Hello there! A wee catch up post for the March #sewmystyle make, which is… a pair of leggings! Megan Nielsen’s Virginia leggings to be exact. It will therefore be a fairly short post since they are, after all, a comparatively simple item to make. Nevertheless, a good leggings pattern is important! I confess I almost didn’t make them as I have a couple of other leggings patterns, but what swayed me was 1) the reviews were very good and several were by people who have tried many, many leggings patterns and 2) there is a maternity option. I am not pregnant, but I lived in leggings when I was and they might come in useful in the future, if not for me, as a perfect gift for a pregnant friend.

I am planning to make almost all of the #sewmystyle clothes, but I did miss the Saunio cardigan last month. I wasn’t sure about the design for my figure and when I looked at all the versions people had made it didn’t sway me. It very often does, but I just couldn’t see this one suiting me. I had also hummed and hawed over this leggings pattern and a t-shirt pattern later on in the year, simply because they’re so, well, … simple… – but then thought: c’mon, I wear leggings ALL the time. NOT by themselves I hasten to add – nobody needs that vision in their immediate vicinity (so I will tell you now these pictures are only for the purposes of this blog/review) but under skirts, for jogging, etc. all the time. I NEED good leggings.

All of which very interesting preamble (ahem) brings me to the fact that these are good leggings. The details: they come in low rise or natural waist rise, and there are two lengths: petite and tall. I went for tall, since I’m not petite and took 4 inches off the length. They are designed to have a little “scrunch” at the bottom as you can see above, which I very much like. I had a scrunch after taking the 4 inches off though, so it’s something to bear in mind. I don’t have particularly long legs, but they’re not very short either. I suspect most people will take a little off, but’s an extremely easy thing to do, so no sweat.

There is only one seamline on the leg and therefore only 3 pattern pieces in total (two legs and the waistband). I think I prefer the tubular effect actually and boy, these are quick to make. I used the serger for the whole make and I reckon I could knock out another pair in 20 mins. Vereeee useful! I made the XL and they fit very nicely. They’re quite narrow in the leg (although less so without the 4 inches), so if you have quite shapely calves like moi, you probably need to factor this into your fabric stretch quotient.

Which brings me neatly to the fabric. The pattern recommends at least 40% stretch and preferably some lycra/spandex. I used a poly/spandex performance apparel fabric from JoAnn Fabric called Spacedye Black. Seriously, that performance range JoAnn brought out in the autumn is really nice. There are some modern, tasteful designs in there and a whole range of different thicknesses and textures. It’s also half price right now I see, so I would recommend checking it out if you’re in the market for some new jogging gear. This fabric is a fairly boring grey as workout clothes go, but I wanted something neutral to wear under other clothes as well. And it’s so soffttt and smoottthh.

Alright, that’s about all I have to say for this one. The pattern comes with some extra bits and bobs to customise the leggings, and Beth from SewDIY, who is the Project #sewmystyle guest blogger this month did a nice post on adding stirrups if you fancy that style.

I leave you with a final picture of my derriere in said leggings for the purposes of leggings fit info – and I can tell you they actually encase it pretty well. I have quite a few other makes to post, but have unfortunately been devoting every spare minute to house-hunting recently (our landlord is selling up) so have been unable to post very much. Hopefully that will be rectified soon! Until then, have fun sewing!