The Sewing Place
The Emporia => In the wardrobe => Technical Help => Topic started by: Nevis5 on August 27, 2018, 12:51:42 PM
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DD has asked me to help her make (ha! no chance, I know who will be doing it) some leggings for autumn/winter. I have a couple of patterns which I can use but I've never done leggings, or even worn them, so am not sure what fabric would be best for them?? Does anyone have any suggestions? Also what about the waistband? What do you use for those?
TIA for any help!
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I made a couple of pairs a few years back. I made a pattern from an existing pair & cotton/elastane fabric from Fabricland. Overlocked, turned waist over & threaded through wide elastic then zigzagged over it top & bottom to stop it twisting. I wore them to death, still have one pair left for gardening.
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Ah, thank you, @Lachica ! was just wondering about the different types of lycra fabrics available online. I'd prefer cotton for myself (if I were to make such a thing, which is unlikely) but will check with DD and have a squizz at the labels on her present pairs to see what they're made from.
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Anything with a 4 way stretch..just a band of elastic for the waist. It’s donkeys years since I made any but I made all mine in the 80s.
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Anything with a 4 way stretch.
Best if that stretch comes from a bit of lycra, but no fabric is 100% lycra. 10-15% should be more than enough for leggings. The very stretchiest stuff (swimsuits etc) is 20-25% lycra. The rest can be anything.
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My leggings are made from French terry. They are warm, long-lasting, and you certainly can't see any underwear through them as with some of the cheaper fabrics.
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My leggings are made from French terry. They are warm, long-lasting, and you certainly can't see any underwear through them as with some of the cheaper fabrics.
Good point. Leggings to wear under tunics or dresses versus leggings to wear in lieu of pants/trousers have different needs. So many here wear them in lieu of pants but don't make sure they are beefier fabric. So do give the fabric a good stretch and hold it over something to see if it is going to reveal things your Daughter might not want to show.
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I've made tights from cotton Lycra which has four-way stretch plus a cut on elastic waistband. The only problem with this fabric is that unless the fabric in your top is heavy enough, it will cling to the bottoms.
I have purchased jeggings which are made from a lightweight denim which is bonded to a webbed fabric. Unfortunately, I've never seen this fabric to buy.
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Thank you, all! You are all stars <3 <3 I've had a look at some of her leggings today which seem to be like a thick almost-ponte like knit with extra stretch so I'll have a look online to see if I can find something similar. @Renegade Sewist , definitely beefy is the way to go, she always wears dresses or tunics over her leggings as she is a peripatetic music teacher and seems to spend most of her working day crawling on the floor or marching children around playing noisy instruments ;)
She's quite excited at the thought of having leggings that fit round her without sliding down all the time. Hope I'm up to this challenge! xx