Leggings

I found some stretch panne velvet in the remnant bins a while back and thought that it would make lovely little leggings for our DD for winter. This was supposed to be a quick and easy project that I would finish in no time BUT I had forgotten how difficult stretch panne velvet can be to sew. It slips and slides and stretches in all the wrong places. So I decided to use this project to experiment. Maybe one day I will have the courage to use the information that I have learnt to sew a few more pairs and sew them well LOL! I used the Riviera leggings pattern out of the book "Sewing Clothes Kids Love".

This is actually the last pair that I made. I hemmed the leg first and used a hemming webbing to hold it in place. I found out that it stretched around the pins and puckered so this was a very good option. I don't like hemming first because I feel that it doesn't give as neat an edge but it was really the best option with the tiny size 1 leg hole....So I hemmed the legs and then sewed the inner seam (the only leg seam in this pattern). I then did a small zigzag over the bottom edge of the seam to hold it flat and reinforce the overlocking and keep the edge looking neat. With the pile of the panne the zigzag isn't even visible. I added a short piece of elastic into the side of the leg for a ruched effect and attached a black bow.

I hemmed the legs first with these leggings too. I hadn't thought of the iron webbing at this point but it certainly was easier to hem the tiny leg hole flat than trying to fit the foot of the machine inside it and sew around. (It was too small to stretch over the arm of the machine.)

I used a different pattern (Newlook 6016) for this pair and found that the rise was a bit short so I added ribbing to the top for the waistband. I used stretch lace around the legs...easier than trying to hem the panne.

This is the first pair that I made and it all went wrong!!!!! I did the hem last and it was very crooked and well just awful. Unpicking is not an option so I cut it off and made a little cuff with another piece of the panne velvet. It was still really hard to stitch straight and I am very unhappy with the end result..but it was a really great learning experience. I was able to take what I learnt with this pair and change things as I went.