other along the way.  A good time was had by all!

Until the next time...SEW, BITCHES, SEW!

Patricia

I think this was just too precious for words!