I feel like I've been doing copious amounts of fabric shopping (and blogging about it), and not nearly enough sewing (and blogging about it). Well that all stops today - I have finally put together a sewing post complete with awkward/terrible selfies. Woo hoo! We are currently, chilling at our country place on White Lake, and I have brought all, well most of, my sewing gear. So while John's out fishing, I'm sewing. I've actually been having a ton of fun, although I'd be lying if I said I didn't have some frustrating moments. Which brings us to the first project I will share with you: Espresso Leggings by Cake. 
This is actually a really cool pattern. You take various measurements of your legs, waist and rise, and then you connect the dots, and voila: you have your very own custom leggings pattern. I've had this pattern for weeks, but haven't tried it. I had read lots of great things about it: that it was super easy and resulted in amazing custom fit leggings. I always have problems with getting store bought leggings to fit. I think it's because of my super short legs, so I was super keen to try this.
Let the great leggings adventure begin! Have you ever had one of those days where nothing goes right? No matter what you do? That was how my day went when I first attempted these leggings. I have only been sewing clothes for about 4 months now, so I was fully prepared for my test pair to not be perfect (or was I?). Don't get me wrong, I had my fingers crossed and hoped that because this pattern was so "easy" that they would be perfect, but I was also prepared to cut myself some slack. Well, my first pair I couldn't even get on! I made a classic rookie mistake. It was a 2-way stretch fabric, and I cut my leggings so that the stretch was vertical instead of horizontal. DOH! I couldn't even get over my knees. I felt pretty silly, but I shrugged and laughed it off. I still had enough fabric left over for another pair, no harm, no foul.
Second attempt: somehow I made them about 5 inches too short, and they were pretty much cutting off the circulation to my feet. Plus my butt fell out when I sat down. Not a good thing. What did I do wrong?? (Um, measure twice, cut once Heather, hello-oh!) At this point I was pretty tired and frustrated, so I called it a night, but I vowed to not be defeated and told myself I would try again the next day.
Third attempt: Success!! I had John go over my measurements with me again, and it turned out that I had completely miss measured the length of my legs, and I didn't do a very good job measuring my rise either. So with new measurements in hand, I made a completely new template and discovered that I had marked some of my dots wrong, which also added to my fit issues. Anyway, long story longer, my third pair turned out pretty awesome. So awesome that I made a second pair, and then a third pair. Cue awkward selfies:
Ya that's my butt! These ˆˆˆ are my favourite of the three pairs. They fit awesome, and I love the crazy print. I have no idea what I will wear them with in real life, but I picture them with a long black tunic top, or maybe a simple black knit dress. I am sure I will think of something.
Don't I look totally 80's on my bottom half? Excuse my lulu hoodie, I was just lounging around. What happened to my face, why is it so blurry? And what's going on with my hair? I s that what it always looks like?
While these ones don't look that flattering in pictures, they are pretty awesome too. I got both of these fabrics from Denver Fabrics and they are both an ITY knit. At the time I had no idea what an ITY knit was (and to be honest I still don't) or what it felt like, but it was cheap and pretty, and when it arrived, I saw that it had tons of stretchy-ness so I thought it would make great leggings. And the best part, so far this fabric repels pug hair. Score!
My last pair, are just plain black leggings. Probably the most practical of the three. I got the fabric from Girl Charlee, and it is a super soft cotton jersey. I am hoping that they won't stretch out over time, but we'll have to see. Unfortunately, this fabric attracts pug hair, so not the best fabric for lounging around cuddling my grumble, but great for out of the house attire (with a long top or dress of course).
Whoa, what am I doing in this pose? And how did my face get so shiny? Of course no selfie is complete without a pug or two hanging out.
So that's pretty much it for leggings. While this project didn't start off the greatest, I am glad I persevered, as I am thrilled with my new leggings. I also learned a couple of things about my crotch curve and how to fit pants so fingers crossed that helps with future makes. Hopefully this post wasn't too painful for you, as there will be more coming your way.
Do you sew? Have you ever made your own clothes or clothes for someone else? Got any tips for me on taking selfies? (Or maybe in airbrushing? LOL.)