Pattern: Papercut ooh la leggings

I was inspired to make these leggings by Karen’s Sporty Summer Sewathon, and also in an attempt to get me back on track with my own exercise routine.  This past year, my active-ness has ranged from triumph – running my first half-marathon (Yay!) to disappointment – having to drop out of my second half-marathon due to injury (Boo!).  But I’m ready to put all that behind me and get back to work!  Oh look a button!

I immediately liked the Papercut  pattern, because the seams are actually quite flattering and more interesting than your normal boring leggings pattern.  In order to make these leggings into a pair of practical running pants, I knew I had to add a back pocket.  Often for races, I need a spot to hold a car key, license, and maybe even some cash.  Instead of constructing an actual pouch, I thought it might be easier to just double up the waist area and create a pouch that way, similar to another pair of running pants I already had.

I cut two panels of each and serged the front and back of each separately.  I then stitched the waist pieces together, seams on the inside, and used it as one piece when attaching the legs.  I used a serger on all the seams, because, you know…knit.  I decided to use an invisible zipper for the back pocket, in order to keep that clean, legging-like look.  I cut a slit on the back panel, sewed in my invisible zipper (cut to fit), and sewed a seam on either side in order to make the pocket a reasonable size.  Oh, and if you are wondering, I did install the zipper before sewing all the pieces together.  Much easier working with one flat piece.

Adding the elastic waist was easy since I didn’t have to maneuver the elastic through a slit, which I hate!  It was sewed on with a zig-zag stitch, the pulled around creating a waist-band.  I tried to make the seam look as finished as possible.

There was a little bit of top stitching around the hip area, which gave it a sleeker look.  I’m so glad I attempted this project, especially since this year, running pants were the only clothing items I had been buying.  Now I don’t need to – I would be proud to run my next race in these.

Well time to start training I guess.  I signed up for another half-marathon in October.  Here’s hoping these pants will continue to be an inspiration to keep at it.  I’m so happy to participate in my first sewathon as well!  Hope everyone is having an active and fun summer!