I Sewed Leggings!

 I am not a sporty girl. In fact back in high school I used to have P.E every Friday afternoon and I used to bunk it off [sorry mum!!!]. Luckily for me the P.E teachers never took the register and I never did enough when I did turn up to make it noticeable when I wasn't there. [Yet again sorry mum!!!]

I actually went through a phase when I thought I might get into running but I only did it twice before I gave up. What can I say? You run somewhere get knackered and then still have to run home! Plus I hate sweating!

That said I do like to try and stay fit. I do yoga when I can because its calming and it strengthens my core and my Big Brother recently took me, Lil Man and his kids rock climbing and I bloody loved it! 

I haven't been rock climbing in years! In fact the manager asked me when the last time I belayed someone [held the rope and made sure they didn't fall to their death] was and I worked out it was about 10 years ago!!!! Which makes me feel hella old! Anyway I was lucky enough that my brother really pushed me to try some difficult routes and now I can't wait to go back! 

Anyway I'm not sure why I ended up with such a hankering to make leggings but what can I say the sewing heart wants what the sewing heart wants! 

I was tempted to try the pattern from the 2nd GBSB book but the idea of all that tracing put me off so instead I found a free pattern on the craftsy website. [Which I think is now known as bluprint!]

The pattern prints onto 16 or so sheets so its not too much of an issue printing costs wise. As usual I cursed my way through sellotaping it together. I have no idea why but My pattern taping always ends up wonky and not matching up its so irritating!!!

Size wise I cut a medium because I thought it would be better for them to be too big and take them in rather than too small. I'm pleased with the way they fit as they don't feel overly restrictive. 

The fabric is from the abakhans fill a bag sale. I picked it up with the intention of making more swimwear but its not quite swimwear material so i decided leggings would be better. 

Word of warning if you do attend a fill a bag sale you can end up just throwing things in your bag without really knowing what they are or what you'll use them for! But that's half the fun!!!! 

The fabric has these cool patterned stripes on it so I had to be a bit more careful with my cutting out. I'm really pleased with how they wrap around my legs at regular intervals!!!! And that I actually managed to get the stripes matching up!

I used elastic on the waistband. First I measured my waist and cut the elastic slightly smaller. Then I overlocked it to the top edge, then I flipped it over and top stitched it several times with a zig zag stitch. It makes for a really secure waistband. 

As proven by my awesome kick below......

Lets all hope I'm never in a fight eh? Because yes I did fall into the wall after pulling this rather fancy move and yes my mum did think it was HILARIOUS! 

Construction wise they are overlocked. I don't think I'd trust a regular sewing machine to make a stitch strong enough to withstand the huge amounts of physical activity these legging will be doing. 

Jokes.... The only way I'll be sweating in these is if I'm not sure I've got enough cash for the pizza delivery man.

All in all I actually really like them. I've seen a few mums rocking active wear on the school run and I might start if I can find some tops long enough to cover my bum. To be honest the only thing I'm not keen on is that they are so tight fitting. They make me feel a bit like a stuffed sausage!! And like my entire bum is on display. 

In other news! 

- My top is from a charity shop, its David Bowie and my mum got it for me. 

- I've got a lot of sewing plans in the works including 2 baby blankets!!!!! 

Much Love 

Frankie 

xxx