Self-Drafted Leggings, Thanks to Cal Patch

One of my big plans this past winter was to sew up some fleece leggings that I could wear under insulated skirts or skirts made from wool blankets.  The skirts never materialized (maybe next winter), but the leggings did, and that’s what I want to share with you today.  I suppose leggings can be kind of like t-shirts in that they don’t make for the most interesting of blog posts, but they get a lot of wear, especially when you are hanging around home and don’t have to see people outside of your family every day.  Activewear as loungewear for the win!

There is an old post on the Etsy blog circa 2012 where Cal Patch, pattern drafter, author, and maker extraordinaire explains how to draft leggings (i.e. create a leggings pattern) from your own measurements.  I tried using this tutorial before I started down the path of growing an immense pattern library, and it is a great one.  I still have some of the first leggings I made, but my measurements have changed since then, so I thought it was time for an updated pattern.

One of the cool things about these directions is that they create just one pattern piece.  Yep, that’s all you need to sew custom leggings with no outside seam.  If you want to get fancy down the road, you could always chop your pattern up and add outside side seams or pockets or whatever, but for the basic leggings, you only need one piece.

After following all the directions, I tested out my pattern with some bathing suit fabric I had marinating in my stash from Fabric Mart Fabrics.  I haven’t made a bathing suit from it yet, so I had plenty.  Even if I didn’t, these leggings only take about 1.25 yards of fabric.  I sewed up a test pair after determining that the fabric was opaque, and it was a success!

These will make great exercise leggings.  I was careful to line up the pattern, which was not as hard as I would have thought.

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Then it was on to my Polartec Power Stretch.  So far, this is my favorite Polartec fabric that I have tried.  It’s soft and fleecy on one side and smooth on the other with a nice stretch.  In the past I have made a purple Sew House Seven Toaster Sweater and a Style Arc Josie Hoodie from it and both are still in my wardrobe with the Josie Hoodie being a firm favorite.  I have gotten all my Power Stretch from Mill Yardage.

It took very little time to whip up two pairs of leggings from the Power Stretch.  These dark gray ones have gotten lots of wear.  Unfortunately, I didn’t do a test to see how opaque the ivory fabric was and…they are somewhat see-through, so they have been relegated to tights-only status, and I didn’t model them for you.

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When sewing these, I used a zigzag stitch on my regular sewing machine with a 75/11 stretch needle for the bathing suit fabric and a 90/14 stretch needle for the Power Stretch.  I used a stitch width/height of 4.5 and a length of 0.5 which made my zigzags tall and very close together.  Not everyone likes this kind of stitch for knits, but I find it gives the seam lots of room to stretch.  I tested this on a doubled scrap of fabric both on grain and cross-grain and stretched as far as I could to make sure the stitches didn’t pop before sewing on my actual garment.  I kept my tension the same as usual, but set my presser foot pressure to the lightest it could go.  I used a walking foot, woolly nylon in my bobbin, and Gütermann all purpose thread (100% polyester) in the top.  This type of setup has been working well for me when sewing stretchy knits lately.

For my hems, I just folded the fabric up once and stitched, covering the edge of the fabric with my stitching when possible.  Sometimes I even sew from the inside of the hem rather than stretching my hem over my free arm.  This put the woolly nylon on the outside, but I didn’t care with these since it was close enough to the fabric color.

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For the waistband, I use one inch wide elastic and try it on around my waist to find a comfortable snugness.  Then I overlap it slightly and sew the ends together.  Next it gets pinned onto the wrong side of the waist area on the leggings with the edge of the fabric going slightly beyond my elastic.

I stitch the side of the elastic furthest from the raw edge to the leggings and then fold it over so the elastic is enclosed in fabric and stitch near the raw edge, trying to catch the elastic as I go.

A lot of these tips I picked up from sewing Megan Nielsen’s Mini Virginia leggings.  Megan often has really good ideas and ways of constructing garments that are new to me and which become my own preferred way of sewing.

And that’s pretty much it!  I’m so happy to have these leggings in my wardrobe.  I have worn them a lot.

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If you want to get into very basic drafting, Cal Patch also has a book out called Design-It-Yourself Clothes that I found really fun when I first started sewing.  I don’t know why, but it was completely amazing to me that you could learn to create patterns.  I guess I never thought about how a pattern became a pattern before looking through that book.

 

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Me-Made-May ’15: Week Four

Welcome to Week Four of Me-Made-May ’15!  This was another good week with fewer repeats than I had expected.  Let’s get straight to the pictures!

Friday’s theme was “animals”.  I dug out this t-shirt that I self-drafted (with the help of Design-It-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch).  I had planned to make some changes to it, but after putting it on, I decided it still worked.  Another point for immediate gratification!

Day 22: Self-drafted t-shirt #mmmay15

 

Day 22: Self-drafted t-shirt (close-up) #mmmay15

 

Day 22: Self-drafted t-shirt (detail) #mmmay15

You’ve seen this one before!  This was another wear of my pink Summer Blouse (but this time with new boots–major thrifting score!!).

Day 23: Summer Blouse from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, made from a vintage sheet #mmmay15

Note the lovely clip-on earrings scored at Brimfield.

Day 23: Summer Blouse from Weekend Sewing by Heather Ross, made from a vintage sheet (close-up) #mmmay15

Now for one that long-time readers will recognize.  This dress was in my first post for this blog.  It was a pairing of Alabama Chanin reverse applique and beading with a pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams.  It was beyond my skill level at the time, but it was so worth it, imperfections and all.

Day 24: Dress pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams with Alabama Chanin style reverse applique and beading, made from knit sheets #mmmay15

 

Day 24: Dress pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams with Alabama Chanin style reverse applique and beading, made from knit sheets #mmmay15

The bodice actually has three layers of fabric for the reverse applique.  I was hoping the extra layers would also provide stability to the top, which they do.  (Yea!)

Day 24: Dress pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams with Alabama Chanin style reverse applique and beading, made from knit sheets (detail) #mmmay15

My photographer (my daughter) told me we absolutely HAD to have a twirling shot.  This circle skirt is pretty awesome.

Day 24: Dress pattern from The Party Dress Book by Mary Adams with Alabama Chanin style reverse applique and beading, made from knit sheets #mmmay15

Next is this Alabama Chanin corset from Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin.  This is such a great tank.  It has fit me at various sizes and has such interesting lines.

Day 25: Corset tank top from Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt #mmmay15

Day 25: Corset tank top from Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt (close-up) #mmmay15

It’s also reversible!  I usually wear it like you see it above because I like to see the seam allowances, but you can also wear it as below for a more subtle effect.

Check out the starfish we found!  (Don’t worry, we put it back.)

Day 25: Corset tank top from Alabama Stitch Book by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt; reversible #mmmay15

These shorts are a free pattern from Anna Maria Horner.  I really needed some shorts a few summers ago, so I made these from some Amy Butler Nigella fabric that was a home décor cotton.  At that point, I just used pinking shears on all my seam allowances after sewing, so I always have little frays and strings hanging down inside, but the fact that I am starting to think about finishing my seams on a regular basis shows me how far I’ve come.  Maybe someday I’ll be a patient sewer…or maybe I’ll be so fast and AWESOME, I won’t have to be patient!  Even better.  😉

Day 26: Pleasant Pathways Shorts by Anna Maria Horner for Janome (free pattern) using Amy Butler Nigella home décor weight fabric #mmmay15

 

Day 26: Pleasant Pathways Shorts by Anna Maria Horner for Janome (free pattern) using Amy Butler Nigella home décor weight fabric (close-up) #mmmay15

You will probably not be surprised to see yet another Alabama Chanin make.  These are a summer staple for me.  This is the Fitted Top from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin.

Day 27: Fitted Top from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt #mmmay15

 

Day 27: Fitted Top from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt (close-up) #mmmay15

It’s also reversible.

Day 27: Fitted Top from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from an oversized t-shirt; reversible #mmmay15

Try not to be shocked.  This one’s from Alabama Chanin, too.  This is the Long Fitted Dress from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design.  Maybe you can tell that the top in the above picture is really just the top part of this dress.  You might also recognize the fabric from Day 21.  I got a lot of mileage out of this sheet and the t-shirt I cut up for neck and armhole binding.

Day 28: Long Fitted Dress from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from a knit sheet and a t-shirt (trim) #mmmay15

The dress has a small train, which I love.  Yes, it means you have to hold your dress up a like a lady of the olden days, but that’s kind of fun.  I could have cut it off, but I kept it.  It makes me feel fancy.  😉

Day 28: Long Fitted Dress from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from a knit sheet and a t-shirt (trim) #mmmay15

I like to wear this one with the seam allowances showing, too, but you could easily turn them to the inside.

Day 28: Long Fitted Dress from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin, made from a knit sheet and a t-shirt (trim) (details) #mmmay15

Most of these makes are from pre-blogging days, so it’s fun to get them out.

Next week’s Me-Made-May post will cover the last three days of May.  Three more to go!  I can’t believe it.  See you then, if not before!

Using the Patterns in Your Closet: Copying a Dress

Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could make a copy of your favorite dress, t-shirt, or pair of jeans?  I know there are people who can, and it’s a skill I’ve always wanted to learn.  Awhile ago, I posted about Cal Patch’s book, Design-It-Yourself Clothes.

Since I never went to any sort of fashion design school, this has been a great beginner book for me as I’ve begun to explore pattern drafting.  Toward the back of the book, she has a little section on copying existing clothing.  She doesn’t go into a lot of detail, but gives you enough information to try it out.

A few years ago, I bought this strange but cool dress (or shirt or kimono-esque beach cover-up or…????) at an antiques flea market.  The tag says Sun Island, but I couldn’t find out much about the dress or the company via the all-powerful interweb…just a few similar items on eBay.

One of the great things about this dress is that it is made of two nearly identical pieces (front and back), plus some facings inside the collar.  There are no darts, nothing tricky.

Well, this seemed like the perfect piece of clothing to try to copy.  Over the summer, I followed the instructions and tried to make a pattern of the back, and then one of the front and the facings.  I found a sheet I liked at the thrift store to be my muslin fabric, and *cleverly* timed my construction attempt for when I would be visiting my parents, since I figured being able to ask my Mom questions in person about any problems might save me some time.

In the end, I got it constructed, and she suggested ditching the facings for bias tape, which was much easier to use and turned out nicer than my first attempt, if a little different from the original garment.

This has a fit similar to the original and turned out well.

For the final garment, I had some fabric that I think is silk, although I’m not sure.  I don’t have much experience with silk, so I was all set to go until I read that silk is hard to cut….then I chickened out and started dragging my feet on getting it done.  Then, again while reading, I came across the very wise thought that something isn’t necessarily hard until we hear that it is.  Does that make sense?  Cutting silk wasn’t hard in my perception until I  read that it was.  So, I finally got over it and just cut it out.  It was fine.  (Who knows?  Maybe this isn’t even silk, but that’s sort of beside the point.  We’re learning life lessons here! 😉 )

Here is my final version:

The amazing thing was, the fabric was exactly the width of the pattern, so I didn’t finish the sleeves in the end.  The selvages looked perfectly finished for my taste.  It made me wonder, was it silk and was it the width for a kimono?  Has anyone made one that can shed light on that?  If so, I’d love to hear about it in the comments.  I’d also love to hear from anyone else who has tried copying an existing piece of clothing.  I know there is a lot more to learn, but I’m happy with my first attempt.  Now I just have to figure out how to style it…especially for winter.  Maybe the new pink suede shoes I got at the thrift store would work…    😉

Project Day!

Today was project day.

Drinking coffee and getting to work

I usually reserve Monday mornings for blogging and for projects, but often it’s just the blogging and maybe some photography that happens.  When I planned out my time to start this blog, I found little pockets where I could write posts, but still haven’t found my rhythm for continuing to make new work, write posts, and take care of my family.  This year is for attempting to figure some of that out.

I realized that I was sort of stuck with my creative projects.  There was one that had me stumped, and when that happens I tend to avoid working on things.  It sort of feels like a roadblock to getting anything done.  My roadblock was some vintage pants I was altering.  So, after gathering advice and thinking about the problem for a long time, I decided to take the easy way out so I could get them done and move on.

The pants in question

I got these pants pre-kids and, even then, they were snug.  In fact, they met their demise when I wore them one day, sat down, and split the butt seam.  (Luckily, I was on my way home, so I didn’t have to figure out a creative fix at work.)  Anyway, in the end, I decided to let out the seams, but that meant that my waistband was now too short.  I tried adding an extension to it, but it wasn’t quite long enough, and there were some other reassembly problems that I ran into.  That was when I decided that the most important thing was being able to wear them again.  So, I finished the top edge with single-fold bias tape that I already had, which also makes the waist less high and more comfortable for me.

Here they are!

Wearable again!

It’s so nice to have these wearable again, just in time for the colder side of fall and the coming of winter.  They were, I think, originally meant to be ski pants, so they are made of handwoven wool from Ireland, and are lined inside.  I won’t say they are the most slenderizing pants out there, but I love that blue on blue check, and that they are warm and cozy.  I also think fashion is more fun if it’s just a little bit weird.  🙂

The pants were the only project that got finished (well, I fixed a hole in a jacket, so I guess that got finished, too).  The other two projects are in-progress.

I have a little bit of a long-sleeved shirt shortage, so I’m trying to alter some shirts I got last winter to fit better.  These two are going to be sewn together and then reverse appliqued a la Alabama Chanin.

You can see the other shirt where I folded up one of the sleeves.  Both shirts came from Lands’ End.  They are basic t-shirts and are the same style.  Both are inside out and safety pinned to one another so they can be sewn together.

Here is a detail after sewing.  I used the t-shirt/bolero back pattern piece from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design by Natalie Chanin as my guide for the side seams.  I laid it over the pinned shirts and used chalk to trace around it.  Where the side seam touched the armhole, I tapered to the wrist opening (you can sort of see that above).  Once the two shirts were sewn together, I cut off the excess fabric.  Next, I’ll work on doing the reverse applique.  I’ve made a lot of the patterns from Alabama Studio Sewing + Design as basics in only one layer of fabric to test them out (although I have been using my machine, rather than hand-sewing them….I hope Natalie wouldn’t be disappointed 🙂  ).  I’ve really come to love and trust her patterns and working with knits, which I was always afraid to do before I discovered the Alabama Chanin books.

The other project I worked on was a muslin (test garment) for a shirt pattern I’m developing.  I mentioned before that I had gone through Design-It-Yourself Clothes by Cal Patch.  While I’m starting to get the basic ideas, I still need a lot of practice.  I’ve made a button down shirt pattern before, but wanted to make another pattern and then make some variations from there.  This is the test garment for the initial pattern.  Here it is so far:

I found a cute sheet to use as my muslin fabric at the thrift store, so I’m hoping that even if this isn’t perfect, it will still be wearable and I’ll get two shirts out of the process.  Once I put the cuffs on, I think I can try it out.  I’m not great at fitting and transferring my corrections to my pattern, but I’ve been reading up on it, so I need to give it another try.  I loved the first shirt that I made, but it wasn’t fitted as well as it could have been.  It’s all progress, right?

Hopefully I’ll make some good headway on these projects sooner rather than later so I can share them with you as they get finished.  I’m looking forward to showing you how they turn out!

You CAN make your own leggings!

When I was growing up and had just enough sewing skills to be dangerous (read:  knotting up my mother’s machine and messing up projects that I then begged her to fix for me), I always wanted to sew without a pattern.  You hear stories about people who can do that (my great-grandmother, for one), but if you are a basic, everyday American sewer, you don’t see it a lot.  Any time I would sew from a commercial pattern, I would mess something up (actually, that still happens, but it’s happening less as I practice more).  Then I started to read the blogs of people who made their own patterns.  MAGIC!  How does this happen?!  That’s when I discovered Cal Patch’s book Design-It-Yourself Clothes:  Patternmaking Simplified.

This is a great beginner book for learning to draft patterns.  It completely changed the way I went into Anthropologie (just as an example).  Instead of lamenting the fact that I didn’t have an endless amount of money to buy whatever I wanted, I started to study silhouettes and shapes of clothing and think, “I could make that!”  (By the way, this is a really useful phrase if you want to buy a lot of stuff, but can’t.  If you COULD make it, you don’t have to buy it.  It doesn’t mean you ever WILL make it, but once you feel like you COULD, it gets you off the hook and you can walk AWAY from the leather leggings or the hot pink cuckoo clock–that WAS what you were after, right?)

When I finally decided to go through the book, I made a comment on Cal’s blog, and she e-mailed and told me about a few draft-alongs happening on other blogs.  A little accountability and someone else working through the glitches can really help when you are in new creative territory, so I followed along and did the projects.  It completely changed sewing for me.  Now the sun was starting to shine into the “black box” of patternmaking and I could begin to see how things worked.

Imagine my excitement, then, when I found that Cal had written a tutorial on how to draft your own leggings on the etsy blog about a year ago.  I found some clearance fabric at Joann Fabric, and gave it a try.  My first attempt was definitely off.  The back was low and I had a few extra inches of fabric, so I went back a few more times and kept working on it, until I got a pattern that I thought would work.  And finally…SUCCESS!

In order to get things just right, I went to a few other resources.  Because the drafting instructions are for beginners, they don’t have a lot of confusing information on fine-tuning, which is great.  However, if you need to fine-tune, you’ll have to look in a few other places.  My main sewing reference is Reader’s Digest Complete Guide to Sewing circa 1976/1978.  I found this used online for a couple of dollars.  I think I got the recommendation from Cal’s book.  I also bought the Spring 2013 issue of Threads magazine, which was a best of Threads issue specifically covering fitting.  In the end, after some chopping and taping, my pattern looked like this:

Once I was pretty sure I had it right, I recut my leggings and tried them on…and they fit!  It was so exciting!

From my extremely limited drafting experience, I’ve found it easier to sew from the patterns I’ve drafted than from commercial patterns.  My trouble with commercial patterns, I chalk up to my own inexperience, but it really is easy to sew from the patterns you make.  Three seams, and these are assembled.  Add a waistband and maybe hem the bottoms, and you are done!

leggings: drafted and sewn by me; tuxedo shirt: Pierre Cardin, thrifted; jacket: Original Alphorn Trachten, gift/thrifted

If you are interested in sewing and learning to make your own patterns, here are a few blogs with lots of exciting projects, some that you can try, and some that will inspire you:

• Sew Country Chick  Justine’s blog is the one I followed as I went through Cal’s book.  She has designed costumes, kids’ clothes, and adult clothing.  She also covers crafts, decorating, and more.
• Esther-fromthesticks  This blog is beautiful and inspiring.  Esther is a young designer studying at Savannah College of Art and Design.  Check out her prom dress and bathing suit drafts to see what you can aspire to.
• Male Pattern Boldness  Peter Lappin is constantly sewing and trying new things, which he shows you step by step.  His blog is funny and thought-provoking.
• The Selfish Seamstress Elaine only wants to sew if she gets to keep the finished product, something I can totally relate to.  She does her own versions of designer pieces and, while she is selfish, she occasionally throws out a free pattern.
• Gertie’s New Blog for Better Sewing  Gretchen Hirst is an amazing seamstress and pattern designer with a vintage flair.  She’s also the author of Gertie’s New Book for Better Sewing.  She’s a great resource if you want to learn to take your sewing up a notch or if you just like to look at vintage-inspired designs.

This ought to get you started.  If you are feeling intimidated, you should know that at one time, these people didn’t know how to do this either.  If they can learn, you can, too!  If you run across any other amazing and interesting resources, let me know!