Sewing: Week Seven DIY Leggings

Week seven is DIY leggings for the 52 weeks of sewing. This tutorial is perfect for quick and easy leggings, yet it greatly depends on your fabric choice, so choose wisely. I used the same fabric from the tunic tutorial – I just won’t wear them together, that would be a fashion mess!

To make the template pick your favourite leggings – I picked this lululemon pair of underwonders. They are soft and fitted, so perfect to make a my standard legging pattern.

What You Need

pair of leggings to make a pattern
2 sheets of pattern paper or tissue
tape
marker
scissors
1.5 yards of stretch fabric
matching thread
serger
pins
iron

Step one:

Trace your leggings onto pattern paper and leave about 1/4 – 1/2 of an inch for the seam allowance.

Step two:

Mark on the pattern where the seam for waistband is – you’ll cut this off to make the band separate. Cut out the pattern.

Step three:

Time to pin up the pattern. You’ll need to cut two on the fold.

Here’s the trick – you’ll have to move the fabric a bit so that the leggings are fitted. You can see in the first photo that the legging bowes outward away from the fold, pull it inward and pin, like in the second photo.

Step four:

Cut the waistband. You’ll need to cut 4, not on the fold. Cut two with the grain and two against. This will give the waistband some added strength.

Step five:

Serge the top of the waistbands with right sides together. You’ll want the grain to match the outside of the pants and the other side to be inward.

Step six:

Serge each pant leg with right sides together.

Step seven:

Turn one leg right side out and put it inside the other leg – then, serge the legs together.

Step eight:

Serge the waistband together on the sides (be sure you’ve got the same grain matching).

Step nine:

Turn the pants right side out. Turn the waistband wrong sides together and then put the right side of the waistband (the side that matches the pants) on the inside. Now, put the waistband over the pants and serge all around.