Leggings sew-along: gussets, waistbands and finishing

I was asked recently why a gusset and what shape should it be?

Interesting question.

The most accurate answer would be that the gusset is the open space you see when you split your pants. In simple terms (unless you have been dancing really, really wildly and really, really split your pants) it would be about the length of the seam you open and about as wide apart as that the resulting opening would be.

A gusset is giving a particular garment what it needs anyway.

What is also interesting to me as someone who has sewn a number of different shaped gussets over the years is that the different shapes, most commonly a diamond about 3"+ long and about 2"+ at the widest part in the middle, and a V shape, all work in a similar way. But think about your own physiology and consider what shape you need and where.

What is common to them all is that one side is usually attached to a top of the leg seam (either to the crotch seam or inseam) first and then captured in the completion of the seam. We already talked about that in how I would put in the Peg Legs gusset a few posts back.

The Peg Legs gusset is set horizontally with the widest part of the diamond lined up with the crotch seams and the longer parts of the diamond extending down into each inseam:

I have also sewn in gussets in the past where the narrow ends of the gusset where lined up with the crotch seam and and widest parts at the inseam (imagine the image above with the diamond vertically). Unfortunately I can't show that to you as the pattern I used to use that had it done that way  was an old Kwik Sew that has vanished from my collection and their catalogue.

By contrast to the diamond shape the Clara by Jalie has a smaller gusset, a sort of triangle set as an extension of the back crotch:

You can see here how it was first stitched to the bottom of the back crotch (I used a lightening stitch to do that) and then how it is captured when the back crotch is finally stitched. I am pretty sure that the explanation for the shape of this gusset is that the Clara's do not have a front crotch seam. The gusset as placed this way is finally stitched in via the one long seam ankle to ankle.

If you look at these two gussets you can see how they both add three dimensional space to the leggings right at a place that would just be a stress/vulnerable to stitching breaking place otherwise.

It also explains why gussets make leggings more comfortable.

I am sure you will also notice too that the diamond gusset is a larger unit and for that reason I suspect might give a little more movement room for a larger person. For this reason I chose the Peg Legs for my maternity leggings when I knew give was going to be important.

Gusset seams need to be topstitched.

This can be done with a cover hem or twin needle (see the Peg Legs gusset above) or a triple zig-zag like I did here in my Clara's, note the seam allowances are folded to the garment side and top stitched that way:

Topstitching is also an option for all of the construction seams in leggings and something you see a lot in athletic wear for instance these made by Brit from Halo:

The point of this topstitching, here with a cover hem in a custom pattern (Greenstyle Creations and Jalie's Cora both have multiple seam options, is both to reinforce the seams (think of flat felling in jeans) as well as flatten the seams for comfort against the body.

A note here now about topstitching with a conventional machine. In the last post about seams we talked about wooly nylon in the loopers of a serger for more comfortable, stretchy seams. There is also the option of a stretch thread in the needles, I have used Euroflex with good results but the colour selection is limited, so I generally use a good polyester thread. I have some Maxi-lock stretch on order from Dry Cleaner's Supply and will talk about that when it arrives - not something I can get in local fabric stores.

But back to topstitching and conventional stitches. For topstitching gussets I always wind wooly nylon by hand onto a bobbin (a machine winds it too fast and stretches it out of shape) and this give wonderful stretch to any stitch.

For topstitching in a knit I generally like a multi-step zig zag rather than one that just zigs and zags because doing the zig in steps means there are not the long threads to catch.

Here is what a stitch made with the wooly nylon in the bobbin looks like, the underside of a three-step zig zag and both sides of a common utility stitch you could also use to topstitch seams if you really wanted to:

three step zig-zag showing the bobbin side, bobbin hand wound with wooly nylon

Utility stitch right side on Supplex

Bobbin side of the same stitch showing how the wooly nylon stretches when stitched

On the issue of whether or not to topstitch the seams, really don't feel you have to. I have made many pairs of leggings without and they have held out just fine. Then again I am not a marathon runner so chaffing from seams has not been an issue for me. And the cover hemming looks pretty cool.

If you do decide to cover hem I personally think that a good fluffy wooly nylon is essential in the loopers. I also shorten the stitch length to about a 3 (I know many folks do a 4 but I like the extra stitches). You can do a two needle cover hem or a three needle.

Generally this is done from stitching from the wrong side so the loopers show decoratively on the right side, aiming to situate the stitches so they cover the well of the seam on the right side. This can actually be tricky to do, as is any dominant stitching that you do blind from the wrong side while hoping for the best. I have found that rather than trying aim for the centre of the seam try to put the middle needle of a 3 needle stitch or the centre of the space between the two needles of a two needle cover hem so it stitches right on top of the right hand needle/seam line of the garment's serged seam. This really helps getting it right. 

3-needle cover hem from the right side:

And from the wrong side where hopefully you can see the middle needle set more or less to follow over the right hand needle seam thread of the serged seam:

To hem the leggings it is very important that they can be stretched to go over the foot without the stitches breaking, or, even more important in capri length leggings where the hem is over the large calf muscle that can expand with movement, without binding.

For this reason I always stretch a little while I topstitch the hems, to build in that extra stretch, whether I sew the hem with a 3 step zig zag with wooly nylon hand wound in the bobbin or with a narrow 2 needle cover hem, my preference to avoid tunnelling in these stretchy fabrics. 

Below are two samples. You will see that the stitches in both hems looks small - this is because they were stretched when sewn and the extra stitches got packed in - something I wouldn't worry about in a hem at this level.

Finally the last detail in the construction of the leggings is the yoga band waistband. 

There are several ways these can be done. 

Some folks when working with a firmer knit like Supplex actually just sew the band and stitch it right on to the top of the leggings, counting on the double layer of fabric to provide both the stretch and support they need in a waistband without elastic. Others, and suggested in both patterns, also add a row of elastic only lightly stretched, to the seam allowance at the top of the band and band facing.

I have seen clear elastic suggested for this step, some sewers serge this into the seam that attaches both band layers, but I don't personally find that is feels secure enough inside the band.

My own preference is for a 1 / 2 " bathing suit elastic (you can recognize this for its boring muslin colour) that I triple zig zag stitch down to the inside of the band, butting the elastic right up to the seam like this:

Well this wraps up our leggings sew-along. 

Not sure if I did this right. Suspect that there are more organized ways to run something like this so let me know if going through a garment type like this is helpful. 

In future I am going to forget about the Facebook page I think hoped that there would be some pictures of works in progress from readers, but that was probably spreading us all too thin.  I think this blog and my Instagram are more my own mediums in social media.

So for a bit the blog is going to resume regularly scheduled programming but watch this space once August kicks in for a bathing suit sew-along. Need to get that in before that awful moment when Nova Scotians start sniffing the air and saying things like " I can smell fall" and the back-to-school ads become depressingly frequent.

Around here we like to wring out every last drop of summer, and when we can't do that start packing the RV to head south!

Leggings sew-along: thoughts on patterns

There are a number of legging patterns available these days. Many produce a garment that is indiscernible from ready-to-wear.

Nearly every indie pattern company of any size has a leggings pattern, and the Big Four do too.

As a result I have decided for this sew-along not to start with a review of all the possibilities, and not, until the last session, to talk about design details - colour blocking, pockets, decorative cover hemming, mesh inserts etc.

Instead I decided it would be more useful to share what my own experience has taught me about legging patterns. 

Also I also am looking forward to hearing from all of you - on pattern recommendations, and on pattern characteristics you think are really important.

For the purposes of this sew-along I am going to be working along with you on two very different patterns Jalie's Clara and Patterns 4 Pirates Peg Legs. The Clara is Jalie's newest legging pattern, released this spring, and the Peg Legs are a free pattern, supplemented by a Peg Leg's add-on package (you need this for the gusset) and by a the maternity add-on  that I will actually be using to make some leggings for my DIL.

Both patterns will allow you to have a preview of the instructions before you commit. If you go to the Jalie site you can read the instructions right there and of course because the Peg Legs are free you can do the same.

I chose these two patterns for myself because I know them well and each offers a very different look and to some extent feel. They are also very basic patterns in terms of design details, plain leggings, and I also felt that this would help to keep the focus on construction, stitching, and fabric options, and on fit.

If I were to describe the differences between the two patterns I would say that the Claras are closer to a real workout leggings think Lululemon ( you really need a very stretchy fabric to get the right fit), smooth and minimal. The Peg Legs are more an everyday wear legging, not as closely cut and can be made in fabrics with a wider range of stretchability.


There two pictures I think articulate this difference:

This doesn't mean I don't use and like other patterns, it's just that for our purposes right now I thought  it made sense to keep the focus on the basics.

So if you want to sew-along and work with another pattern that's great too - some more information for us all to share.

When you choose a pattern however I thing that it is essential it has these characteristics, again based on my experience:

1. The pattern has to have a gusset piece. This IMO is completely non-negotiable. Why? Look at our bodies. Leggings fit like a second skin, in some ways even more so as they are negative ease garments, cut smaller than our actual measurements, counting on the 4-way stretch fabric to fit, and they have to be cut like we are built. 

And how we are all built is not 2-dimensionally like a paper doll. 

We are 3-D people and we have front to back through the middle as well as side to side. In other words we have a crotch and we need a little piece of fabric sewn into the seams at the top of our legs to cover and accommodate this crotch. A pair of leggings without a gusset will pull tight in the crotch area and likely split with movement (the garment attempting when it splits to open up a spot that will be remarkably similar in size and shape to the gusset piece)

There are different gusset shapes of course and the more pronounced the gusset the more movement you may feel in the garment.

The Jalie Clara's have a sort of triangular gusset piece because these leggings lack a front seam (the front is laid on the fold) and there are therefore only 3 seams to attach to it. This gusset shape contributes to the sleek lines of this design.

You can see this tiny but critical pattern piece (C) in the pattern layout below:

The base pattern for the Peg Legs, which unlike the Claras have a centre front seam, does not include a gusset. To have the gusset piece you will need  the Peg Leg add-on package to find this pattern piece.

The centre front seam of the Peg Legs also means that the gusset is the more familiar diamond shape. Here is a construction photo that shows how this piece looks inserted:

BTW none of the Big 4 legging patterns of those I checked out included a gusset piece.

2. I have tried all the different leggings waistband options and for the best fit, comfort and stay upability (coining some new words here) I have decided that when you are talking leggings there really is no substitute for a wide yoga style waistband.

Stitched in elastic or even a casing will just pull down and I can't imagine that being a wearing experience any legging wearer wants.

A wide waistband, particularly one that is contoured as is standard in the Clara and one of the add-on options for the Peg Legs, has the whole capacity of the 4 way stretch fabric working with you to hold the top off the legging up and, in the patterns I will be working with, having elastic sewn into the seam allowances at the top of the band is just added security rather than all you are relying on.

The waistbands can of course be wide up to the navel (as the Claras are) or can be narrower and set lower into in the body of the legging for a low rise look, up as far as the navel or even well past it as in the Peg Leg maternity add-on version. 

Here are some of those Peg Leg options for waistbands. Note in the base pattern the waistbands are simple bands that can sit at the navel or well below, but the add-on has a higher contoured band.

As to sizing well that's an interesting question for sure. In leggings the fabric itself, with the vast differences that exist in 4-way stretch fabrics, both in terms of degree of stretch and degree of recovery, can really define fit. And that's exactly what we will talk about Friday.

In the meantime please leave your comments, suggestions, and questions leggings patterns below.

I am looking forward to hearing from you!

Leggings sew-along

Here we go. First leggings in July and then swimwear in August.

I figured it made sense to start with athletic type fabric first in a garment with fewer pieces and then work out.

For the first foray into something I have never done before, meaning a sew-along, not meaning the sewing, here is the schedule:

Monday July 9: thoughts on patterns
Friday July 13: fabrics
Monday July 16: thoughts on fitting
Friday July 20: stitching options
Monday July 23: gussets and seams
Friday July 27: waistband options
Monday July 30: customizing ideas and wrap -up

August - stay tuned for swimwear sew along!

I have tried to figure out a way to make this more visually interactive than only text comments so I have added some info onto Facebook page my husband set up a month a go for a project when he had an afternoon when he was excited the book came out. Like it an feel free to post your thoughts, ideas, questions and photos.

I will be posting text and pictures here, doing some of my slick high level production kitchen table Youtube videos in my Youtube channel, also posted to this page, and giving updates on Instagram @bemodi


The sewing part doesn't worry me, managing all this social media might get a bit bumpy. Bear will me, this should be fun.

Any interest in some summer sew-alongs?

Hi folks.

I have an idea and I would like to know if anyone is interested in what is a new idea for me.

How about two sew-alongs for the month of July?

I am thinking of sort of an all ages and stages leggings series and a similar swimwear (swimsuits and rash guards/sun shirts)  series.

Nothing too complicated at all but based on what I would like to tell new and returning sewers about sewing these basic garments so many are frightened of attempting. As usual my authority on this would be my own lessons of experience and that always includes my mistakes.

And because some folks are visual learners I would supplement the blog posts with some Youtube videos.

I am also thinking that I will give my ideas in parallel format - one for those with sergers/coverhems
and one for those working on a conventional machine.

And as always since this blog is a collaborative project, and since the smartest things said here are so often in the comments, I am looking forward to those with experience sewing these garments to pitching in with advice.

So my question of the day is this?

Who's interested?

Both?

Once I have some feedback I am going to put together a timetable and off we sew!