Sewing by Mrs L: Tapered Tracksuit Pants

I picked up these tracksuit fabrics at Spotlight the other day. I'm not normally a fan of polyester fabrics, but these feel premium quality with really soft brushed fleece inside, plus I just couldn't resist the prints!

UPDATE - I've washed these and put them through the dryer, they shrank a lot in length, which I wasn't expecting seeing as this is polyester, I normally only bother pre-washing cottons and linens. So if you're not sure about the fabric it's best to pre-wash.

I've recently bought this pair of Country Road sweats.

I really love the tapered fit, and deep seat of these. You can wear them slouched low over the hip. Or pulled up higher on the waist which is the way I like to wear them. So I decided to draft my own version. My version is a lot more fitted than it appears on the CR model.

My Trackies

This fabric was a bit narrower than tradition brushed fleece for tracksuits. it on;y had about 135cm of usable width. I just about squeezed these pants out of 1.2m of fabric.

With the left over spaces I cut out a pair for Emmy. I'll write up a post on these next.

Elastic I used is 5cm wide, The exact measurement depends on the size you make. For size S you'll need 76cm.

You'll also need about 40cm of rib. I'm not entirely happy with the rib from spotlight, its a bit too thin for pants, probably more suitable for t-shirt.

The rib is tubular, so when cutting the waistband, just place the Centre Front on the fold.

This is the layout for the tracksuit fabric. The fabric is on the fold with right sides together.

The next layout includes the pieces for Emmy's trackies.

I stitched most of this up on my overlocking machine.
ALL of the seams are 6mm or 1/4"

1. Stitch up the front and back crotch and the pocket bags.

2. Pin the pocket bags onto the front and stitch. With right side up, fold the seam toward the pocket and flat-stitch. Line up the pocket edge with the notches on the pocket and Pin into place.

3. Lay the front over the back, right sides face to face. pin along the sides and stitch. Pin the inside leg and stitch.

4. Next step is the rib waistband. Overlap the elastic 2cm. Stitch several times over the overlap.

Mark every quarter onto the elastic and pin inside folded waistband.

5. Pin the waistband at each quarter seam. Make sure you pin the waistband seam on centre back.

Stitch the waistband on, stretching onto each quarter. Take care as you're stretching sewing not to stretch too much, this can put too much strain on the needle and snap it. You should be sewing through the elastic too. I like to stitch through the elastic because it stops it from rolling around in the waistband.

6. The last step is the cuffs. Sew the seams and fold them over. Pin the seam of the cuff onto the inside leg seam, Stretch slightly as you overlock them on.

FINISHED PANT

They are a really soft and cozy. Love the extra deep pockets, but for the next pair that I make. I'm going to use a thin jersey for the pocket lining as I find this a bit too bulky.

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