It’s winter which means its cold and the temptation to stay on the couch cuddled under a blanket eating biscuits, drinking tea while reading books is big.
Sadly I know I need to move more. I have to get fitter and rebuild strength in my core and back.
So in an effort to motivate myself with new clothes to workout in I purchased the PDF of the Jalie Clara tights.
These are so intriguing as they have no centre front seam and only a back seam and an inside leg seam.
I measured myself and decided to go with the size Z with the 3/4 leg option of size O.
Cutting was easy and I added in the gusset, centre back seam and inside leg. At this stage I tried them on and decided I need to size down. Instead of unpicking and recutting I basically used my overlocker to cut down a size.
Tried them on again and decided on taking a dart like wedge out of the centre back and tightening the inside leg from mid thigh down the leg.
Popped them on again and was satisfied. Added the waistband using my overlocker and then twin needle stitched it in place using my coverstitch and hemmed (also on my coverstitch) and I was done.
I’m 5 foot tall so the top waistband sits really high on me (like just under my bra high) which is fabulous as it goes well up and above my surgery scar. It also goes above the weird swelling shape and weight gain which means it’s not going to move while I exercise.
There is some wrinkling around the knee that I’m not wild about but am going to wear them for awhile and see if there are any other changes to be made before I set about fixing that.
Great pattern, really impressed at the results and loving this Lycra from Pitt Trading which has no grin through of the white base fabric and isn’t see through even when stretched!
Having worn these a little am definitely going to size down even more, I want the Lycra to work a little harder as right now it feels a bit loose particularly around the crotch and thigh. It just doesn’t have that “firm” feeling yet so am going to do some tweaks. However I feel like the changes would be less if I wasn’t using such a nice quality Lycra.
Pattern – Jalie Clara tights pattern
Fabric – from the stash but originally from Pitt Trading
Changes – go down at least one to two sizes, take an extra dart shape wedge out of the centre back, tighten up knees a bit more
Lightning McStitch
I keep hoarding Supplex type fabrics and these kind of patterns so I read with interest. Of course I never do get around to making my own gym tights, but one day…. I’m intrigued by the inner leg and curved front crotch seam only. Does the front crotch not drop down like a pair of saggy tights? if not, then it’s a genius way to avoid the old “dividing line” up the front.
Susan Goodwin
I’m surprised at how well the no front seam fits especially as i’m Carrying extra weight there and was thinking oh it’s just going to pull across the bumps. But it doens’t, I shall report back how it goes after more useage though as I’m intrigued as well.