TieDye Peg Legs

This fabric wasn’t meant to be leggings when I picked it out. I had a really fun maxi dress in mind, maybe something with a cute wrap top and some fluttery sleeves. The tie dye print is so large and fun, I thought a maxi dress was really going to be the best way to showcase it! But when I received it, I couldn’t ever seem to commit to a pattern when I looked at it. I loved the idea of making some tie dye leggings, but I kept having this silly idea that the fabric was too pretty and too soft to be something as simple and usable as that! I held on to it longer than I planned, and finally January rolled around… And with it came the Activewear themed Sew My Style month, as well as the #SewFancyPants challenge. I took this lovely combination as a sign that this fabric was, in fact, meant to be a pair of fancy pants leggings, and finally went about cutting into it!

I was super excited to see that Activewear was the theme for Sew My Style this month. Though I won’t be participating as a leader this year, I do still plan to participate when I can, and this was a perfect sewing goal to kick off the year with. I’ve started working out again a little bit recently, and I also went back to work in the last couple of months. Despite the fact that I would really rather be at home cuddling my baby girl at all times, it has been nice to start building back some routine into my life… And everyone knows that new workout gear is always a great motivator to get your butt to the gym and keep that routine moving!

While they aren’t maybe a traditional pair of pants along the lines of trousers or jeans, I truly wear leggings as pants a good majority of the time, so I think that these definitely qualify as fancy pants, especially considering that I’d fully intended this fabric to be a lovely, flowy dress! I’m happy I went this direction, and I will certainly be feeling super cute and fancy while running around in these at the gym!

Please don’t be shocked, but I used the Peg Legs pattern for these leggings! They are tried and true, and they fit my body well… And the pattern is FREE! So why mess with a good thing, right? I did decide to change it up a little bit by making the high-waist version, an option I hadn’t used previously! I love where the front of the waistband falls, but I’m not sure I love the way the back waistband hits me. I might play around with this a little bit with my next pair (because of course, there will be a next pair!) and try to bring this down a little bit.

If you’ve read my posts in the past year, you’ve probably heard me sing the praises of the Peg Legs already. Instead of repeating all of that here, I’ll direct you to the posts on my previous pairs (maroon, heathered lavender, and floral!) if you want to learn a little more about why I love this pattern so much, and I’ll focus on the real star of the show here – this awesome fabric. My biggest fears while I was waiting for this fabric to arrive after ordering it online were that it would be too thin and too sheer. I was so glad to find that I didn’t have issues with either of these concerns!

The fabric is soft and thin, but still has enough structure that I don’t feel jiggly while I’m working out (or just generally walking around and living life) in these. The fabric is brushed, so it has that glorious slightly cuddly texture to it. Even the light colored portions of the fabric are opaque enough that I’m not concerned about what I wear underneath it, which is great. I don’t actually remember, but I’m sure I’m wearing some ridiculous bright turquoise underwear or something here. Either way, you can’t see them! Stylish Fabric carries a couple of different colorways of this fabric, but I absolutely loved the smoky, dusky vibe in this one. I have a small bit of this leftover, and I’m thinking it will make a super cool sleeveless wrap top of some sort!

I hope everyone enjoyed making some fun workout wear this month, but even better – I hope you’ve all been wearing and enjoying the activewear that you’ve made!! I’m looking forward to giving these lovely things another run for their money at the gym this afternoon.:)

Leggings: Handmade by Me!
Pattern: Patterns for Pirates – Peg Legs (High-Waisted)
Fabric: Stylish Fabrics – Black Tie Dye Ombre Print on DTY Poly Spandex Double Sided Brushed Stretch Knit
Key Ingredients: Heat & Bond Soft Stretch (Lite)

Though the fabric used in this post was generously provided to me by Stylish Fabric, all opinions expressed are my own, as always!

• XX Elizabeth